Document & Report Databases
California Climate Change Center Biennial Science Reports
2008 Climate Change Impacts Assessment Project - Second Biennial Science Report to the California Climate Action Team
The Future is Now: An Update on Climate Change Science Impacts and Response Options for California, publication # CEC-500-2008-071, posted May 5, 2009. (Acrobat PDF, 114 pages, 3.8 megabytes)
This report presents an interim summary of the latest in climate change science and outlines recommended response options for decision makers in California. This document contains four key messages:
- Observed changes in temperature, sea level, precipitation regime, fire frequency, and agricultural and ecological systems reveal that California is already experiencing the measurable effects of climate change.
- Scientific confidence in attributing climate change to human activities has increased since the Fourth Assessment Report (AR4), which was recently made available by the Intergovernmental Panel on Climate Change.
- New scientific studies suggest that the climatic and hydrologic changes already experienced in California are due to human activity.
- Unmitigated climate change will lead to grave consequences for California's economy and ecosystems. Furthermore, it appears that even a scenario that drastically curtails emissions of greenhouse gases may still lead to undesirable trends in warming and sea-level rise.
A rapid two-pronged response to climate that which encompasses both mitigation and adaptation has the potential to promote innovative investment by businesses and protect environmental quality while increasing community preparedness and capacity to cope with change. Conversely, a path of inaction exposes a community's vulnerability to climate variability and is ultimately costly.
BROCHURE ON 2008 PROJECT
The Future Is Now: An Update on Climate Change Science, Impacts, and Response Options for California, publication # CEC-500-2008-077, posted Septmber 15, 2008. (Acrobat PDF, 12 pages, 2.1 megabytes)
For more information, please go to:
2008 Climate Change Impacts Assessment Project
2006 Report
Our Changing Climate
Assessing the Risks to California:
The 2006 Summary Report from the California Climate Change Center
In 2003, the California Energy Commission's Public Interest Energy Research (PIER) program established the California Climate Change Center to conduct climate change research relevant to the state. This Center is a virtual organization with core research activities at Scripps Institution of Oceanography and the University of California, Berkeley, complemented by efforts at other research institutions. Priority research areas defined in PIER's five-year Climate Change Research Plan are: monitoring, analysis, and modeling of climate; analysis of options to reduce greenhouse gas emissions; assessment of physical impacts and of adap- tation strategies; and analysis of the economic consequences of both climate change impacts as well as the efforts designed to reduce emissions.
Executive Order #S-3-05, signed by Governor Arnold Schwarzenegger on June 1, 2005, called for the California Environmental Protection Agency (CalEPA) to prepar e biennial science reports on the potential impact of continued global warming on certain sectors of the California economy. CalEPA entrusted PIER and its California Climate Change Center to lead this effort. The "Climate Scenarios" analysis summarized here is the first of these biennial science reports, and is the product of a multi-institution collaboration among the California Air Resources Board, California Department of Water Resources, California Energy Commission, CalEPA, and the Union of Concerned Scientists.
Download 2006 biennial report Our Changing Climate - Assessing the Risks to California
(Acrobat PDF file, 16 pages, 1.9 megabytes
Download Spanish version of Report - Nuestro Clima Cambiante - Evaluación de los Riesgos para California
(Acrobat PDF file, 16 pages, 1.0 megabytes
Supporting Documents
FINAL REPORT - Progress on Incorporating Climate Change Into Management of California Water Resources, Technical Memorandum Report, California Department of Water Resources. Posted: July 11, 2006. (Acrobat PDF file, 338 pages, 7.6 megabytes)
Scenarios of Climate Change in California: An Overview. FINAL report from California Energy Commission, Public Interest Energy Research (PIER) Program, California Climate Change Center, publication # CEC-500-2005-186-SF, posted: February 27, 2006. (PDF file, 53 pages, 1.2 megabytes
Appendices to PIER Report
An Assessment of Impacts of Future CO2 and Climate on Agriculture.
FINAL white paper from California Climate Change Center, publication # CEC-500-2005-187-SF, posted: March 15, 2006. (PDF file, 40 pages, 736 kilobytes)
Analysis of Climate Effects on Agricultural Systems.
