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Suggested Citation:"Front Matter." National Academies of Sciences, Engineering, and Medicine. 2018. Review of the Draft Fourth National Climate Assessment. Washington, DC: The National Academies Press. doi: 10.17226/25013.
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REVIEW OF THE DRAFT FOURTH
NATIONAL CLIMATE ASSESSMENT

Committee to Review the Draft Fourth National Climate Assessment

Board on Atmospheric Sciences and Climate
Division on Earth and Life Studies

Board on Environmental Change and Society
Division of Behavioral and Social Sciences and Education

A Consensus Study Report of

images

THE NATIONAL ACADEMIES PRESS
Washington, DC
www.nap.edu

Suggested Citation:"Front Matter." National Academies of Sciences, Engineering, and Medicine. 2018. Review of the Draft Fourth National Climate Assessment. Washington, DC: The National Academies Press. doi: 10.17226/25013.
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THE NATIONAL ACADEMIES PRESS 500 Fifth Street, NW Washington, DC 20001

This study was supported by the National Aeronautics and Space Administration under award numbers NNH14CK78B and NNH14CK79D. Any opinions, findings, conclusions, or recommendations expressed in this publication do not necessarily reflect the views of any organization or agency that provided support for the project.

International Standard Book Number-13: 978-0-309-47169-5
International Standard Book Number-10: 0-309-47169-9
Digital Object Identifier: https://doi.org/10.17226/25013

Additional copies of this publication are available for sale from the National Academies Press, 500 Fifth Street, NW, Keck 360, Washington, DC 20001; (800) 624-6242 or (202) 334-3313; http://www.nap.edu.

Copyright 2018 by the National Academy of Sciences. All rights reserved.

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Suggested citation: National Academies of Sciences, Engineering, and Medicine. 2018. Review of the Draft Fourth National Climate Assessment. Washington, DC: The National Academies Press. doi: https://doi.org/10.17226/25013.

Suggested Citation:"Front Matter." National Academies of Sciences, Engineering, and Medicine. 2018. Review of the Draft Fourth National Climate Assessment. Washington, DC: The National Academies Press. doi: 10.17226/25013.
×

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The National Academy of Sciences was established in 1863 by an Act of Congress, signed by President Lincoln, as a private, nongovernmental institution to advise the nation on issues related to science and technology. Members are elected by their peers for outstanding contributions to research. Dr. Marcia McNutt is president.

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The National Academy of Medicine (formerly the Institute of Medicine) was established in 1970 under the charter of the National Academy of Sciences to advise the nation on medical and health issues. Members are elected by their peers for distinguished contributions to medicine and health. Dr. Victor J. Dzau is president.

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Learn more about the National Academies of Sciences, Engineering, and Medicine at www.nationalacademies.org.

Suggested Citation:"Front Matter." National Academies of Sciences, Engineering, and Medicine. 2018. Review of the Draft Fourth National Climate Assessment. Washington, DC: The National Academies Press. doi: 10.17226/25013.
×

Image

Consensus Study Reports published by the National Academies of Sciences, Engineering, and Medicine document the evidence-based consensus on the study’s statement of task by an authoring committee of experts. Reports typically include findings, conclusions, and recommendations based on information gathered by the committee and the committee’s deliberations. Each report has been subjected to a rigorous and independent peer-review process and it represents the position of the National Academies on the statement of task.

Proceedings published by the National Academies of Sciences, Engineering, and Medicine chronicle the presentations and discussions at a workshop, symposium, or other event convened by the National Academies. The statements and opinions contained in proceedings are those of the participants and are not endorsed by other participants, the planning committee, or the National Academies.

For information about other products and activities of the National Academies, please visit www.nationalacademies.org/about/whatwedo.

Suggested Citation:"Front Matter." National Academies of Sciences, Engineering, and Medicine. 2018. Review of the Draft Fourth National Climate Assessment. Washington, DC: The National Academies Press. doi: 10.17226/25013.
×

COMMITTEE TO REVIEW THE DRAFT FOURTH NATIONAL CLIMATE ASSESSMENT

ROBIN E. BELL (Chair), Columbia University, Palisades, NY

BILAL M. AYYUB, University of Maryland, College Park

MICHELLE L. BELL, Yale University, New Haven, CT

DANIEL G. BROWN, University of Washington, Seattle

DANIEL R. CAYAN, Scripps Institution of Oceanography, University of California, San Diego

