NCA 4: Looking Abroad: How Other Nations Approach a National Climate Assessment – Appendix 4

The U.S. National Climate Assessment (NCA) is far from the only national assessment of climate impacts, risks, and adaptation in the world. There are a number of assessment products from other countries, each with its own distinct development process, structure, and intended purpose. This appendix is intended to place the Fourth National Climate Assessment (NCA4) within a broader international landscape of assessment activities and to compare it with other approaches.

The approach taken in this appendix has been to select a small set of assessment models from geographically varied nations with diverse capacities to conduct such assessments. Information on the assessment mandates and requirements, process, content structure, and international dimensions are included for each assessment. Because this appendix is intended to be illustrative rather than comprehensive, it does not summarize every report produced internationally—including, for example, the most recent climate assessment produced by the European Union.

This appendix, one of several new additions to the NCA, was made in response to gaps identified in previous NCAs, as well as public input during the NCA4 scoping process—namely, to integrate the international context across NCA4 and, specifically, to include how NCA4 relates to complementary international assessment efforts. Therefore, in addition to this appendix, NCA4 includes a new national-level topic chapter focusing on U.S. international interests (see Ch. 16: International). The Hawaiʻi & U.S.-Affiliated Pacific Islands and (new) U.S. Caribbean regional chapters are intended to provide an entry point for Small Island Developing States (SIDS) to consider similarities in the risks they face and inform adaptation efforts within their own borders. Moreover, numerous case studies embedded throughout the report examine transboundary and international trade and economic issues.

The “Looking Abroad: How Other Nations Approach a National Climate Assessment – Appendix 4” publication is available as a downloadable PDF at nca2018.globalchange.gov.