24 October 2017: The US Government Accountability Office (GAO), the auditing arm of US Congress, issued a report calling for the Executive Office of the President to use information on economic effects of climate change to help identify significant risks and formulate appropriate federal responses.

Titled ‘Climate Change: Information on Potential Economic Effects Could Help Guide Federal Efforts to Reduce Fiscal Exposure,’ the document examines methods used to estimate the potential economic effects of climate change in the US, available information about these effects, and the extent to which this information could inform efforts to manage climate risks across the federal government.

The report recommends that federal responses to climate risk management include “establishing a strategy to identify, prioritize and guide federal investments to enhance resilience against future disasters.”

According to the report, data about the potential economic effects of climate change could inform decision makers about significant potential damages in different US regions and sectors ranging from agriculture and energy to health, and help federal decision makers identify significant climate risks as an initial step towards managing such risks. It recommends that the federal government establish government-wide priorities to manage climate risks and identify appropriate federal responses, which could include “establishing a strategy to identify, prioritize and guide federal investments to enhance resilience against future disasters.”

To produce the report, GAO reviewed 30 studies, including two that had been conducted at national scale; compared federal efforts to manage climate risks with leading practices for risk management and economic analysis; and obtained expert views. [Publication: Climate Change: Information on Potential Economic Effects Could Help Guide Federal Efforts to Reduce Fiscal Exposure] [Report Highlights] [Publication Landing Page]