A new National Academies of Sciences, Engineering, and Medicine report provides an independent review of the draft Fifth National Climate Assessment (NCA5). NCA5 is the latest in a series of assessments that evaluate the state of global climate science and analyze the impacts of climate change in the United States. 

The U.S. Global Change Research Program is congressionally mandated to develop an assessment of global climate change every four years or less. The review published today evaluates whether the draft of NCA5 meets the requirements of the federal mandate, provides information grounded in the scientific literature, and effectively communicates climate science and impacts.  

The National Academies’ report applauds the NCA5 authors for their outstanding job synthesizing the vast knowledge base of climate change impacts, adaptation, and mitigation in the United States, and offers suggestions for how the draft assessment could be further improved. To enhance credibility and accessibility for broad audiences, the draft NCA5 should be revised to include more clear and consistent formatting structures, and there should be clearer distinctions between natural variability and climate change.  

Significant attention is given in the draft NCA5 to evaluating climate change impacts and responses through the lens of equity and justice. The National Academies’ review commends this approach and offers suggestions for how to integrate these aspects more consistently throughout the draft.  

The review finds that the draft NCA5 report meets the federal mandate and covers topics important for informing the nation’s response to climate change. The review also highlights opportunities to revise the draft NCA5 to place more emphasis on climate change mitigation, adaptation successes and shortcomings, projected impacts of climate change, attribution of extreme events, and rural analysis.  

The National Academies’ report, Review of the Draft Fifth National Climate Assessment, is now available for immediate release. For inquiries, reporters can contact the Office of News and Public Information at tel. 202-334-2138 or e-mail news@nas.edu. 

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