ICYMI: Biden-Harris Administration Unveils Fifth National Climate Assessment, Announces $6 Billion Through Investing in America Agenda to Strengthen Climate Resilience

This week, President Biden unveiled the Fifth National Climate Assessment – the most comprehensive federal effort to assess the state of climate science and communicate the impacts of climate change in the U.S. As part of his Investing in America agenda, the President also announced more than $6 billion to strengthen America's aging electrical grid, reduce climate-induced flood risk, support conservation efforts, and advance environmental justice. While Republicans in Congress continue to deny the very existence of climate change, the Biden-Harris Administration will continue to deliver on the most ambitious climate agenda in history, which is lowering energy costs for hardworking families, bolstering America's energy security, and creating thousands of good-paying jobs.

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The New York Times: The Toll of Climate Disasters Is Rising. But a U.S. Report Has Good News, Too.
[Raymond Zhong, 11/14/2023]

The report issued Tuesday, the National Climate Assessment, is the government's premier compilation of scientific knowledge on what this means for the country and how Americans are responding. Cost-effective tools and technologies to significantly reduce America's contribution to global warming already exist, the report finds. U.S. emissions of heat-trapping gases fell by 12 percent between 2005 and 2019 as the country has shifted from coal toward natural gas and renewable sources. And options are increasing for electrifying energy use, reducing energy demand and protecting natural carbon sinks like forests and wetlands, the report says. With the report's release, Mr. Biden also on Tuesday announced $6 billion in investments to modernize America's electric grids and support projects that address the unequal effects of environmental hazards on minority and tribal communities. "We've got climate solutions that can be made in America and are being made in America, that we're deploying brick by brick and block by block," said Ali Zaidi, the White House national climate adviser. "That gives us hope."

ABC News: Biden 'just getting started' on climate action in response to major new report
[Stephanie Ebbs, 11/14/2023]

President Joe Biden said he will continue to pursue remedies to the threats caused by climate change following the release of the Fifth National Climate Assessment on Tuesday -- but he acknowledged that it's still not enough and that some Republicans are getting in the way of more progress. "This assessment shows us in clear scientific terms, that climate change is impacting all regions, all sectors of the United States, not just some, all," Biden said in his remarks Tuesday at the White House. Biden said climate change was a recurring theme in the Bipartisan Infrastructure Law, Inflation Reduction Act and the CHIPS Act. The White House also announced more than $6 billion in what it said was an effort to "strengthen climate resilience" on Tuesday, a large amount of which comes from the Bipartisan Infrastructure Law and the Inflation Reduction Act, according to a White House fact sheet. The funding includes $3.9 billion to "strengthen and modernize" the electric grid, $2 billion in EPA grants for community clean energy and environmental justice projects, $300 million from FEMA for communities impacted by catastrophic flooding, and $100 million in grants to support drought resilience in Western states.

MSNBC: Biden dings Trump with release of new climate report
[Alex Wagner, 11/15/23]

Alex Wagner points out how the [previous] administration tried to bury an important government report on climate by releasing it during the Thanksgiving holiday, and contrasts that with the attention this year's edition of the report received from Joe Biden.

Associated Press: Worsening warming is hurting people in all regions, US climate assessment shows
[Seth Borenstein & Tommy Weber, 11/14/2023]

Biden administration officials emphasize that all is not lost and the report details actions to reduce emissions and adapt to what's coming. By cleaning up industry, how electricity is made and how transport is powered, climate change can be dramatically reduced.

Vox: Biden gives center stage to the climate report Trump tried to bury
[Umair Irfan and Rebecca Leber, 11/14/23]

In a conference call with reporters, White House officials highlighted the new findings and used the report's release to boast about their efforts to curb heat-trapping gasses, deploy clean energy, and adapt to warming through programs like the Inflation Reduction Act and the Bipartisan Infrastructure Law. The presentation and release of the latest assessment stand in stark contrast to the last iteration of the report in 2018, when the Trump administration quietly posted it over a holiday weekend.

CNN: No place in the US is safe from the climate crisis, but a new report shows where it's most severe
[Ella Nilsen, 11/14/2023]

President Joe Biden will deliver remarks on Tuesday and is expected to unveil more than $6 billion in funding to strengthen climate resilience "by bolstering America's electric grid, investing in water infrastructure upgrades, reducing flood risk to communities, and advancing environmental justice for all," an administration official said. The US needs "a transformation of the global economy on a size and scale that's never occurred in human history" to "create a livable future for ourselves and our children," White House senior climate adviser John Podesta told reporters.

The Hill: Biden rolls out billions for climate resilience in the wake of dire climate report
[Rachel Frazin, 11/14/2023]

The Biden administration is rolling out billions of dollars aimed at making the country more resilient to the impacts of climate change and stressed on Tuesday that solutions are possible. His comments and the funding come alongside the release of the Fifth National Climate Assessment — a federal climate report which found that the U.S. has not been decarbonizing fast enough to meet its climate goals or international ambitions.

