Protect the Integrity of the National Climate Assessment Report

On April 28th, the Trump administration dismissed all contributing authors to the National Climate Assessment (NCA) report citing a need to revisit scope, in a transparent effort to further weaken climate change preparedness. The NCA report is a congressionally-mandated study on climate change impacts intended to support federal and local government preparedness. It has been published five times since 2000, with the next publication date slated for 2028. However, now that the nearly 400 authors have been abruptly dismissed, the status of this report is highly uncertain.

While publication of the NCA report is still required by law, the Trump administration is free to replace the previous expert authors with anyone they wish, and may choose to define an inaccurate narrative that either denies climate change or explains the “benefit” of rising temperatures and sea levels related to climate change. Whether they publish an inaccurate report or simply refuse to publish one at all, the impact will be a further evisceration of the government’s ability to proactively address the impact of climate change on Americans. Congress can and should insist that the NCA report is delivered on time and with appropriate scientific rigor.