EPA Climate Change Programs in New England

Climate Change Science and Impacts in New England

Climate change affects people, plants, and animals. Scientists are working to better understand future climate change and how the effects will vary by region and over time.

Scientists have observed that some changes are already occurring. Observed effects include sea level rise, shrinking glaciers, changes in the range and distribution of plants and animals, trees blooming earlier, lengthening of growing seasons, ice on rivers and lakes freezing later and breaking up earlier, and thawing of permafrost. Another key issue being studied is how societies and the Earth's environment will adapt to or cope with climate change.

New England is not immune to the affects of climate change.  While the degree to which our region’s climate will change is not completely certain, the effects are already being felt and seen.  A number of organizations have produced reports that provide specific information on the science and impacts of climate change in New England:  

• New England Regional Assessment (NERA):  This report on the potential climate change impacts on the New England region, and upstate New York, provides a local perspective on a global issue in a format accessible to the public. Funded by the National Science Foundation and completed at the University of New Hampshire, the assessment is one of 16 prepared nationally for the U.S. Global Change Research Program.

• Climate’s Long-term Impact on Metro Boston (CLIMB): This 2004, Office of Research and Development-funded impact assessment report was undertaken by researchers at Tufts, Boston University and University of Maryland.  It focuses on an urban area and examines climate impacts on infrastructure systems, including, flood control, water supply, drainage, wastewater management, solid and hazardous waste management, energy, transportation, providing constructed facilities for residential, commercial and industrial activities, communications, public health and recreation. 

• Indicators of Climate Change in the Northeast 2005:  This study was prepared by the Climate Change Research Center at the University of New Hampshire and the NGO Clean Air-Cool Planet.  The report documents climate impacts on indicators such as increased temperature trends, precipitation changes, extreme precipitation events, ozone exceedence days, snowfall, and sea level rise.  

• Confronting Climate Change in the U.S. Northeast:  Science, Impacts, and Solutions: The Northeast Climate Impacts Assessment (NECIA) is a collaborative effort between the Union of Concerned Scientists (UCS) and a team of independent experts to develop and communicate a new assessment of climate change and associate impacts on key climate-sensitive sectors in the northeastern United States.  The goal of the assessment is to combine state-of-the-art analyses with effective outreach to provide opinion leaders, policy makers and the public with the best available science upon which to base informed choices about climate change mitigation and adaptation.

A comprehensive description of the science of climate change is found at EPA’s national climate change website.

Additional resources include:

• Climate Change 2007:   The United Nations Intergovernmental Panel on Climate Change (IPCC) is releasing a series of reports (Fourth Assessment Report) covering climate change science (Working Group I), climate change impacts and adaptation (Working Group II) and climate change mitigation (Working Group III).  The IPCC has previously assessed climate change issues in 1990, 1995 and 2001.