Earth’s atmosphere from the International Space Station.
NASA
By Science News Staff
Climate change is already being felt in communities across the United States, and will cause growing harm to the economy, infrastructure, and human and ecological health unless the U.S. and other nations take concerted action to reduce emissions of warming gases and adapt to a warmer world.
That is the sobering message sent by a major federal report released today which examines climate change impacts on different U.S. regions, economic sectors and ecosystems. The 29-chapter report, formally known as Volume II of the Fourth National Climate Assessment, is a follow-up to the assessment’s first volume, released a year ago, that summarized the state of climate science.
“Future climate change is expected to further disrupt many areas of life, exacerbating existing challenges to prosperity posed by aging and deteriorating infrastructure, stressed ecosystems, and economic inequality,” the report concludes. And unless warming emissions are curbed, “annual losses in some economic sectors are projected to reach hundreds of billions of dollars by the end of the century—more than the current gross domestic product of many U.S. states.”
The report, required by a 1990 law that requires federal agencies to issue a report at least every 4 years on the status and potential impacts of climate change, was assembled by some 300 experts working within and outside the federal government. The process of preparing the report, which was led by the National Oceanic and Atmospheric Administration, involved collecting public comment at public events in more than 40 cities.
The report arrives as the administration of President Donald Trump has repeatedly downplayed or rejected warnings from government experts that climate change poses a serious threat to national security, and moves to roll back a wide array of regulations aimed at curbing emissions of warming gases. It also comes just weeks before Democrats are poised to take control of the U.S. House of Representatives. The incoming House leaders have promised to make climate change a priority, and have already announced a series of hearings on the topic.
This is a developing story. Come back to ScienceInsider for more.
Source: Science Mag