Chapter 22: Climate Science Special Report: 4^th US National Climate Assessment, Volume I

Every year there are as many as 20,000 scientific papers and reports published about the science of climate and climate change, and the resulting impacts and policy implications. The vast majority of these publications are rigorously done and are peer reviewed before publication, Since about 1990, on a time scale of roughly every 4–6 years, top experts are being asked to assess the state of the science and the implications of the changes occurring in the climate. Internationally, this occurs through the Intergovernmental Panel on Climate Change (IPCC), and for the United States, through the US National Climate Assessments (NCAs). These assessments provide important input to policy considerations, at international, national, and local levels…