Let’s start with the big news: As of last week, first drafts of all 28 chapters and five appendices of the Fourth National Climate Assessment (NCA4) were submitted and are now in the hands of the editorial team at the Technical Support Unit (TSU). A huge thank you goes out to our volunteer author teams for their dedication and hard work over the past few months!

• Scientific reviews. Once the TSU has conducted a technical edit of the First Order Draft for consistency and clarity (and the authors have approved those revisions), it will be sent to USGCRP member agency principals for the second of at least six review periods. A public comment period and concurrent review by a committee of experts at the National Academy of Sciences is anticipated for Fall 2017. In addition, we will be soliciting nominations for Review Editors to ensure that all submitted comments are appropriately addressed. More information can be found below, under Upcoming Opportunities to Engage.

• Climate Science Special Report (CSSR). The draft CSSR, the physical science component of the Congressionally-mandated NCA4, has completed its final technical review. It is now awaiting final clearance and is anticipated for release this fall.  

• Second State of the Carbon Cycle Report (SOCCR-2). SOCCR-2 has been transmitted to USGCRP member agency principals for a four week review period. Once authors sufficiently respond to those comments, it is scheduled to be released for a public comment period and concurrent review by a committee of experts at the National Academy of Sciences.

• Canadian climate assessment. Representatives from Natural Resources Canada and Environment Canada recently spent two days at USGCRP to meet with a diverse cross-section of staff involved in Federal climate assessment processes. Discussions focused on processes and tools for conducting climate assessments, as well as information exchange on efficient and effective means for developing and disseminating information from national climate assessments.

• Recent engagement activities. Chapter author teams and USGCRP staff are committed to ensuring that NCA4 reflects the needs and concerns of our communities. To this end, we have attended or hosted a number of public engagement activities, including Regional Engagement Workshops and chapter-specific webinars. Since our April update, the following activities have taken place:

  • Author teams dedicated their time to hosting engagement webinars and listening events focused on the following NCA4 chapters: Adaptation; Air Quality; Forests; and Land Cover and Land Use Change 

  • “The Fourth National Climate Assessment and Beyond: Federal Climate Data & Tools to Help Inform Decision Making.” Keynote Address. Association of State Floodplain Managers 2017 Annual Conference (Kansas City, MO).

  • “Using Assessment Products and Tools to Inform Local Adaptation and Resilience.” [link goes to external site] National Adaptation Forum (Saint Paul, MN).

  • “Update on the 4th National Climate Assessment.” 85th Annual Meeting, U.S. Conference of Mayors (Miami Beach, FL). 

• Upcoming opportunities to engage. We’re always adding new opportunities to engage with the National Climate Assessment and our sustained assessment products. 

  • Ecological Society of America 2017 Annual Meeting. August 6–11(Portland, OR).

    • 4th National Climate Assessment and beyond: Informing decisions across sectors and scales
      Date and time TBD

  • 254th American Chemical Society National Meeting. August 20–24 (Washington, DC).

    • Update on the Fourth National Climate Assessment 
      Tues., August 22, 8:35 AM ET

  • American Geophysical Union 2017 Fall Meeting. Join us at AGU’s 2017 Fall Meeting in New Orleans, LA. Abstracts are being accepted until August 2.

    • Sustained Scientific Assessment: Tools and Approaches to Help Inform Decision Making

    • Climate Science Special Report: An Assessment of the Science Focusing on the United States [Union Session. Abstracts by Invitation Only]

    • The 2nd State of the Carbon Cycle Report (SOCCR-2): A Special Assessment of the Last Decade of Carbon Cycle Science in North America and Adjoining Oceans

If you’re planning to attend the meeting, be sure to stop by our booth to say hello and learn more about USGCRP and our sustained assessment products

• Open call for Review Editors. Keep your eyes peeled for the opportunity to nominate yourself or expert colleagues to serve as Review Editors for NCA4. A Federal Register Notice is currently in production; once published, information on the nominations process will be available here: globalchange.gov/notices

As always, keep an eye on Twitter and Facebook or subscribe to our newsletter for updates on the process and to get involved.