F. STUART CHAPIN III, University of Alaska, Fairbanks

JOHN B. GATES, The Climate Corporation, Alameda, CA

L. RUBY LEUNG, Pacific Northwest National Laboratory, Richland, WA

JANET PEACE, Center for Climate and Energy Solutions, Arlington, VA

JULIE PULLEN, Stevens Institute of Technology, Hoboken, NJ

LaVERNE E. RAGSTER, University of the Virgin Islands, St. Thomas, USVI

MARY RUCKELSHAUS, Stanford Woods Institute for the Environment, Stanford, CA

SUSANNE TORRIENTE, City of Miami Beach, FL

ELKE U. WEBER, Princeton University, NJ

CATHY WHITLOCK, Montana State University, Bozeman

GARY YOHE, Wesleyan University, Middletown, CT

National Academies of Sciences, Engineering, and Medicine Staff

APRIL MELVIN, Program Officer

ERIN MARKOVICH, Senior Program Assistant/Research Assistant

KIMBERLY DUONG, Christine Mirzayan Science and Technology Policy Fellow

Suggested Citation:"Front Matter." National Academies of Sciences, Engineering, and Medicine. 2018. Review of the Draft Fourth National Climate Assessment. Washington, DC: The National Academies Press. doi: 10.17226/25013.
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BOARD ON ATMOSPHERIC SCIENCES AND CLIMATE

A.R. RAVISHANKARA (Chair), Colorado State University, Fort Collins

SHUYI S. CHEN (Vice Chair) University of Washington, Seattle

CECILIA BITZ, University of Washington, Seattle

MARK A. CANE, Columbia University, Palisades, NY

HEIDI CULLEN, Climate Central, Princeton, NJ

ROBERT DUNBAR, Stanford University, Stanford, CA

PAMELA EMCH, Northrop Grumman Aerospace Systems, Redondo Beach, CA

ARLENE FIORE, Columbia University, Palisades, NY

PETER FRUMHOFF, Union of Concerned Scientists, Cambridge, MA

WILLIAM B. GAIL, Global Weather Corporation, Boulder, CO

MARY GLACKIN, The Weather Company, Washington, DC

TERRI S. HOGUE, Colorado School of Mines, Golden, CO

EVERETTE JOSEPH, SUNY University at Albany, NY

RONALD “NICK” KEENER, JR., Duke Energy Corporation, Charlotte, NC

ROBERT KOPP, Rutgers University, Piscataway, NJ

L. RUBY LEUNG, Pacific Northwest National Laboratory, Richland, WA

JONATHAN MARTIN, University of Wisconsin–Madison

JONATHAN OVERPECK, University of Michigan, Ann Arbor

ALLISON STEINER, University of Michigan, Ann Arbor

DAVID W. TITLEY, The Pennsylvania State University, University Park

DUANE WALISER, Jet Propulsion Laboratory, Pasadena, CA

Ocean Studies Board Liaison

DAVID HALPERN, Jet Propulsion Laboratory, Pasadena, CA

National Academies of Sciences, Engineering, and Medicine Staff

AMANDA STAUDT, Director

DAVID ALLEN, Senior Program Officer

LAURIE GELLER, Senior Program Officer

KATHERINE THOMAS, Senior Program Officer

LAUREN EVERETT, Program Officer

APRIL MELVIN, Program Officer

AMANDA PURCELL, Program Officer

YASMIN ROMITTI, Research Associate

RITA GASKINS, Administrative Coordinator

SHELLY FREELAND, Financial Associate

ROB GREENWAY, Program Associate

MICHAEL HUDSON, Senior Program Assistant

ERIN MARKOVICH, Senior Program Assistant/Research Assistant

Suggested Citation:"Front Matter." National Academies of Sciences, Engineering, and Medicine. 2018. Review of the Draft Fourth National Climate Assessment. Washington, DC: The National Academies Press. doi: 10.17226/25013.
×

BOARD ON ENVIRONMENTAL CHANGE AND SOCIETY

RICHARD H. MOSS (Chair), Joint Global Change Research Institute, College Park, MD

