The Government Accountability Office has recommended the National Institute of Standards and Technology to lead an ongoing government-wide effort alongside the Mitigation Framework Leadership Group and U.S. Global Change Research Program to deliver forward-looking climate information to standards organizations.
GAO said in a report published Tuesday institutional and technical challenges affected a number of standards-developing organizations’ usage of forward-looking climate information on the development of codes, design standards and voluntary certifications.
The congressional watchdog found that some SDOs have taken preliminary steps towards the potential use of forward-looking climate information and some groups periodically update climate information in certifications, codes and standards.
Agencies such as the MitFLG, NIST and USGCRP have implemented measures to help SDOs mitigate challenges on the use of such climate information, according to GAO.
GAO added that federal agencies should boost interagency coordination to identify the best available forward-looking climate information.