Major Climate Science Reports

Comprehensive Reports

Most often cited, these three reports provide a broad range of research based on peer reviewed studies.

IPCC Fourth Assessment Report: Climate Change 2007 (AR4) – Full Synthesis Report Prepared by the Nobel Prizing Winning Intergovernmental Panel on Climate Change (IPCC), these periodic reports intend to publish “the state of knowledge on climate change….The preparation of all IPCC reports and publications follows strict procedures agreed by the Panel.

Hundreds of experts from all over the world contribute to the preparation of IPCC reports as authors, contributors and reviewers.” The IPCC Fourth Assessment Report also includes the following:

IPCC AR4 Working Group I Report: "The Physical Science Basis"

IPCC AR4 Working Group II Report: "Impacts, Adaptation and Vulnerability"

IPCC AR4 Working Group III Report: "Mitigation of Climate Change”

Global Climate Change Impacts in the United States (2009).-. Full Report . Presenting the latest scientific consensus report on U.S. climate change impacts, this report by the U.S. Global Change Research Program presents inter-agency findings by a long list of experts enlisted by the U.S. Government. (Cited here as “USGCRP 2009”)

Copenhagen Diagnosis Updating . . . the Latest Global Climate Science (2009) – Full Report . Written for policy-makers, stakeholders, the media and the broader public, this report aims to synthesize the most policy-relevant climate science. It relies on the 100s of papers published since the editorial cut-off for the Nobel-Prizing-Winning “Intergovernmental Panel on Climate Change (IPCC) Fourth Assessment Report (AR4) (2007).” (Cited here as “Copenhagen Diagnosis 2009”)

National Research Council (NRC) Reports

NRC Self-Description: “The National Research Council (NRC) functions under the auspices of the National Academy of Sciences (NAS), the National Academy of Engineering (NAE), and the Institute of Medicine (IOM)….
“The mission of the NRC is to improve government decision making and public policy, increase public education and understanding, and promote the acquisition and dissemination of knowledge in matters involving science, engineering, technology, and health….
“The NRC is committed to providing elected leaders, policy makers, and the public with expert advice based on sound scientific evidence.”

Climate Change Science: An Analysis of Some Key Questions .” This study originated from a [2001] White House request to help inform the Administration’s ongoing review of U.S. climate change policy.” See the “Foreword” for specific questions addressed.

America's Climate Choices: Advancing the Science of Climate Change – Summary Report . “A strong, credible body of scientific evidence shows that climate change is occurring, is caused largely by human activities, and poses significant risks for a broad range of human and natural systems, concludes this panel report from the America's Climate Choices suite of studies. ….
“The report recommends that a single federal entity or program be given the authority and resources to coordinate a national research effort integrated across many disciplines and aimed at improving both understanding and responses to climate change. The U.S. Global Change Research Program, established in 1990, could fulfill this role, but it would need to form partnerships with action-oriented programs and address weaknesses in its current program. A comprehensive climate observing system, improved climate models and other analytical tools, investment in human capital, and better linkages between research and decision making are also essential to a complete understanding of climate change.”
Full 506 page report is available for purchase at http://www.nap.edu/catalog.php?record_id=12782

America's Climate Choices: Limiting the Magnitude of Future Climate Change – Summary Report. “Meeting internationally discussed targets for limiting atmospheric greenhouse gas concentrations and associated increases in global average temperatures will require a major departure from business as usual in how the world uses and produces energy, finds this new report from the national Research Council.

“The report concludes that a carbon pricing system (either cap-and-trade, taxes, or a combination of the two) is the most important step for providing needed incentives to reduce emissions. There is also a need, however, for complementary policies aimed at ensuring rapid progress to: increase energy efficiency; accelerate the development of renewable energy sources; advance full-scale demonstration of nuclear power and carbon capture and storage systems; and retrofit or replace existing emissions-intensive energy infrastructure.”

Full 258 page report is available for purchase at:
http://www.nap.edu/catalog.php?record_id=12785

America's Climate Choices: Adapting to the Impacts of Climate Change – Summary Report. “This report from the America's Climate Choices suite of studies concludes that adaptation to climate change calls for a new paradigm--one that considers a range of possible future climate conditions and associated impacts, some well outside the realm of past experience. Adaptation is a process that requires actions from many decision-makers in federal, state, tribal, and local governments, the private sector, non-governmental organizations, and community groups….

‘The report calls for a national adaptation strategy to support and coordinate decentralized efforts. As part of this strategy, the federal government should provide technical and scientific resources that are currently lacking at the local or regional scale, incentives for local and state authorities to begin adaptation planning, guidance across jurisdictions, shared lessons learned, and support of scientific research to expand knowledge of impacts and adaptation.”

Full 325 page report is available for purchase at:
http://www.nap.edu/catalog.php?record_id=12783

National Academies’ “Understanding and Responding to Climate Change (2008) ” . Highlights National Academies reports. Richly illustrated and intended to inform lay readers on the conclusions of consensus science about climate change. “This booklet presents recommendations from the National Academies' many expert reports on climate change in an easy-to-read format. Now in its third edition, the booklet includes an expanded section on impacts and updated figures and graphics.”

Other Reports

Congressional Research Service, “Climate Change: Current Issues and Policy Tools” (6 March 2009) . A comprehensive review in the context of “cap and trade” debates.

EPA’s “Climate Change Indicators in the United States” (April 2010) . “The U.S. Environmental Protection Agency (EPA) has published this report, Climate Change Indicators in the United States, to help readers interpret a set of important indicators to better understand climate change. The report presents 24 indicators, each describing trends in some way related to the causes and effects of climate change. The indicators focus primarily on the United States, but in some cases global trends are presented in order to provide context or a basis for comparison.”

National Science Foundation’s “Solving the Puzzle: Researching the Impacts of Climate Change Around The World” (2009) . Presents research highlights regarding sky, sea, ice, land, life, and people.

Scientific Assessment of the Effects of Global Change on the United States (May 2008). By the Committee on the Environment and Natural Resources National Science and Technology Council.