Federal Science Agencies Update the Nation’s Climate Literacy Guide

By noaa.gov.

Guide to inform community decision-makers, workers, educators and students.

Today, the U.S. Global Change Research Program (USGCRP) released the third edition of the nation’s climate literacy guide: Climate Literacy: Essential Principles for Understanding and Addressing Climate Change. The guide presents information that is important for individuals and communities to know and understand about Earth’s climate, the impacts of climate change and solutions. A team of federal scientists, communicators, educators and program leaders worked collaboratively to update the guide.

“The climate literacy guide is a major investment in education and workforce development that will help build America’s climate-ready workforce and communities,” said U.S. Secretary of Commerce Gina Raimondo. “The rising threats of climate change are accelerating, and we need a new generation of climate-literate and specially skilled workers who can help communities address a wide range of climate impacts – from sea level rise, flooding, and water quality issues – so that we can tackle the climate crisis.”

“The climate literacy guide is a rich educational resource drawing from the latest scientific consensus on a broad spectrum of topics in climate science,” said NOAA Administrator Richard Spinrad, Ph.D. “It will help bring climate literacy to every community in America and around the world.”

Photo of Aaron Webb who owns and operates a solar farm in Humboldt, Tennessee, funded in part by the USDA Rural Energy for America Program, which provides funding for renewable energy systems to make energy efficiency improvements. With over 500kW of solar panels, the farm pictured here on April 4, 2024 has made a significant impact on the community, reducing the need for fossil fuels and providing clean power to the grid. Credit: USDA media by Lance Cheung.

This resource arrives as the U.S. suffers more frequent, intense, climate-driven extreme events that impact public health, the economy and historical and cultural resources. This summer was Earth’s warmest on record, with August global temperatures extending the streak of record-high monthly global temperatures to 15 successive months.

“The updated guide is a useful entry point for anyone who wants to understand why climate change is happening, how it affects us and our communities and what we can do about it,” said Jane Lubchenco, Ph.D., Deputy Director for Climate and Environment, White House Office of Science and Technology Policy.

read more at noaa.gov.