Climate assessments have long been key scientific inputs that inform the development of productive and impactful climate policy in the United States and around the world. This introduction sets the stage for the suite of papers in the Topical Collection “Advancements in U.S. Climate Assessments.” Inspired and informed by the release of the Fifth National Climate Assessment, the papers within this issue document lessons learned over the past 30+ years and leverage the perspectives of previous assessment authors and staff to aid those interested in developing their own climate assessments. This paper reviews the evolution of climate assessments and the factors that make for useful, usable, and used scientific products to support societal choices. Evolving user needs over the last 30+ years also reflect a shift in demand towards more localized or more context-specific climate data that integrates social science information, tools, and frameworks. To meet these needs, we highlight three areas of potential opportunity and challenge for future assessments: continued and strengthened conversations between assessment developers across geographic scale to share innovations and lessons learned in the development process; working with knowledge holders in under-represented areas of expertise to alter assessment governance and guidelines to better incorporate diverse perspectives; and seizing opportunities for using innovative communication and engagement mediums.

The Fifth National Climate Assessment is the US Government’s preeminent report on climate change impacts, risks, and responses. It is a congressionally mandated interagency effort that provides the sc...

Cyclical and sustained engagement throughout and beyond individual climate assessment cycles ensures that assessments (1) meet the user need of the moment; (2) reach the broadest possible decision-mak...

This article looks at the inclusion of the social sciences in recent climate assessment reports from national and sub-national jurisdictions (state, territory, district) of the United States. It compa...

Since 1990, the U.S. Global Change Research Program has published five cross-sectoral National Climate Assessment (NCA) reports. Federal, state, and local governments, policymakers, and the public emp...

“Nature” is a broad term with neither a standard definition nor consistent use, even across federal reports like the National Climate Assessment (NCA). The process of defining complex topics like “nat...

Climate assessments consolidate our understanding of possible future climate conditions as represented by climate projections, which are largely based on the output of global climate models. Over the ...