A National Academy of Sciences (NAS) committee convened to review the Draft US Global Change Research Program (USGCRP) Climate and Health Assessment recently published its recommendations for improving the report. The committee responded to several charge questions regarding the accuracy of USGCRP’s evaluation of the science surrounding the impact of climate change on human health and the communication of the evaluation findings. In general, the committee found that the findings of the draft assessment were appropriate. However, the committee made recommendations for how the key messages and assumptions expressed in the report could be better communicated.
Some of the review committee’s suggestions were similar to issues that AMWA had raised in its June 9 comments to USGCRP, namely that the authors revise the assessment to:
- clearly outline the selection process and criteria used to choose the health outcomes and
- supporting studies discussed within the chapters,
- clarify the criteria used to judge likelihood and confidence statements within the document,
- consider a different order for the chapters to minimize overlap and to enhance opportunities for linkages between related issues, and
- improve the graphics in the document to effectively portray key concepts and ensure uniformity.
USGCRP expects to publish a final Climate and Health Assessment in early 2016.