BBC News Headlines: 23 November 2018, 2100 GMT
Unchecked climate change will cost the US hundreds of billions of dollars and damage human health and quality of life, a US government report warns.
“Future risks from climate change depend… on decisions made today,” the 4th National Climate Assessment says.
The report says climate change is “presenting growing challenges to human health and safety, quality of life, and the rate of economic growth”.
The warning is at odds with the Trump administration’s fossil fuels agenda.
Sounding an alarm
By James Cook, Los Angeles correspondent, BBC News
During a blast of icy weather in Washington this week, Donald Trump tweeted, “whatever happened to global warming?”
Now, without mentioning the president, his own scientists have answered their boss’s question in comprehensive detail.
Global warming is here in the United States, they say – now. It is already deadly serious and without urgent, dramatic change, it will be catastrophic.
This report is striking for two reasons. First, it is not abstract. It gives many specific examples – overwhelmed dams in South Carolina; failing crops in the parched Great Plains; a rise in insect-borne disease in Florida.
Interview with Professor Michael E. Mann, BBC Newshour, 23 November 2018 – 2100 GMT
See full report and accompanying details:
- 4th National Climate Assessment (#NCA4)
- Summaries and FAQ (pdf)
- The ClimateNexus briefing
- Downloadable Chapters & Documents
For the assessment of the physical science component see