Help Shape ESA’s Comments on the First Draft of the Biodiversity & Climate Change Assessment

ESA is crafting official comments in response to the release of the First Draft of the Biodiversity and Climate Change Assessment, a congressionally mandated initiative led by the U.S. Geological Survey (USGS) in partnership with Environment and Climate Change Canada and Mexico’s National Commission for the Knowledge and Use of Biodiversity.

Watch a recording of our November 15 webinar to learn more.

The assessment aims to characterize our understanding of the links between climate change and biodiversity, identify critical knowledge gaps and summarize implications for biodiversity and climate change policy throughout North America. It will build on the recently completed Intergovernmental Platform on Biodiversity and Ecosystem Services (IPBES) global assessment of biodiversity and ecosystem services and will serve as a technical contribution to upcoming products, like the National Nature Assessment.

Learn more about the Biodiversity and Climate Change Assessment here.

You can access the assessment draft via the Public Contribution Site. You will need to create an account and log in to view the document. (Note that this is a different site from the National Nature Assessment comment submission system, and therefore requires a different login.)

The draft assessment is a very large document, so please feel free to select just a portion of it to review! As you craft your comments, keep in mind that the assessment is intended to be policy-relevant, not policy-prescriptive. Consider addressing:

• Areas of alignment, overlap, inconsistencies, or gaps in the assessment, for example across different chapters or in relation to other reports (e.g., IPCC or IPBES)
• Proposed revisions, providing specific text where possible with supporting evidence from the literature (with a DOI if possible)
• Improving the presentation of material graphically or through tables

In addition to contributing to ESA’s comments, we also encourage individuals to submit their own comments as subject matter experts via the assessment’s Public Contribution Site. The deadline for direct submissions is December 16, 2024.

This is a unique opportunity for ecologists to influence a landmark assessment that will shape U.S. environmental policy. We value your expertise and hope you will take the time to provide your input.

Use this link to submit comments via ESA’s feedback form by December 6.