Key findings of this federal report:
1. Communities: Climate change creates new risks and exacerbates existing vulnerabilities in communities across the United States, presenting growing challenges to human health and safety, quality of life, and the rate of economic growth.
1. Communities: Climate change creates new risks and exacerbates existing vulnerabilities in communities across the United States, presenting growing challenges to human health and safety, quality of life, and the rate of economic growth.
2. Economy: Without substantial and sustained global mitigation and regional adaptation efforts, climate change is expected to cause growing losses to American infrastructure and property and impede the rate of economic growth over this century.
3. Climate change affects the natural, built, & social systems we rely on individually & through their connections to one another. These interconnected systems are increasingly vulnerable to cascading impacts that are often difficult to predict, threatening essential services
4. Many efforts underway to reduce risks from climate change by taking action to lower GHG emissions & implement adaptation strategies. Mitigation & adaptation efforts do not yet approach scale necessary to avoid substantial damages to the economy, environment, and human health.
5. Water: The quality and quantity of water available for use by people and ecosystems across the country are being affected by climate change, increasing risks and costs to agriculture, energy production, industry, recreation, and the environment.
6. Health: Impacts from climate change on extreme weather and climate-related events, air quality, and transmission of disease through insects and pests, food, and water increasingly threaten health and well-being of the American people, particularly vulnerable populations.
7. Indigenous peoples: Climate change increasingly threatens Indigenous communities’ livelihoods, economies, health, and cultural identities by disrupting interconnected social, physical, and ecological systems.
8. Ecosystems are being altered by climate change. Impacts projected to continue. Without substantial and sustained reductions in global GHG emissions, transformative impacts on some ecosystems will occur; some coral reef and sea ice ecosystems already being transformed.
9. Rising temperatures, extreme heat, drought, wildfire on rangelands, heavy downpours disrupting US agricultural productivity. Challenges to livestock health, declines in crop yields & quality, & extreme events threaten rural livelihoods, food security, price stability.
10. Infrastructure stressed by more heavy precipitation, coastal flooding, heat, wildfires, other extremes. Without adaptation, climate change will continue to degrade infrastructure performance; cascading impacts may threaten economy, national security,essential services,health.
11. Coastal communities increasingly threatened. Without significant GHG reductions & adaptation, many coastal regions will be transformed. Even if lower GHGs, many communities to suffer financial impacts as chronic high-tide flooding raise costs and lower property values.
12. Outdoor recreation, tourist economies, and quality of life are reliant on benefits provided by our natural environment that will be degraded by the impacts of climate change in many ways.
