On June 30, ASM joined 48 fellow scientific societies in the following letter urging Congress to act immediately on climate change with research and innovation.

Dear Members of Congress,

The undersigned major scientific organizations write to express the evidence-based urgency of boldly addressing climate change and encourage you to act quickly.

Observations throughout the world make it clear climate change is occurring and rapidly intensifying. Rigorous scientific research concludes greenhouse gases (GHG) emitted by human activities are the primary driver. The basic physical science behind climate change is well understood and not the subject of serious scientific debate. There is strong evidence that ongoing climate change is having broad negative impacts on society, including the global economy, our shared environment and oceans, and human health. The severity of climate change impacts is likely to increase significantly in the coming decades

(The conclusions in this and the preceding paragraph reflect the scientific consensus represented by, for example, the U.S. Global Change Research Program, the U.S. National Academies, and Intergovernmental Panel on Climate Change. Many scientific societies have endorsed these findings in their own statements, including the American Association for the Advancement of Science, American Chemical Society, American Geophysical Union, American Meteorological Society, American Statistical Association, Ecological Society of America, and Geological Society of America.) 

To reduce the risk of the most severe impacts of climate change, anthropogenic greenhouse gas emissions must be substantially reduced. Additionally, it is imperative we invest heavily in adaptation and mitigation strategies to improve resilience, including substantial infrastructure upgrades. Rapid action is necessary to avoid potentially disastrous consequences for health, biodiversity, food security, water availability and national security.

Leading with science will be critical to understanding and addressing the effects of climate change, and the entire scientific community will play a role in addressing this emergency. Robust support for climate research and forecasting, including the social sciences to address human and ecological impacts, will be necessary to meet this global challenge.

The science makes it clear that bold action is needed to address the climate crisis. The undersigned scientific community is not only up to the challenge, but also stands ready to assist you with solutions.

 

Agricultural and Applied Economics Association
American Anthropological Association
American Association for the Advancement of Science
American Astronomical Society
American Chemical Society
American Geophysical Union
American Institute of Biological Sciences
American Meteorological Society
American Psychological Association
American Public Health Association
American Society for Microbiology
American Society of Agronomy
American Society of Animal Science
American Society of Ichthyologists and Herpetologists
American Society of Plant Biologists
American Society of Plant Taxonomists
American Society of Primatologists
American Sociological Association
American Statistical Association
American Thoracic Society
Association for the Sciences of Limnology and Oceanography
Association for Tropical Biology and Conservation
Association of Ecosystem Research Centers
Asthma and Allergy Foundation of America
BioQUEST Curriculum Consortium
Botanical Society of America
Consortium for Ocean Leadership
Consortium of Social Science Associations
Crop Science Society of America
Ecological Society of America
Entomological Society of America
Geological Society of America
Harvard Museum of Comparative Zoology
National Association of Marine Laboratories
Natural Science Collections Alliance
Organization of Biological Field Stations
Society for Freshwater Science
Society for Industrial and Applied Mathematics
Society for Mathematical Biology
Society for the Study of Amphibians and Reptiles
Society of Nematologists
Society of Systematic Biologists
Soil Science Society of America
The American Society of Naturalists
The Helminthological Society
The Herpetologists' League
The Oceanography Society
University Corporation for Atmospheric Research