[Federal Register Volume 87, Number 5 (Friday, January 7, 2022)]
[Notices]
[Pages 940-941]
From the Federal Register Online via the Government Publishing Office [www.gpo.gov]
[FR Doc No: 2022-00097]


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DEPARTMENT OF COMMERCE

National Oceanic and Atmospheric Administration


Public Comment on the Annotated Outline of the Fifth National 
Climate Assessment

AGENCY: Office of Oceanic and Atmospheric Research (OAR), National 
Oceanic and Atmospheric Administration (NOAA), Department of Commerce, 
(DOC).

ACTION: Notice of request for public comment and public engagement on 
the Annotated Outlines for the Fifth National Climate Assessment.

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SUMMARY: This notice sets forth the U.S. Global Change Research Program 
seeks public comment on the proposed themes and framework of the Fifth 
National Climate Assessment as indicated by the chapter annotated 
outlines linked here. Based on input received from this notice, chapter 
author teams will develop their draft chapters.

DATES: Comments must be submitted to the web address specified below 
and received by 45 days after the publication date of this FRN.

ADDRESSES: Comments from the public will be accepted electronically via 
http://www.globalchange.gov/notices. Instructions for submitting 
comments are available on the website. Submitters may enter text or 
upload files in response to this notice.

FOR FURTHER INFORMATION CONTACT: Chris Avery, (202) 419-3474, 
[email protected], U.S. Global Change Research Program.

SUPPLEMENTARY INFORMATION: The U.S. Global Change Research Program 
(USGCRP) is mandated under the Global Change Research Act (GCRA) of 
1990 to conduct a quadrennial National Climate Assessment. The most 
recent was completed in 2018 and delivered in two volumes: The Climate 
Science Special Report (science2017.globalchange.gov) and Impacts, 
Risks, and Adaptation in the United States (nca2018.globalchange.gov).
    In addition to these two volumes, other recent assessments by the 
U.S. Government will inform the Fifth National Climate Assessment 
(NCA5), including the Second State of the Carbon Cycle Report 
(carbon2018.globalchange.gov); the Impacts of Climate Change on Human 
Health in the United States (health2016.globalchange.gov); and Climate 
Change, Global Food Security, and the U.S. Food System (https://www.usda.gov/oce/energy-and-environment/food-security) As with all 
previous USGCRP assessments, NCA5 development will be transparent and 
inclusive, offering opportunities for public participation throughout 
the process. The production and review processes are designed to result 
in a report that is authoritative, timely, relevant, and policy 
neutral; valued by authors and users; accessible to the widest possible 
audience; and fully compliant with the GCRA.
    Background information, additional details, and instructions for 
submitting comments can be found at http://www.globalchange.gov/notices. Responses to this Request for Comment can be entered via that 
website.
    The U.S. Global Change Research Program seeks public comment on the 
Annotated Outlines of each chapter of the Fifth National Climate 
Assessment (NCA5), in particular on the scope and framing of chapter's 
proposed topic areas. Input received on proposed themes within each 
chapter's Annotated Outline will be used by chapter author teams to 
develop their draft chapters.
    Authors of each chapter of NCA5 will develop chapter content 
structured around the topic areas proposed in the Annotated Outlines, 
highlighting the risk climate change poses to the things Americans 
value. All chapters are charged with focusing on scientific 
advancements since the last assessment was released in 2018. Because 
Chapter 1 is an overview summary of the final report, there is no 
Annotated Outline for Chapter 1 at this time.
    Response to this Request for Comment is voluntary. Respondents need 
not reply to all questions or topics. Responses may be used by the U.S. 
Government for program planning on a non-attribution basis. NOAA 
therefore requests that no business proprietary information or 
copyrighted information be submitted in response to this Request for 
Comment. Please note that the U.S. Government will not pay for response 
preparation, or for the use of any information contained in the 
response.
    The full list of NCA5 chapters is below and can also be found 
https://www.globalchange.gov/nca5. Chapter titles reflect the target 
topics or regions for the chapters. Final titles for the chapter may 
evolve as authors assess published literature.

Introduction and Summary

1. Overview (not included in this review)

Physical Sciences

2. Earth Systems Processes
3. Climate Trends

National Topics

4. Water
5. Energy
6. Land Cover & Land-Use Change
7. Forests
8. Ecosystems
9. Coastal Effects
10. Oceans
11. Agriculture, Food Systems, and Rural Communities

[[Page 941]]

12. Built Environment
13. Transportation
14. Air Quality
15. Human Health
16. Tribes & Indigenous Peoples
17. U.S. International Interests
18. Complex Systems
19. Economics
20. Human Social Systems

Regions

21. Northeast
22. Southeast
23. U.S. Caribbean
24. Midwest
25. Northern Great Plains
26. Southern Great Plains
27. Northwest
28. Southwest
29. Alaska
30. Hawai[revaps]i & U.S.-Affiliated Pacific Islands

Response

31. Adaptation
32. Mitigation

    As noted in a previous Notice from October 2020 (https://www.federalregister.gov/documents/2020/10/15/2020-22729/request-for-public-nominations-for-authors-and-scientifictechnical-inputs-and-notice-of-planned), public engagement efforts by the author teams will 
be undertaken while this Notice is available for comment.
    Chapters will hold virtual public engagement workshops to allow 
interested members of the public to provide feedback on a chapter's 
Annotated Outlines to the author teams. The schedule for these 
workshops and registration opportunities has been posted on https://www.globalchange.gov/nca5 and announced in the USGCRP newsletter.

Eric Locklear,
Acting Chief Financial Officer/Administrative Officer, Office of 
Oceanic and Atmospheric Research, National Oceanic and Atmospheric 
Administration.
[FR Doc. 2022-00097 Filed 1-6-22; 8:45 am]
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