About this Report
As a key part of the Fourth National Climate Assessment (NCA4), the U.S. Global Change Research Program (USGCRP) oversaw the production of this stand-alone report of the state of science relating to climate change and its physical impacts.
The Climate Science Special Report (CSSR) is designed to be an authoritative assessment of the science of climate change, with a focus on the United States, to serve as the foundation for efforts to assess climate-related risks and inform decision-making about responses. In accordance with this purpose, it does not include an assessment of literature on climate change mitigation, adaptation, economic valuation, or societal responses, nor does it include policy recommendations.
As Volume I of NCA4, CSSR serves several purposes, including providing 1) an updated detailed analysis of the findings of how climate change is affecting weather and climate across the United States; 2) an executive summary and other CSSR materials that provide the basis for the discussion of climate science found in the second volume of the NCA4; and 3) foundational information and projections for climate change, including extremes, to improve “end-to-end” consistency in sectoral, regional, and resilience analyses within the second volume. CSSR integrates and evaluates the findings on climate science and discusses the uncertainties associated with these findings. It analyzes current trends in climate change, both human-induced and natural, and projects major trends to the end of this century. As an assessment and analysis of the science, this report provides important input to the development of other parts of NCA4, and their primary focus on the human welfare, societal, economic, and environmental elements of climate change.
Much of this report is written at a level more appropriate for a scientific audience, though the Executive Summary is intended to be accessible to a broader audience.
Report Development, Review, and Approval Process
The National Oceanic and Atmospheric Administration (NOAA) serves as the administrative lead agency for the preparation of NCA4. The CSSR Federal Science Steering Committee (SSC)1 has representatives from three agencies (NOAA, the National Aeronautics and Space Administration [NASA], and the Department of Energy [DOE]); USGCRP;2 and three Coordinating Lead Authors, all of whom were Federal employees during the development of this report. Following a public notice for author nominations in March 2016, the SSC selected the writing team, consisting of scientists representing Federal agencies, national laboratories, universities, and the private sector. Contributing Authors were requested to provide special input to the Lead Authors to help with specific issues of the assessment.
The first Lead Author Meeting was held in Washington, DC, in April 2016, to refine the outline contained in the SSC-endorsed prospectus and to make writing assignments. Over the course of 18 months before final publication, seven CSSR drafts were generated, with each successive iteration—from zero- to sixth-order drafts—undergoing additional expert review, as follows: (i) by the writing team itself (13–20 June 2016); (ii) by the SSC convened to oversee report development (29 July–18 August 2016); (iii) by the technical agency representatives (and designees) comprising the Subcommittee on Global Change Research (SGCR, 3–14 October 2016); (iv) by the SSC and technical liaisons again (5–13 December 2016); (v) by the general public during the Public Comment Period (15 December 2016–3 February 2017) and an expert panel convened by the National Academies of Sciences, Engineering, and Medicine (NAS, 21 December 2016–13 March 2017);3 and (vi) by the SGCR again (3–24 May 2017) to confirm the Review Editor conclusions that all public and NAS comments were adequately addressed. In October 2016, an 11-member core writing team was tasked with capturing the most important CSSR key findings and generating an Executive Summary. Two additional Lead Authors Meetings were held after major review milestones to facilitate chapter team deliberations and consistency: 2–4 November 2016 (Boulder, CO) and 21–22 April 2017 (Asheville, NC). Literature cutoff dates were enforced, with all cited material published by June 2017. The fifth-order draft including the Executive Summary was compiled in June 2017, and submitted to the Office of Science and Technology Policy (OSTP). OSTP is responsible for the Federal clearance process prior to final report production and public release. This published report represents the final (sixth-order) draft.
The Sustained National Climate Assessment
The Climate Science Special Report has been developed as part of the USGCRP’s sustained National Climate Assessment (NCA) process. This process facilitates continuous and transparent participation of scientists and stakeholders across regions and sectors, enabling new information and insights to be assessed as they emerge. The Climate Science Special Report is aimed at a comprehensive assessment of the science underlying the changes occurring in Earth’s climate system, with a special focus on the United States.
Sources Used in this Report
The findings in this report are based on a large body of scientific, peer-reviewed research, as well as a number of other publicly available sources, including well-established and carefully evaluated observational and modeling datasets. The team of authors carefully reviewed these sources to ensure a reliable assessment of the state of scientific understanding. Each source of information was determined to meet the four parts of the quality assurance guidance provided to authors (following the approach from NCA3): 1) utility, 2) transparency and traceability, 3) objectivity, and 4) integrity and security. Report authors assessed and synthesized information from peer-reviewed journal articles, technical reports produced by Federal agencies, scientific assessments (such as the rigorously-reviewed international assessments from the Intergovernmental Panel on Climate Change,1 reports of the National Academy of Sciences and its associated National Research Council, and various regional climate impact assessments, conference proceedings, and government statistics (such as population census and energy usage).
1. The CSSR SSC was charged with overseeing the development and production of the report. SSC membership was open to all USGCRP agencies. Back
2. The USGCRP is made up of 13 Federal departments and agencies that carry out research and support the Nation’s response to global change. The USGCRP is overseen by the Subcommittee on Global Change Research (SGCR) of the National Science and Technology Council’s Committee on Environment, Natural Resources, and Sustainability (CENRS), which in turn is overseen by the White House Office of Science and Technology Policy (OSTP). The agencies within USGCRP are the Department of Agriculture, the Department of Commerce (NOAA), the Department of Defense, the Department of Energy, the Department of Health and Human Services, the Department of the Interior, the Department of State, the Department of Transportation, the Environmental Protection Agency, the National Aeronautics and Space Administration, the National Science Foundation, the Smithsonian Institution, and the U.S. Agency for International Development. Back
3. Author responses to comments submitted as part of the Public Comment Period and a USGCRP response to the review conducted by NAS can be found on science2017.globalchange.gov/downloads. Back