WASHINGTON (November 14, 2023) — Today the U.S. government’s Global Change Research Program released the Fifth National Climate Assessment report. The report, prepared with the support and approval of 14 federal agencies, and with input from hundreds of government and non-governmental experts, provides a comprehensive look at how climate change will affect the United States.

Following is a statement by Dan Lashof, U.S. Director, World Resources Institute:

“The latest National Climate Assessment report finds that every economic sector and every corner of the United States – and every single American – is at risk from the impacts of climate change. Climate-fueled disasters are upending livelihoods, disrupting local economies and threatening public health all across the country.

“Climate change is not a far-off problem, but a clear and present danger to us all — and is hitting harder than ever before. Historically marginalized, low-income, Indigenous and communities of color are the most at risk due to decades of discrimination and underinvestment.

“We must do much more to tackle the climate crisis to avoid far worse impacts in the future.

“The United States has made important progress toward reducing emissions and increasing demand for clean energy through the Inflation Reduction Act and Bipartisan Infrastructure Law and other federal and state actions. These efforts must be built upon by scaling up investments in resilience, ramping down production and use of fossil fuels, building out an electric grid powered by clean energy, and pursuing a broad portfolio of approaches to remove carbon dioxide that is already in the atmosphere.”