Dismissed scientists map needs for next U.S. climate assessment

After the Trump administration cut funding for the next congressionally mandated National Climate Assessment and dismissed the authors, the United States was left without a clear federal process for updating its picture of climate risk.

Almost 200 scientists responded by launching a separate, unfunded effort to synthesize recent climate research and pinpoint priorities for future national, state, regional and sector-specific assessments.

Their resulting roadmap – published September 22 in Earth’s Future – identifies research focus areas for future U.S. climate assessments across four planetary-scale systems, five different environmental settings, four economic sectors, and five U.S. regions, as well as U.S. international interests and key response strategies.

In the paper, the authors call for research to support a network of climate assessments that are local or sectoral and more closely shaped by the people who use them.

“Research Priorities for Robust Climate Assessments in the U.S.” reviews scientific advances since the 2023 Fifth National Climate Assessment. It aims to inform “households, communities, businesses, institutions, and governments as they respond to intensifying climate hazards,” and “support climate-informed decision-making.”

Among the authors is Jonathan Thompson, director of Harvard Forest. His contributions focused on guiding future assessments of how forest ecosystems will recover from disturbances like wildfire and insects in a warmer climate.