President Biden’s administration releases a National Climate Assessment and billions of dollars to address the crisis.
The Biden-Harris Administration has released a new National Climate Assessment (NCA) full of dire warnings. On the same day, they also announced $6 billion in investments for climate resilience and environmental justice, to signal a continuing commitment to climate action.
Released near the end of a year almost certain to go down as the hottest in recorded human history, this fifth NCA paints an alarming picture of already severe disasters caused by ongoing climate change. They include “rapidly intensifying hurricanes in the Southeast, drought in the Midwest, ferocious fires and diminishing water supplies in the West [and] torrential rainstorms in the Northeast.” To see the Administration’s detailed fact sheet (with reference links) on the NCA click here.
“The latest National Climate Assessment shows how climate impacts are worsening across the country, especially in historically excluded communities disproportionately burdened by the climate crisis and toxic pollution,” said League of Conservation Voters (LCV) Vice President of Government Affairs Sara Chieffo. “Even after the hottest summer on record, rampant wildfires, flooding, and extreme weather this year, extremist MAGA Republicans have continued to attack critical climate and clean energy investments that benefit their constituents, including those passed in the Inflation Reduction Act. We commend the Biden-Harris administration for its continued leadership in fighting the climate crisis and welcome today’s announcement about investing $6 billion in climate resilience and environmental justice, and look forward to seeing those investments in action.”
Does it go far enough?
Natural Resources Defense Council (NRDC) senior policy analyst Rob Moore says we need more action. “Actions on climate resilience and adaptation are essential but lagging far behind what’s needed given the accelerating pace of climate impacts.” Read Moore’s detailed critique of the actions needed to meet the crisis here.
