EPA Releases Updated Edition of Climate Change Indicators Report

By Phil Molé, MPH

In July 2024, EPA published the fifth edition of their report Climate Change Indicators in the United States, describing the ways climate change is impacting human health and the environment. The climate change indicators report draws from EPA’s research as well as other scientific literature, and its findings may inform policy decisions addressing climate risks and add to expectations for companies to more responsibly manage and report their carbon footprints.

Read on for high-level findings in EPA’s latest climate change indicators report, and takeaways for EHS and sustainability managers.

Summary of EPA’s Revised Climate Change Indicators Report

The purpose of EPA’s report is to present evidence of the far-ranging impacts of climate change and guide present and future actions to reduce levels of GHG emissions. This report presents excerpts from a larger set of climate change indicators. EPA’s full suite of 57 indicators is available here.

Here are some of the major findings presented in the latest climate change indicators report.

Trends in Greenhouse Gas (GHG) Emissions

It makes sense to start this discussion with GHGs, because as their name implies, GHGs in the atmosphere prevent sunlight reflected from earth’s surface from radiating back into space, trapping light energy the way a greenhouse does. Scientific consensus is that buildup of GHGs in the atmosphere, in large part due to human activity, has contributed to accelerating increases in average global temperatures, as well as related effects on climate and human communities.

Awareness of the central role of GHGs in climate change have led regulatory agencies such as Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC) in the US and European Financial Reporting Advisory Group (EFRAG) in the EU to develop regulations requiring certain companies to track and regularly disclose their GHG emissions.

Here are some of the key findings about trends in GHG emissions from EPA’s climate change indicators guide:

• According to EPA’s Global Greenhouse Gas Emissions indicator, global emissions of all major GHGs increased between 1990 and 2015. Gross emissions of carbon dioxide increased by 58 percent between 1990 and 2020, which is particularly impactful because carbon dioxide accounts for about three-fourths of total global emissions.

• Carbon dioxide emissions are increasing faster in some parts of the world (for example, East Asia and the Pacific) than in others. Emissions from three regions (East Asia/Pacific, Europe/Central Asia, and the US collectively represented 75 percent of total global emissions in 2020.

• In 2022, US GHG emissions totaled 6,343 million metric tons (14.0 trillion pounds) of carbon dioxide equivalents. This is a 3 percent decrease since 1990, due to factors such as increased energy efficiency and decreased carbon intensity of energy sources (mainly in non-transport sectors).

• There was a sharp decline in US GHG emissions from 2019 to 2020, but that was largely due to the impacts of the coronavirus (COVID-19) pandemic, including shutdowns, on travel and economic activity. Notably, emissions increased 5.7 percent from 2020 to 2022 as the economy rebounded.

• The transportation sector accounts for the largest share (28 percent) of 2022 emissions, followed by electric power/power plants (25 percent), industry (23 percent), agriculture (10 percent), the commercial sector (7 percent), and the residential sector (6 percent).

• Since the beginning of the industrial era, carbon dioxide concentrations have risen from an annual average of 280 parts per million (ppm) in the late 1700s to 419 ppm in 2023.

Temperatures Are on the Rise

Scientists had long predicted that increasing concentrations of GHGs in the atmosphere would lead to increases in average global temperatures, and the data continues to bear that out.

Here are some of the statistics on temperature increases from EPA’s climate change indicators guide.

• Global average surface temperature has risen at an average rate of 0.17°F per decade since 1901. The rate of warming within the contiguous 48 US states has been similar for most of this time, but since the late 1970s, the US has warmed faster than the planet as a whole.

• Worldwide, 2023 was the warmest year on record, 2016 was the second warmest, and 2014–2023 was the warmest decade on record since thermometer-based observations began.

• Heat waves are occurring more often across 50 major cities measured, including Chicago, Dallas, Miami, Boston, Phoenix, Memphis, and Seattle. Heat wave frequency has increased steadily, from an average of two heat waves per year during the 1960s to six per year during the 2010s and 2020s.

As the report succinctly puts it, “’unusually hot’ summer days and nights are not that unusual anymore.”