FINAL white paper from California Climate Change Center, publication # CEC-500-2005-188-SF, posted: February 27, 2006. (PDF file, 44 pages, 3.0 megabytes
Climate Change: Challenges and Solutions for California Agricultural Landscape.
FINAL white paper from California Climate Change Center, publication # CEC-500-2005-189-SF, posted: February 27, 2006. (PDF file, 115 pages, 1.0 megabytes
Climate Change and Wildfire In and Around California: Fire Modeling and Loss Modeling.
FINAL white paper from California Climate Change Center, publication # CEC-500-2005-190-SF, posted: February 27, 2006. (PDF file, 33 pages, 2.2 megabytes
The Response of Vegetation Distribution, Ecosystem Productivity, and Fire in California to Future Climate Scenarios Simulated by the MC1 Dynamic Vegetation Model.
FINAL white paper from California Climate Change Center, publication # CEC-500-2005-191-SF, posted: February 27, 2006. (PDF file, 25 pages, 756 kilobytes)
Fire and Sustainability: Considerations for California's Altered Future Climate.
FINAL white paper from California Climate Change Center, publication # CEC-500-2005-192-SF, posted: February 27, 2006. (PDF file, 10 pages, 184 kilobytes>)
Climate Change Impact on Forest Resources.
FINAL white paper from California Climate Change Center, publication # CEC-500-2005-193-SF, posted: March 16, 2006. (PDF file, 45 pages, 687 kilobytes)
Climate Change Impacts on Water for Agriculture in California: A Case Study in the Sacramento Valley.
FINAL white paper from California Climate Change Center, publication # CEC-500-2005-194-SF, posted: March 15, 2006. (PDF file, 85 pages, 1.4 megabytes
Climate Warming and Water Supply Management in California.
FINAL white paper from California Climate Change Center, publication # CEC-500-2005-195-SF, posted: March 16, 2006. (PDF file, 49 pages, 1.1 megabytes
Predicting the Effect of Climate Change on Wildfire Severity and Outcomes in California: A Preliminary Analysis.
FINAL white paper from California Climate Change Center, publication # CEC-500-2005-196-SF, posted: March 22, 2006. (PDF file, 48 pages, 464 kilobytes)
Public Health-Related Impacts of Climate Change in California
FINAL white paper from California Climate Change Center, publication # CEC-500-2005-197-SF, posted: March 22, 2006. (PDF file, 149 pages, 4.0 megabytes
Preparing for the Impacts of Climate Change in California: Opportunities and Constraints for Adaption
FINAL white paper from California Climate Change Center, publication # CEC-500-2005-198-SF, posted: March 22, 2006. (PDF file, 47 pages, 534 kb)
Climate Change Impacts on High Elevation Hydropower Generation in California's Sierra Nevada: A Case Study in the Upper American River
FINAL white paper from California Climate Change Center, publication # CEC-500-2005-199-SF, posted: March 22, 2006. (PDF file, 43 pages, 729 kb)
Predictions of Climate Change Impacts on California Water Resources Using CALSIM-II: A Technical Note
FINAL white paper from California Climate Change Center, publication # CEC-500-2005-200-SF, posted: February 27, 2006. (PDF file, 29 pages, 940 kb)
Climate Change and Electricity Demand in California
FINAL white paper from California Climate Change Center, publication # CEC-500-2005-201-SF, posted: February 27, 2006. (PDF file, 13 pages, 496 kb)
Projecting Future Sea Level
FINAL white paper from California Climate Change Center, publication # CEC-500-2005-202-SF, posted: March 15, 2006. (PDF file, 64 pages, 1.6 megabytes
Climate Scenarios for California
FINAL white paper from California Climate Change Center, publication # CEC-500-2005-203-SF, posted: March 15, 2006. (PDF file, 52 pages, 2.8 megabytes
Climate Change Projected Santa Ana Fire Weather Occurrence
FINAL white paper from California Climate Change Center, publication # CEC-500-2005-204-SF, posted: February 27, 2006. (PDF file, 17 pages, 404 kilobytes)
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