| May 18, 2010 |  |
UCS Backgrounder: National Academy of Sciences to Release Reports on Climate Change
National Academy of Sciences to Release Reports on Climate Change
For authoritative guidance on science-based policy, Congress, the White House and the nation routinely turn to the National Academy of Sciences. Tomorrow, the academy will offer our nation's leaders its most unequivocal advice on climate change to date.
Just what is the National Academy of Sciences? Nearly 150 years ago, Congress enacted a law that established the academy as the federal government's premier adviser on scientific and technological issues. Much has changed since then, but the academy's role has remained true to its origins, "to investigate, examine, experiment and report on any subject of science" when called on by any government agency. The results of the academy's advice has led to lasting advances, including the Human Genome Project and the Hubble Telescope, and now, a sweeping review of climate change.
Election to the National Academy of Sciences is regarded as the highest honor for a scientist or engineer. Today, the academy has 2,100 members, including 380 foreign associates and 200 Nobel Prize winners. It is an unpaid appointment.
As a nonprofit organization, the academy and its members provide a public service by producing some 200 reports per year, working outside of government to ensure independent advice. The member committees, which gather information from a wide range of sources in public meetings, take pains to avoid pressure by politicians and special interests. They study a problem from many angles, consult with high level experts, and have their work formally assessed by peer reviewers. After much deliberation and careful study, they present their conclusions and recommendations in reports that are considered highly influential and important, backed by the nation's foremost scientists and leading experts.
In March 2009, the National Academy of Sciences trained its attention on the topic of climate change. It enlisted 22 of the nation's leading scientists, engineers, policy experts and business leaders to provide science-based policy advice to guide the country's response to climate change. These two-dozen advisers worked with panels of experts for more than a year to address the many questions decision makers around the country were asking.
Tomorrow, May 19, they will release the results of their work, three "America's Climate Choices" studies, to Congress. Drawing upon a careful assessment of the best available science, these studies provide specific recommendations to strengthen understanding of climate change science, limit the magnitude of future climate change, and adapt to its unavoidable impacts.
This is not the first time that the nation's preeminent scientific body has addressed the issue of climate change. In July 2009, for example, the academy joined with its counterparts from 12 other nations to issue "G8+5 Academies Joint Statement: Climate Change and Transformation of Energy Technologies to a Low-Carbon Future," which affirmed that "the need for urgent action to address climate change is now indisputable." With these three new studies, the National Academy of Sciences has gone further, according to Albert Carnesale, chairman of the committee overseeing the studies, by offering "actionable advice."
The Union of Concerned Scientists puts rigorous, independent science to work to solve our planet's most pressing problems. Joining with citizens across the country, we combine technical analysis and effective advocacy to create innovative, practical solutions for a healthy, safe, and sustainable future.