"It lays out the threats and the dangers, but most experts would acknowledge that it also shows solutions are within reach," Biden said of the report in a speech at the White House on Tuesday morning. On Tuesday, the Biden administration also announced a total of about $6 billion from the Inflation Reduction Act and Bipartisan Infrastructure law that it says will help the nation stand up to some of the extreme weather impacts of climate change.

Spectrum: 'None of this is inevitable': Biden announces new actions in wake of harrowing climate report
[Maddie Gannon, 11/14/23]

"I've walked the streets of Louisiana, New Jersey, New York, Florida, Puerto Rico where historic hurricanes and floods wiped out homes, hospitals, houses of worship – just wiped them right off the map," Biden said Tuesday during remarks at the White House. "I've met with families in Texas, Kentucky, Mississippi, where catastrophic winter storms and tornadoes devoured everything in their paths: schools, businesses, police stations, firehouses. I've seen firefighters in Idaho, Maui, New Mexico, California, Colorado. "Solutions are within reach," the president later said. "It takes time for the investments we're making to be fully materialized, but we just have to keep at it. We need to do more and move faster. We have the tools to do it."

Spectrum: No place in the US is safe from climate change, new data shows
[Clayton Sandell, 11/15/23]

"The devastating toll of climate change is an existential threat to all of us. It is the ultimate threat to humanity," said President Joe Biden. The fifth National Climate Assessment report, released Tuesday, says a hotter planet is "harming physical, mental, spiritual and community health and well-being through the increasing frequency and intensity of extreme events, increasing cases of infectious and vector-borne diseases and declines in food and water quality and security."

Boston Globe: National Climate Assessment points to a wetter and hotter Northeast
[Sabrina Shankman and Jason Margolis, 11/14/23]

One doesn't need to be a scientist to know that New England's climate is in flux — you just have to spend enough time outside. Between storms dropping several inches of rain in the course of hours, increasingly hot and humid summers, and weekend after weekend of summer rain, it's become clear, the region is already experiencing the early effects of climate change. A new federal report, the fifth National Climate Assessment, lays it all out and explores just how much worse climate change could get, while looking at all the work being done to stave off the worst of it.

Los Angeles Times: 'Every bit matters': Six key takeaways from the latest U.S. climate report
[Hayley Smith, Ian James, 11/14/23]

The findings emphasize that just as each additional increment of warming can create more damage, each increment of warming prevented reduces the harmful effects and the risks. "The National Climate Assessment provides us both the topography of the risk as it cascades through our economy — touching every sector, every segment of the economy — as well as the atlas of opportunity," White House National Climate Advisor Ali Zaidi told reporters.

Atlanta Journal Constitution: Report: Georgia, Southeast among most at-risk from climate change
[Drew Kann, 11/14/23]

In 2021, under President Joe Biden's administration, the U.S. re-entered the Paris Climate Agreement, the international pact that seeks to limit global warming. With the votes of Democrats in Congress, Biden also passed his signature climate and health care law — the Inflation Reduction Act — which offers billions in tax credits and incentives to help the U.S. transition to clean energy, plus funding to help communities adapt… "The takeaway from this assessment — the takeaway from all of our collective work on climate — should not be doom and despair," said Ali Zaidi, the White House's National Climate Advisor. "The takeaway should be a sense of hope and possibilities."

Arizona Republic: 'We can't be complacent:' Climate report offers mix of familiar warnings, new solutions
[Joan Meiners, 11/14/23]

President Joe Biden introduced on Tuesday the Fifth National Climate Assessment report, a comprehensive update to the fourth version published in 2018 and the result of four years of work by more than 750 experts, with input from thousands of American contributors. It draws from published research, observed impacts and projected vulnerabilities to assemble a guide to risks, opportunities and actions related to climate change in the United States. In his announcement, Biden used one phrase repeatedly:"We can't be complacent."

WIRED: Here's How Bad Climate Change Will Get in the US – and Why There's Still Hope
[Matt Simon, 11/14/23]

To that end, last year's Inflation Reduction Act allocated hundreds of billions of dollars to accelerate decarbonization; for instance, tax breaks for home improvements like better insulation and switching to electric appliances and heat pumps. It was also meant to juice the domestic green economy: According to one study, it has already created almost 75,000 jobs and spurred $86 billion in private investments. The Biden administration also announced today that it's providing more than $6 billion in investments for climate action, $3.9 billion of that going toward modernizing the grid. "Clean electrons are really the way we're going to decarbonize most of the economy," says Zaidi. "That's going to require us to upgrade our local grid infrastructure, for example, for charging of heavy-duty vehicles."

Mashable: 5 things from the new U.S. climate report you should care about
[Chase DiBenedetto, 11/14/23]

In stark contrast to the Trump administration's quiet rollout of the fourth National Climate Assessment in 2018, the Biden administration is inviting the world to see just how far the country's come, and the very long road it has ahead. The report is a deep, information-rich survey of the status of climate science, the warming world's human impact, and the systems and tools at use to address the country's role in facilitating and addressing climate change. It's also an outline for the types of mass investments needed to build a sustainable future.