JOSEPH L. ARVAI, University of Michigan, Ann Arbor

F. STUART CHAPIN III, University of Alaska, Fairbanks

RUTH DEFRIES, Columbia University, New York, NY

HALLIE C. EAKIN, Arizona State University, Tempe

LORI M. HUNTER, University of Colorado Boulder

KATHARINE L. JACOBS, University of Arizona, Tucson

MICHAEL ANTHONEY MENDEZ, Yale University, New Haven, CT

RICHARD G. NEWELL, Resources for the Future, Washington, DC

MARY D. NICHOLS, California Air Resources Board, Sacramento

JONATHAN T. OVERPECK, University of Michigan, Ann Arbor

ASEEM PRAKASH, University of Washington, Seattle

J. TIMMONS ROBERTS, Brown University, Providence, RI

MAXINE L. SAVITZ, Technology/Partnership Honeywell Inc., Los Angeles, CA

MICHAEL P. VANDENBERGH, Vanderbilt University Law School, Nashville, TN

JALONNE L. WHITE-NEWSOME, The Kresge Foundation, Troy, MI

ROBYN S. WILSON, The Ohio State University, Columbus

National Academies of Sciences, Engineering, and Medicine Staff

TOBY WARDEN, Interim Board Director

JENNIFER HEIMBERG, Senior Program Officer

HEATHER KREIDLER, Associate Program Officer

JORDYN WHITE, Program Officer

TINA M. LATIMER, Program Coordinator

LETICIA GARCILAZO GREEN, Senior Program Assistant

MARY GHITELMAN, Senior Program Assistant

Page viii Cite
Suggested Citation:"Front Matter." National Academies of Sciences, Engineering, and Medicine. 2018. Review of the Draft Fourth National Climate Assessment. Washington, DC: The National Academies Press. doi: 10.17226/25013.
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Suggested Citation:"Front Matter." National Academies of Sciences, Engineering, and Medicine. 2018. Review of the Draft Fourth National Climate Assessment. Washington, DC: The National Academies Press. doi: 10.17226/25013.
×

Acknowledgments

The Committee thanks Philip B. Duffy, Woods Hole Research Center, and Gerald A. Meehl, National Center for Atmospheric Research, for providing input to the Committee on selected sections of the Frequently Asked Questions Appendix contained in the draft Fourth National Climate Assessment (NCA4) report and Gary Morishima, Quinault Management Center, for providing input on Chapter 15 of the draft NCA4 report on Tribal and Indigenous Communities.

This Consensus Study Report was reviewed in draft form by individuals chosen for their diverse perspectives and technical expertise. The purpose of this independent review is to provide candid and critical comments that will assist the National Academies of Sciences, Engineering, and Medicine in making each published report as sound as possible and to ensure that it meets the institutional standards for quality, objectivity, evidence, and responsiveness to the study charge. The review comments and draft manuscript remain confidential to protect the integrity of the deliberative process.

We thank the following individuals for their review of this report:

Susan Avery, ExxonMobil

Christopher Barker, University of California, Davis

John Doyle, Little Big Horn College; Crow Reservation

Patricia Gober, Arizona State University

Sarah Hobbie, University of Minnesota

Klaus Keller, The Pennsylvania State University

Pankaj Lal, Montclair State University

Arthur Lee, Chevron Corporation

Joseph Majkut, Niskanen Center

Constantine Samaras, Carnegie Mellon University

Perry Samson, University of Michigan

Roger Schmidt (NAE), Syracuse University, IBM Corporation, emeritus

John W. (Jack) Williams, University of Wisconsin–Madison

Although the reviewers listed above provided many constructive comments and suggestions, they were not asked to endorse the conclusions or recommendations of this report nor did they see the final draft before its release. The review of this report was overseen by Charles F. Kennel, University of California, San Diego, and Andrew R. Solow, Woods Hole Oceanographic Institution. They were responsible for making certain that an independent examination of this report was carried out in accordance with the standards of the National Academies and that all review comments were carefully considered. Responsibility for the final content rests entirely with the authoring committee and the National Academies.

Suggested Citation:"Front Matter." National Academies of Sciences, Engineering, and Medicine. 2018. Review of the Draft Fourth National Climate Assessment. Washington, DC: The National Academies Press. doi: 10.17226/25013.
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Suggested Citation:"Front Matter." National Academies of Sciences, Engineering, and Medicine. 2018. Review of the Draft Fourth National Climate Assessment. Washington, DC: The National Academies Press. doi: 10.17226/25013.
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Climate change poses many challenges that affect society and the natural world. With these challenges, however, come opportunities to respond. By taking steps to adapt to and mitigate climate change, the risks to society and the impacts of continued climate change can be lessened. The National Climate Assessment, coordinated by the U.S. Global Change Research Program, is a mandated report intended to inform response decisions. Required to be developed every four years, these reports provide the most comprehensive and up-to-date evaluation of climate change impacts available for the United States, making them a unique and important climate change document.

The draft Fourth National Climate Assessment (NCA4) report reviewed here addresses a wide range of topics of high importance to the United States and society more broadly, extending from human health and community well-being, to the built environment, to businesses and economies, to ecosystems and natural resources. This report evaluates the draft NCA4 to determine if it meets the requirements of the federal mandate, whether it provides accurate information grounded in the scientific literature, and whether it effectively communicates climate science, impacts, and responses for general audiences including the public, decision makers, and other stakeholders.

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