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Aspirations and common tensions: larger lessons from the third US national climate assessment

Author

Listed:
  • Susanne C. Moser

    (Stanford University
    Stanford University)

  • Jerry M. Melillo

    (Marine Biological Laboratory)

  • Katharine L. Jacobs

    (University of Arizona
    University of Arizona)

  • Richard H. Moss

    (Joint Global Change Research Institute)

  • James L. Buizer

    (University of Arizona
    University of Arizona)

Abstract

The Third US National Climate Assessment (NCA3) was produced by experts in response to the US Global Change Research Act of 1990. Based on lessons learned from previous domestic and international assessments, the NCA3 was designed to speak to a broad public and inform the concerns of policy- and decision-makers at different scales. The NCA3 was also intended to be the first step in an ongoing assessment process that would build the nation’s capacity to respond to climate change. This concluding paper draws larger lessons from the insights gained throughout the assessment process that are of significance to future US and international assessment designers. We bring attention to process and products delivered, communication and engagement efforts, and how they contributed to the sustained assessment. Based on areas where expectations were exceeded or not fully met, we address four common tensions that all assessment designers must confront and manage: between (1) core assessment ingredients (knowledge base, institutional set-up, principled process, and the people involved), (2) national scope and subnational adaptive management information needs, (3) scope, complexity, and manageability, and (4) deliberate evaluation and ongoing learning approaches. Managing these tensions, amidst the social and political contexts in which assessments are conducted, is critical to ensure that assessments are feasible and productive, while its outcomes are perceived as credible, salient, and legitimate.

Suggested Citation

  • Susanne C. Moser & Jerry M. Melillo & Katharine L. Jacobs & Richard H. Moss & James L. Buizer, 2016. "Aspirations and common tensions: larger lessons from the third US national climate assessment," Climatic Change, Springer, vol. 135(1), pages 187-201, March.
  • Handle: RePEc:spr:climat:v:135:y:2016:i:1:d:10.1007_s10584-015-1530-z
    DOI: 10.1007/s10584-015-1530-z
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    References listed on IDEAS

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    1. Susanne Moser & Juliette Hart, 2015. "The long arm of climate change: societal teleconnections and the future of climate change impacts studies," Climatic Change, Springer, vol. 129(1), pages 13-26, March.
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