WBUR (Boston Radio):8 takeaways for Mass. from the National Climate Assessment
[Barbara Moran, 11/14/23]

Climate change is hitting the Northeast hard, bringing heat waves and floods that threaten health, homes and the livelihoods of farmers and fishermen. But there's also good news, like laws to reduce greenhouse gasses and innovative ways to protect ourselves.

KNTV (NBC Bay Area): National Climate Assessment shows rising threat
[Kari Hall, 11/14/23]

The National Climate Assessment shows progress on climate change, but it's not nearly enough, according to a report released Tuesday. Hundreds of scientists and policy experts come together to compile the report every four years. One major headline this year is that the U.S. is not adapting to climate change fast enough.

WBZ Radio Boston: National Climate Assessment: Sea Levels Pose Threat To Massachusetts Coast
[Staff, 11/14/23]

"A water utility manager in Chicago can understand the extreme rainfall that's coming so that they can design sewers that don't overflow. Or an urban planner in Texas can tell where to locate cooling centers to give people refuge from the extreme heat. Or a hospital manager in the southeast can get ahead of the diseases that ticks and mosquitoes are bringing into their region," Arati Prabhakar, director of the White House Office of Science and Technology Policy, said. "This is how people across America can prepare for and respond to the climate crisis."

WBEZ (NPR Chicago): The Biden Administration's National Climate Assessment is out today
[Staff, 11/14/23]

Rising seas, hotter summers, and more rain are all on the way — and in some cases are already here. The Biden Administration's National Climate Assessment is out today and that means hotter and wetter conditions for the Midwest.

KGW (Portland, Oregon): 'Unprecedented for thousands of years': New climate assessment shows stark reality of global warming
[Kale Williams, 11/14/23]

Our changing climate is affecting nearly every facet of life in every corner of the country, according to the Fifth National Climate Assessment, released by the Biden administration on Tuesday. The expansive report details how carbon dioxide accumulating in the atmosphere, mostly from the burning of fossil fuels, is warming the planet and causing more intense heat waves, wildfires and droughts.

WFAE (NPR Charlotte): U.S. Climate Assessment finds progress and inequity in Southeast
[David Boraks, 11/14/23]

U.S. carbon emissions are falling and efforts to adapt are expanding. But it's not enough to avoid the intensifying impacts of climate change such as sea level rise and extreme weather, according to a new federal climate report card out Tuesday. In the Southeast, population growth and development are major contributors to changes that have greater economic and health impacts on smaller and more rural communities and people of color.

Inside Climate News: Environmental Justice a Key Theme Throughout Biden's National Climate Assessment
[Kristoffer Tigue, Georgina Gustin, Liza Gross, Victoria St. Martin, 11/14/23]

The Fifth National Climate Assessment discusses social, economic and health inequities throughout the entire report and even dedicates a chapter to "social systems and justice," noting that societal factors, including historic racism, have shaped the climate reality experienced by many low-income families and communities of color today.

Inside Climate News: Report Charts Climate Change's Growing Impact in the US, While Stressing Benefits of Action
[Marianne Lavelle, Katie Surma, Kiley Price, Nicholas Kusnetz, 11/14/23]

Although the report does not make recommendations and is meant to be policy-neutral, it clearly carries the DNA of President Joe Biden's administration: It emphasizes solutions being implemented as well as advances still needed. It delves into racial injustice and the jobs benefits of action. And it is packaged and digitally enhanced to deliver the message widely. That contrasts sharply with the Fourth NCA, released by President Donald Trump's administration over Thanksgiving weekend 2018 in an effort—its officials later admitted—to bury its findings. In tune with a theme Biden has sounded since his "Build Back Better" campaign in 2020, the report focuses on the economic opportunities of a clean energy transition in a way no previous NCA has done. Relying on 2021 Princeton University research, the report includes projections on how employment gains in electrification and renewable energy would outpace job losses in fossil fuel industries, more so if the nation moves aggressively to 100 percent renewable power.

E&E News: Biden: New climate report shows urgency of threat
[Scott Waldman, 11/14/23]

"This assessment shows us in clear scientific terms that climate change is impacting all regions, all sectors of the United States, not just some, all. It shows that communities across America are taking more action than ever to reduce climate risk." Biden sounded a note of optimism, despite the report's dire findings. He said the report was a call to unite in the effort to reduce carbon emissions, the primary driver of human-caused climate change. "Above all, it shows that climate action offers an opportunity for the nation to come together and do some really big things," he said. Biden was introduced by Ritika Shah, a high school student who won a climate art competition. She called him the "greatest climate leader America has ever had."

La Voce di New York: White House Reveals Over $6 Billion Initiative to Address Climate Change
[Editorial Staff, 11/14/23]

The White House emphasized that these latest initiatives are an extension of the Biden-Harris Administration's unparalleled commitment to addressing the climate crisis, fortifying America's resilience, and prioritizing underserved and overburdened communities.Financed by the Inflation Reduction Act, this program is designed to foster multi-year collaborations between community-based organizations, local governments, institutes of higher education, and federally-recognized Tribes. The EPA will also extend $200 million in technical assistance and capacity building support to communities and their partners as they navigate the process of accessing these crucial federal resources