transportation-relevant information on climate change (Recommendation 4); developing climate data and decision support tools that incorporate the needs of transportation decision makers (Recommendation 5); developing and implementing monitoring technologies for major transportation facilities to provide advance warning of pending failures due to severe weather events and climate extremes (Recommendation 7); developing a mechanism for sharing best practices to address potential impacts of climate change (Recommendation 8); initiating a federally funded, multiagency research program for reevaluation of existing and development of new design standards to address the impacts of climate change, including a research plan and cost proposal for immediate submission to Congress (Recommendation 9); and creating a federal-level interagency working group focused on adaptation (Recommendation 11). Most of these initiatives would require federal action; others would require action by professional organizations and university researchers. In all cases, leadership and continuing commitment would be essential.

IPCC Intergovernmental Panel on Climate Change

NRC National Research Council

IPCC. 2007. Summary for Policymakers. In Climate Change 2007: The Physical Science Basis. Contribution of Working Group I to the Fourth Assessment Report of the Intergovernmental Panel on Climate Change (S. Solomon, D. Qin, M. Manning, Z. Chen, M. Marquis, K. B. Averyt, M. Tignor, and H. L. Miller, eds.), Cambridge University Press, Cambridge, United Kingdom, and New York.

NRC. 2007. Evaluating Progress of the U.S. Climate Change Science Program: Methods and Preliminary Results. National Academies Press, Washington, D.C.