Appendix B
Statement of Task

A new ad hoc Committee will conduct an independent review of the Special Report on Climate Change Science, which will be available in late 2016 to early 2017. The Committee membership will be comprised of expertise in key areas of relevance to the Special Report, with some members drawn from the Committee to Advise the U.S. Global Change Research Program. The Committee will conduct this review concurrent with the public review period for the Special Report and produce a report.

The review will provide an overall critique of the draft special report and address the following questions:

• Are the goals, objectives and intended audience of the product clearly described in the document? Does the report meet its stated goals?
• Does the report accurately reflect the scientific literature? Are there any critical content areas missing from the report?
• Are the findings documented in a consistent, transparent, and credible way?
• Are the report’s key messages and graphics clear and appropriate? Specifically, do they reflect supporting evidence, include an assessment of likelihood, and communicate effectively?
• Are the data and analyses handled in a competent manner? Are statistical methods applied appropriately?
• Are the document’s presentation, level of technicality, and organization effective?
• What other significant improvements, if any, might be made in the document?

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