White House appoints new director to steer key climate change report
clock The Biden administration has tapped scientist Allison Crimmins from the Environmental Protection Agency to guide the U.S. governments next authoritative report on the consequences of climate change. The report, known as the National Climate Assessment, may take on unsurpassed importance in the Biden administration, which has made climate change a top priority. Due out by the end of 2023, it is a congressionally mandated effort intended to support federal climate policy and inform and engage every American affected by rising temperatures and their effects. The last report, published in 2018, detailed the potentially dire consequences should the country take little action to cut emissions and prepare for climate change, including more intense droughts and heat waves. Crimmins, who spent the past decade at the EPA, takes the helm as the assessment director at the same time such effects are ravaging the west. Pacific Northwest heat wave was virtually impossible without climate change, scientists find Its becoming increasingly obvious that climate change isnt something thats happening far off in the future or somewhere far away to someone else. Its here now and happening to us, Crimmins said in an interview. As we head into uncharted territory, I think of the National Climate Assessment as an atlas to help move us forward. Crimmins stressed that she is committed to make this assessment, the fifth edition, the best yet so that its both useful and usable for many different audiences, whether a water resource manager, a public health official or business owner. Were looking for ways to make the report interactive so that people can access the information they need or the information they most care about, she said. Crimmins will be responsible for guiding an effort that draws together the research and findings of the 13 federal agencies participating in the U.S. Global Change Research Program (USGCRP), the entity charged with producing the report, while also bringing in outside experts. I am committed to this idea of democratization of access to climate data and information, she said. I think we get there by convening a lot of voices from across a broad range of expertise and experience to contribute. Crimmins seeks a broadly accessible product, not something you need an advanced degree to comprehend. If its a report for the American people, Crimmins said, it also needs to be of them and by them. A set of chapters that mirrors previous versions has already been proposed for the report. The chapters cover different regions of the country and the sectors most affected by climate change, while adding economics and human social systems as new topics. Crimmins takes on the job as the report director a little less than three months after Betsy Weatherhead, an atmospheric scientist tapped by a Trump administration official , was removed from the position and reassigned. Weatherhead was broadly respected for her science credentials but, according to people with knowledge of the situation, clashed with some of the federal officials involved in the USGCRP. White House removes scientist picked by Trump official to lead key climate report Crimmins comes into the position having worked for the past two years coordinating climate work done by the policy and research arms at the EPA. Before that she spent nearly eight years engaged in the EPAs climate change science assessment work, in which she was involved with the USGCRP. Her academic background is in ocean science, and she also earned a masters degree of public policy at the Harvard Kennedy School. Her deep experience in working effectively and collaboratively both within the Federal system and with stakeholders will accelerate the significant progress already underway and help achieve timely advances in our fight against the climate crisis, Jane Lubchenco, deputy director for climate and environment within the White House Office of Science and Technology Policy, said in a news release. Crimmins will work with Michael Kuperberg, director of the USGCRP, who was recently reinstalled into that position after the Trump administration reassigned him in November . White House brings back climate scientist forced out by Trump administration Kuperberg and Crimmins face the challenge of making up for lost time during the transition between administrations and from the revolving leadership door. Weve already made significant strides with regard to moving the report process ahead, Crimmins said. Weve identified the chapters and the leadership for the chapters, and were building out the rest of the author teams this year. Completing the assessment by the end of 2023 involves many steps, including multiple reviews and a public comment period. We can meet that goal, Crimmins said.