About the Assessment

Climate variability and change now and in the future present both challenges and opportunities for the United States. To be better prepared, the U.S. Global Change Research Program (USGCRP) is leading a National Assessment of the potential consequences of climate variability and change in the coming years.

As part of this project, the University of Arizona's Institute for the Study of Planet Earth (ISPE) coordinated the Southwest Regional Assessment focusing research on several social and economic sectors that may be affected by climate change and variability.These sectors include ranching, water resources, mining, urban areas, natural ecosystems, energy, and human health. Information on the effects of climate change on these activities can provide a more informed basis decision making in the future.

The University of Arizona's Udall Center for Studies in Public Policy and ISPE conducted a Southwest Regional Climate Change Workshop in 1997, which provided much of the preliminary information needed to begin the Southwest assessment.  The Climate Assessment for the Southwest (CLIMAS), an ongoing ISPE project supported by the National Oceanic and Atmospheric Administration (NOAA), is providing fundamental information on climate variability and impacts for the region. 

The Southwest assessment will be synthesized with other regions' reports from around the country, and the final national report will be presented to Congress in 2000.  While the national synthesis is intended for Congress, other federal agencies, state governments, and local communities will have an interest in the outcomes of all three assessment venues: regional, sectoral, and synthesis. It is anticipated that this national report will lay the groundwork for additional national assessments in the future, and that CLIMAS will participate in those assessments.