University of Oklahoma researcher co-authors commentary outlining research priorities for robust U.S. climate assessments

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NORMAN, Okla. — Chenghao Wang, Ph.D., an assistant professor in the School of Meteorology and the Department of Geography and Environmental Sustainability, is a co-author of the commentary "Research priorities for robust climate assessments in the United States," published in Earth's Future and Bulletin of the American Meteorological Society. The paper brings together 175 authors, including researchers formerly involved in producing the Sixth National Climate Assessment and authors of other national and sub-national climate assessments, to outline research priorities that can inform future national, regional, local, sectoral and topical climate assessments.

The commentary is the first paper in the U.S. Climate Collection: Informing Assessment of Risks and Solutions, a joint special collection of the American Geophysical Union and the American Meteorological Society that will publish U.S.-focused climate assessment science and research synthesis papers that can inform future national and sub-national assessments.

Wang contributed expertise on climate risks and research priorities in the Southern Great Plains and helped develop graphical illustrations for this work. He also provided input on topics related to urban environments and energy systems.

“Climate risks do not occur in isolation. They interact across regions, cities and infrastructure. The Southern Great Plains illustrates why climate assessments need to connect advances in climate science with the places and systems where people experience these risks,” Wang said. “Improving our understanding of regional extremes and their interactions with urban environments, infrastructure and energy systems can help future assessments provide more useful information for communities and decision-makers.”

The commentary identifies assessment opportunities and research needs across planetary-scale systems, environmental settings, economic sectors, U.S. regions and U.S. international interests. Across these areas, the authors identify several cross-cutting priorities for research synthesis, including how greenhouse gas emissions continue to alter and amplify climate hazards; how compounding extremes and cascading risks are straining legacy policies, infrastructure, and institutions; how social systems shape both climate impacts and responses; and how future assessments should evaluate mitigation, adaptation, disaster management, climate interventions and resilience planning and implementation decisions as a climate action portfolio.

Scientific assessments synthesize complex bodies of evidence so households, communities, businesses, institutions and governments can make informed decisions as climate hazards intensify. The most recent U.S. National Climate Assessment was published in 2023; scientific understanding has advanced since then, and climate assessments are continuing by states, localities and businesses. The commentary argues that the pace of assessment and the integration of science with decision-making must accelerate as climate impacts continue to grow. A coordinated network of U.S. assessment efforts could more rapidly translate the latest science and real-world case studies into practical strategies for responding to climate change. Rather than a finished assessment, the commentary is designed as a catalyst, identifying gaps and opportunities that can guide new research, future collaborations, and eventual assessment products such as the next National Climate Assessment, regional assessments, and sector-specific reports.