Frequently Asked Questions in the Fifth National Climate Assessment: Input from the AGU Community.

Abstract:

The National Climate Assessment (NCA) is a quadrennial assessment mandated by the Global Change Research Act of 1990. The report, led by the U.S. Global Change Research Program, evaluates the current state of the science of global change and analyzes the effects of global change on regions and sectors of the United States. In addition, each NCA is required to analyze trends in global change for the subsequent 25 to 100 years. To date, four NCAs have been released, the most recent in 2018. Work on the fifth assessment, NCA5, is currently underway.

To enhance public understanding of the fundamentals of global change, past assessments have featured plain-language Frequently Asked Questions (FAQs). Responses are generated from information found in previous USGCRP assessments, peer-reviewed literature, and consultation with experts. This talk provides a summary of the FAQs presented in the fourth NCA, released in 2018, and offers planning insights for the inclusion of FAQs in NCA5. Previous questions have focused on physical earth system changes (rising global temperature, extreme event characteristics, etc.) as well as the social and ecological effects of climate change. We invite feedback from the AGU community on these topics, as well as other areas that could enhance the utility of the NCA5 FAQs.