Fifth National Climate Assessment Demonstrates Impacts on Working Lands

The Fifth U.S. National Climate Assessment (NCA5) analyzes the effects of climate change on sectors and regions across the U.S. economy. This assessment, produced approximately every four years, provides authoritative scientific information about climate change risks, impacts, and responses. USDA notes that its contributions to the NCA5 highlight the effects of climate change on agriculture, forests, food systems, historically underserved communities, and natural resources. The NCA5 emphasizes the increasingly important role of adaptation in building resilience, and the role of the land sector in mitigating greenhouse gases. It demonstrates how climate change affects the livelihoods of USDA’s stakeholders and it provides examples of how land managers are changing their operations and practices in response to changing climate conditions.