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Pacific faces increasing impacts of climate change, official U.S. assessment finds
From the East-West Center press release: https://www.eastwestcenter.org/news/news-release/pacific-confronting-growing-climate-change-impacts-official-us-assessment-finds
research shows, Fifth National Climate AssessmentThe White House report found that climate change in Hawaii and the Pacific Islands exacerbates inequalities and threatens unique island ecosystems, as well as cultural resources, human health, livelihoods, the built environment, and access to clean water and healthy food. The assessment concluded that adaptation strategies that incorporate local and indigenous knowledge can increase the resilience of Pacific Island communities, as every region of the United States, including the Pacific Islands, works to reduce greenhouse gas emissions and limit the impacts of climate change.
Sections of this report Hawaii and U.S. Pacific Islands Written by 16 authors, including Pacific RISA Abby Fraser, Victoria Keener, Zena Grayconi, Kirsten Olsonand Chris SchulerThis chapter has 41 technical contributors and has received nearly 500 Cite published literature.
“Climate change continues to threaten everything we care about,” said Fraser, now an assistant professor at Clark University and lead author of the Hawaii Pacific Chapter. “As demonstrated by devastating hurricane-induced wildfires on Maui and Typhoon Mawar on Guam, extreme weather can multiply harms when communities are already harmed by stressors like COVID-19. The sooner we scale up global action to curb the threat of climate change, the better. Fortunately, reducing emissions or preparing for new extreme weather will also have direct local benefits—improved health, stronger economies, and more resilient communities.”
Key takeaways from this chapter for the region include:
- Climate change undermines people’s access to healthy food and water. Rising temperatures, altered rainfall, flooding, pollution and declining fisheries will further affect food and water supplies.
- Climate change harms human health. Climate shocks and stresses can undermine health care and exacerbate long-standing social and economic inequalities that contribute to disease, but community strengths and adaptation measures can enhance resilience.
- Rising sea levels threaten infrastructure and island economiesSea level rise exacerbates territorial loss and destroys livelihoods, but Governments and communities are innovating through renewable energy, green infrastructure, and sustainable economic growth.
- These responses help protect tropical ecosystems and biodiversity. Increased fire risk, severe droughts and ocean changes have had widespread negative impacts on native plants and wildlife, as well as marine ecosystems. Effective adaptation strategies include ecosystem protection and restoration, invasive species measures and fire prevention.
- Indigenous peoples and their knowledge systems are critical to the resilience of island communities in a changing climate.
New to the chapter since the release of the Fourth National Climate Assessment in 2018 is the inclusion of key messages on human health, an emphasis on food security, the incorporation of indigenous knowledge, and the recognition of data inequalities in the Pacific Islands and the American Caribbean.
About the Fifth National Climate Assessment
Mandated by the Global Change Research Act of 1990, the National Climate Assessment provides authoritative scientific information about the risks, impacts, and responses to climate change in the United States. The assessment reflects the scientific consensus and is widely used in decision-making, but it does not include policy recommendations and does not advocate for any specific policy.
The Fifth National Climate Assessment includes 32 chapters covering physical sciences, national sectors (such as water, energy, agriculture, ecosystems, transportation, health, infrastructure, etc.), U.S. regional impacts, and responses. The assessment was written by a diverse team of more than 500 authors and more than 250 technical contributors from all states. The report went through multiple rounds of review, including three public comment opportunities, extensive agency review, and external review by the National Academies of Sciences, Engineering, and Medicine. The Hawaii and U.S. Pacific Islands chapter has 16 authors and 41 technical contributors, and has nearly 500 citations to published literature.
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