Page:Final Draft of the 2017 Climate Science Special Report.pdf/5

 CSSR 5OD: FINAL CLEARANCE

Front Matter

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About This Report

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As a key input into the Fourth National Climate Assessment (NCA4), the U.S. Global Change Research Program (USGCRP) oversaw the production of this special, stand-alone report of the state of science relating to climate change and its physical impacts.

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This report 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.

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The Climate Science Special Report (CSSR) serves several purposes for NCA4, 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 that will be used as the basis for the science summary of NCA4; and 3) foundational information and projections for climate change, including extremes, to improve “end-to-end” consistency in sectoral, regional, and resilience analyses for NCA4. As an assessment and analysis of the science, this report provides important input to the development of NCA4 and its primary focus on the human welfare, societal, economic and environmental elements of climate change.

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Much of this report is written at a level more appropriate for a scientific audience, though the Executive Summary is designed to be accessible to a broader audience.

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Report Development, Review, and Approval Process

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The National Oceanic and Atmospheric Administration (NOAA) served as the administrative lead agency for the preparation of this report. The Federal Science Steering Committee (SSC)1 comprises representatives from four agencies (NOAA, the National Aeronautics and Space Administration [NASA], the Department of Energy [DOE], and the Environmental Protection Agency [EPA]), the U.S. Global Change Research Program (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, 1

The Science Steering Committee is a federal advisory committee that oversees the production of the CSSR. 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. 2

Subject to Final Copyedit

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28 June 2017