The US Global Change Research Program (USGCRP) released the Fifth National Climate Assessment (NCA5), which describes the state of climate science and the impacts of climate change on people, communities, and ecosystems. The report finds that extreme events, including heavy precipitation, droughts, floods, wildfires, and hurricanes, cost the US close to USD 150 billion each year – an “estimate that does not account for loss of life, health care-related costs, or damages to ecosystem services.”
NCA5 evaluates climate impacts across ten US regions and assesses how they affect water, forests and ecosystems, coasts and oceans, agriculture and rural communities, the built environment, energy and transportation, health and air quality, and economic and social systems.
The Assessment points towards the US’ falling greenhouse gas (GHG) emissions amid growing population and increasing gross domestic product (GDP). It finds that state- and city-level mitigation and adaptation actions have increased in every US region, and energy efficiency and use of clean energy technologies are on the rise.
Over the last decade, wind energy costs decreased 70%, the costs of solar energy dropped 90%, and in 2020, “80% of new generation capacity in 2020 came from renewable sources.” This energy transition, the report argues, will create new economic opportunities through a long-term expansion in energy and decarbonization workforces.
At the same time, the Assessment finds that every three weeks, the US experiences “a billion-dollar disaster,” with underserved and overburdened communities facing disproportionate risks and impacts. NCA5 argues that mitigation strategies can bring emissions reductions, but the US “must go further and faster to reach net zero” and take advantage of the opportunity to create a more resilient and just nation.
NCA5 draws on the expertise of some 500 authors and 250 contributors from every state, as well as Guam, Puerto Rico, and the US Virgin Islands. The report also reflects inputs from extensive public engagement and an external peer review.
A web-based NCA Atlas allows readers to explore climate projections in each state or county to support resilience, adaptation, and mitigation efforts. The NCA5 designated website features 92 original works of art, selected through an inaugural NCA Art x Climate initiative, as well as an original poem titled, ‘Startlement,’ by the 24th Poet Laureate of the US Ada Limón.
The National Climate Assessment is a congressionally mandated interagency effort aimed at supporting informed decision making across the US. It is published “not less frequently than every four years.”
