The effects of climate change are already far-reaching and worsening throughout all regions of the United States, posing profound risks to virtually every aspect of society.
The most detailed look yet at the consequences of global warming for the United States is provided in the draft of the National Climate Assessment. The 13 federal agencies and hundreds of scientists who are working on the assessment have released a 1,695-page draft for public comment.
The things Americans value most are at risk according to the draft report. It is more difficult to maintain safe homes and healthy families, reliable public services, a sustainable economy, thriving ecosystems and strong communities because of climate change.
As greenhouse gas emissions rise and the planet heats up, the United States could face major disruptions to farms and fisheries that drive up food prices, as well as millions of Americans being displaced by disasters such as severe wildfires in California, sea-level rise in Florida or frequent flooding in Texas, according
John Podesta, a senior adviser to President Biden on clean energy, said that the report underscores that Americans in every region of the country face real and sobering climate impacts.
Many of the strategies that states and cities can take to adapt to the dangers of climate change are described in the assessment. The draft warns that adaptation efforts are too slow.
A law passed by Congress in 1990 requires the federal government to release the National Climate Assessment every four years, with contributions from a range of scientists across federal agencies. Warming could cause significant damage to the US economy according to the last assessment.
The release of the next report was delayed because the Trump administration tried to stop it.
The priorities have changed. The resource won't last forever. While promising to preserve the area, the country's officials are turning to the jungle for revenue. The approach to strike a balance between the needs of a nation and those of a world facing a climate crisis seems to be working.
Warming Siberia. Extreme wildfire seasons in Siberia are likely to continue as a result of rapid warming of theArctic. The researchers said that the region may be close to a threshold that could lead to more intense fires.
It's time to shift to cleaner energy. The energy crisis sparked by Russia's invasion of Ukraine is likely to speed up rather than slow down the global transition away from fossil fuels, according to a report by the International Energy Agency.
Climate pledges don't meet expectations. According to a new U.N. report, countries are not living up to their commitments to fight climate change. More ambitious plans have followed through for just 26 of the 192 nations that agreed last year.
World leaders are in Egypt this week for the annual United Nations climate change summit. The harm that global warming is doing to the world's poor is the focus of this year's talks. The upcoming U.S. assessment will show that even wealthy nations will face consequences if temperatures continue to rise.
According to the draft report, the United States has warmed more quickly than the rest of the world over the past 50 years. As humans heat up the planet, land areas are warming faster than oceans, and higher latitudes are warming faster than lower latitudes.
The draft states that Americans can now feel the effects of climate change. As sea levels have risen, the incidence of disruptive flooding at high tide has increased. Fourteen major fishery disasters in Alaska have been linked to climate change. The ski industry in Colorado has lost revenue due to the decline in snowfall.
Extreme weather events such as heat waves, heavy rain, and fires have become more frequent and severe.
After adjusting for inflation, an extreme weather disaster caused at least $1 billion in economic damage every four months in the 1980's. There is one every three weeks according to the draft. The Pacific Northwest heat wave that killed 229 people last year would have been impossible without global warming.
The magnitude of those risks will largely depend on how quickly humanity can get its fossil fuel emissions under control.
The draft states that cutting greenhouse gas emissions will reduce risks to current and future generations. The risk of catastrophic or unforeseen consequences increases when there is an additional increment of warming.
The United States has a goal to cut its greenhouse gas emissions in half by the year 2030. The report says that current efforts are not enough and that emissions need to decline by more than 6 percent a year to meet the target.
Even if drastic action on emissions is taken today, the United States will still face rising climate risks through at least 2030 because of lags in the climate system. Every state in the country will need to adapt to growing dangers.
There are some things that are positive. A number of states have written adaptation plans. Across the country, cities and communities are taking actions to protect themselves from the effects of global warming.
The draft says that many of the adaptation efforts are not well funded and are not likely to be needed to deal with the effects of climate change. Instead of simply installing more air-conditioning in response to heat waves, cities could redesign buildings and parks. States will need to raise individual homes above flood waters.
Many risks from climate change may be difficult to predict and defend against, according to the authors of the draft report. The dangers of pound events are getting worse as the planet warms. In 2020, for example, a combination of record-breaking heat and widespread drought created large, destructive wildfires in California, Oregon and Washington that exposed millions of people to hazardous smoke.
It is difficult to predict how American society will respond to global warming.
Increased crime and domestic violence, harm to mental health, reduced happiness and fewer opportunities for outdoor recreation are some of the threats to Americans' quality of life. Income inequality, segregation, and reliance on social safety net programs can be increased by these compounding stressors.
Coral Davenport reported.
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