Energy & Sustainability Washington Update — December 2023

National Climate Assessment + New Funding for Climate Resilience

The US Global Change Research Program released the Fifth National Climate Assessment, which provides authoritative information on the risks, impacts, and responses to climate change in the United States. Mandated by the Global Change Research Act of 1990, the report finds that "The effects of human-caused climate change are already far-reaching and worsening across every region of the United States. Rapidly reducing greenhouse gas emissions can limit future warming and associated increases in many risks. Across the country, efforts to adapt to climate change and reduce emissions have expanded since 2018, and US emissions have fallen since peaking in 2007. However, without deeper cuts in global net greenhouse gas emissions and accelerated adaptation efforts, severe climate risks to the United States will continue to grow."