Trends in Extreme Weather Events

Rising global temperatures associated with climate change don’t just make the weather hotter—they also make it weirder. That is, as average global temperatures increase, so does the likelihood of extreme weather events such as hurricanes, wildfires, floods and droughts, and heavy rainstorms.

Here are some of the more alarming facts included in EPA’s most recent climate indicators report.

• The prevalence of extreme single-day precipitation events stayed fairly steady between 1910 and the 1980s but has risen substantially since then. In recent years, a larger percentage of precipitation has come from intense single-day events. Looking at more than 100 years of data, nine of the top 10 years for extreme one-day precipitation events have occurred since 1995.

• According to National Interagency Fire Center data, all 10 years with the largest acreage burned have occurred since 2004, including peak years in 2015 and 2020. This period coincides with many of the warmest years on record nationwide. The largest increases have occurred during the spring and summer months.

Impacts on Oceans

The total amount of heat stored by the oceans is called “ocean heat content,” and measurements of water temperature reflect the amount of heat in the water at a particular time and location. Ocean heat content is an important climate change indicator because oceans play an important role in mitigating climate change by absorbing excess heat and transferring it around the world. However, increasing ocean temperatures reduce the ocean’s ability to absorb heat and undermine its ability to mitigate the effects of climate change. Additionally, ocean temperature increases change ocean currents, which influence climate patterns and the health of ecosystems that depend on certain temperature ranges and movement of nutrients.

Here are some of the findings in EPA’s new climate indicators report about ocean temperatures:

Ocean temperatures

• Sea surface temperature increased during the 20th century and continues to rise. From 1901 through 2023, temperature rose at an average rate of 0.14°F per decade.

 

• Sea surface temperature has also been consistently higher during the past three decades than at any other time since reliable observations began in 1880. The year 2023 was the warmest ever recorded.

• Several marine species have shifted northward since the 1980s, including several economically important species. In waters off the northeastern United States, American lobster, red hake, and black sea bass have moved northward by an average of 145 miles. In the Bering Sea, walleye pollock, snow crab, and Pacific halibut have generally shifted away from the coast since the early 1980s and moved northward by an average of 41 miles.

• Between 1982 and 2023, the annual cumulative intensity of short-term spikes in ocean temperatures (known as “marine heat waves”) has increased in most coastal U.S. waters, with the largest changes in waters off the northeastern U.S. and Alaskan coasts.

Sea levels are a useful indicator because climate change tends to increase ocean levels through several different mechanisms. There’s a direct physical reason, because water expands as it warms, which causes ocean levels to rise. Heavy rainfalls, more common due to climate change, can also increase ocean levels. However, the most impactful factor contributing to rising sea levels is the melting of ice sheets and glaciers as average global temperatures increase. Of course, rising sea levels bring other risks, including risks to coastal communities.

Rising seas

• Glaciers worldwide have been losing mass since at least the 1970s, which has contributed to measured changes in sea level. A longer measurement record for a smaller number of glaciers suggests that they have been shrinking since the 1950s. Additionally, the rate at which glaciers are losing mass appears to have accelerated since the early 2000s.

• Although ice sheets naturally fluctuate with seasonal variations in temperature, precipitation, and other factors, the overall shrinking of the ice sheets far exceeds seasonal and year-to-year variations.

• The total amount of ice lost by Greenland and Antarctica from 1992 to 2020 was enough to raise sea level worldwide by an average of roughly three-quarters of an inch or more. By comparison, when factoring all contributions to sea level rise, global average sea level increased by about 3 inches overall during this period.

It’s important to note that another major effect of climate change is that increasing GHG emissions increase the concentration of dissolved carbon dioxide in ocean water, which leads to harmful effects on marine ecosystems. Rising levels of dissolved carbon dioxide increase the reaction of carbon dioxide with sea water to produce carbonic acid, which also decreases pH (i.e., increases acidity) and changes the balance of minerals in the water, making it more difficult for corals, some types of plankton, and other creatures to produce calcium carbonate, which is the main ingredient in their hard skeletons or shells. This is why climate change has such a harmful effect on coral reefs, as well as all the organisms dependent on them within the ecosystem.

