CLIMATE CHANGE AND THE COAST- Dr. Al Solomon

The science associated with climate and its effects on ecosystems, economies, and social systems is developing rapidly. Climate change assessments can serve as an important synthesis of this science and provide the information and context for management and policy decisions on adaptation and mitigation.

The purpose of a climate change assessment is to synthesize, evaluate, and report on what is presently known about the potential consequences of climate variability and change on a particular region, sector, or topic in order to provide information to managers, decision makers, and policy makers. Assessments can be conducted by international organizations, federal, state, or city institutions, and nongovernmental organizations for the purpose of producing periodic assessments (e.g., Solomon et al. 2007a, Joyce and Birdsey 2000) or a one-time assessment (e.g., Aspen Global Change Institute 2006). Assessments can be motivated by legal requirements.

In some cases, assessments focus on synthesizing the current scientific information and literature. In others, they use simulation models to explore a variety of future climate change scenarios and their impacts. Typically the assessment will involve a dialogue between the scientific experts and stakeholders (Joyce 2003, Arctic Climate Change Assessment 2005). Stakeholders may include public and private decision makers, resource and environmental managers, and the general public. More recent assessments attempt to describe the uncertainty associated with a reports’ conclusions (Solomon et al. 2007a).

A critical component of an effective assessment is the independent review process monitored by a balanced panel of review editors (Committee on Analysis of Global Change Assessments 2007). Depending on the nature and depth of the review, the review process can be highly publicized with governmental oversight, or the process can be more similar to a refereed journal review, involving only scientific peers. In both cases, the assessment authors must respond to the reviewers' comments in a revision.