“Latest US Government -mandated Climate Assessment news , rising costs to US economy.
Hazel Henderson, Editor”
New federal climate assessment for U.S. released
Volume II of the Fourth National Climate Assessment (NCA4), released today by the United States Global Change Research Program (USGCRP), focuses on climate change impacts, risks and adaptations occurring in the U.S. The report contains supporting evidence from 16 national-level topic chapters (e.g., water, oceans, energy, and human health), 10 regional chapters and two chapters that focus on societal responses to climate change. USGCRP also released the Second State of the Carbon Cycle Report (SOCCR2).
NOAA is one of 13 federal agencies that contributed significantly to the Fourth National Climate Assessment.
Key findings of the NCA4, Vol. II
Communities
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Human health and safety, our quality of life, and the rate of economic growth in communities across the U.S. are increasingly vulnerable to the impacts of climate change.
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The cascading impacts of climate change threaten the natural, built and social systems we rely on, both within and beyond the nation’s borders.
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Societal efforts to respond to climate change have expanded in the last five years, but not at the scale needed to avoid substantial damages to the economy, environment, and human health over the coming decades.
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Without substantial and sustained global efforts to reduce greenhouse gas emissions and regional initiatives to prepare for anticipated changes, climate change is expected to cause growing losses to American infrastructure and property and impede the rate of economic growth over this century.