Temperature Trends in Alaska

EPA’s U.S. and Global Temperature indicator shows that Alaska has warmed more quickly than any other state over the past century. Regionally, Alaska’s North Slope has warmed at the fastest rate of all. Alaska has also warmed more quickly than the global average. Here are some stats from EPA’s climate change indicators report:

• The sea ice extent measured in September 2023 was the fifth smallest on record. It was about 789,000 square miles less than the historical (1981–2010) average for that month—a difference almost three times the size of Texas. The lowest sea ice extent ever was recorded in September 2012.

• The length of the melting season for Arctic Sea ice has grown by 37 days since 1979. On average, Arctic Sea ice now starts melting seven days earlier and starts refreezing 30 days later compared to historical trends.

• EPA’s Permafrost indicator shows that between 1978 and 2022, permafrost temperatures increased at 14 out of 15 locations measured across Alaska

• Data for three Alaskan rivers demonstrate long-term trends toward earlier ice breakup in the spring. Looking at the average change over all years of data, the ice breakup dates for all three rivers have shifted earlier by eight to nine days. At all three locations, the earliest breakup dates ever recorded have occurred within the past four years.

What are the Major Takeaways from EPA’s Climate Change Indicators Report?

EPA’s latest climate change indicators report paints a sobering picture of the impacts of climate change. Not only are average global temperatures increasing, but so are levels of GHG emissions. The report also documents the increasing prevalence of extreme weather events, and rising ocean temperatures and sea levels, which threaten marine biodiversity and the safety of coastal communities. Rising temperatures also increase usage of heating, ventilation and air conditioning (HVAC) systems (where available), which in turn consumes more electrical energy, and results in more GHG emissions in a vicious circle.

Climate change also impacts many other areas of EHS and Environmental, Social and Governance (ESG). Increasing temperatures are increasing risks of heat-related occupational injuries and illnesses, which is one reason why OSHA has recently published a proposed rule to protect employees in both outdoor and indoor work environments from heat exposure.

Let’s also remember that the effects of climate change don’t impact human populations equally. Populations who are socially vulnerable due to economic inequality or racial discrimination generally have both fewer resources to offset the immediate impacts of climate change, such as access to HVAC systems or community-based resources, and also experience the worst impacts of climate change, including disproportionate exposure to flooding risks or the impacts of hurricanes and tropical storms.

The climate change indicators report includes this very useful summary:

“Climate change is affecting the environment in ways that have significant impacts on the health and well-being of people and ecosystems. For example, as temperatures increase, the frequency of extreme heat days and heat waves also increases, which puts people at greater risk for heat-related illnesses and deaths. Less snowpack and increased glacier melt affect water resources for both ecosystems and human use. Changes in the timing and character of seasons affect the number of days suitable for growing crops and increase pollen that triggers seasonal allergies. These changes will not be experienced equally, as some communities have faced and will continue to face disproportionate impacts of climate change due to existing vulnerabilities, including socioeconomic disparities, historical patterns of inequity, and systemic environmental injustices.”

Let VelocityEHS Help!

EPA’s latest climate report will likely raise awareness of the wide-ranging impacts of climate change and add to growing demands from stakeholders for companies to track and disclose their GHG emissions. These expectations exist alongside a growing number of regulations requiring some companies to report their GHGs emissions and may increase the perceived need for additional regulatory oversight. Now is the time to reassess what systems and technology tools your organization relies on to collect, analyze, and report GHG data to regulators, investors, and other stakeholders.

The Velocity’s GHG and Energy Management software allows you to automate and simplify the collection, validation, and reporting of your greenhouse gas and energy data, eliminating many of the administrative burdens that come with quantifying and disclosing your organization’s emissions and other climate risks. You can also easily generate the investor-grade data you need for compliance, while flexible reporting features help you manage shifting climate policies and disclosure requirements, as well as investor and supply-chain partner information requests.

Don’t wait to get your climate risk disclosure data in order. Request a Demo today and see firsthand how VelocityEHS can put your organization on a firm footing for compliance.