Lanza Selected as Author on Sixth National Climate Assessment

Assistant Professor Kevin Lanza, PhD, has been selected as an author for the Southern Great Plains chapter of the Sixth National Climate Assessment (NCA6). The NCA6 publication, a government-funded report, will analyze the impacts of climate change to be presented to Congress and the president.

As a chapter author, Lanza will develop materials for the Southern Great Plains section — focusing on climate effects directly impacting Texas, Arkansas, and Oklahoma — set to be released by The White House in 2027. The report will identify risks across the U.S. to inform future planning and policies to guide the public and government officials tasked to tackle climate change's impact and coordinate responses. 

"I am excited to share my expertise on how extreme heat impacts physical activity, health, and well-being of youth and their households, and on potential solutions to mitigate the threat of heat," said Lanza with the Department of Environmental and Occupational Health Sciences. "I plan to highlight the body of literature that shows the disproportionate health burden experienced by economically disadvantaged and minoritized communities." 

The upcoming NCA6 will address several core topics in its next iteration: 

• Summarize all findings concerning the effects of climate change. 
• Assess the effects on the environment, agriculture, energy production and use, land and water resources, transportation, welfare, and social systems. 
• Identify current and future trends of climate change impacts on humans and biodiversity. 

The report, published every four years, serves as the nation’s leading publication that addresses and documents the changing landscape of the environment. Constructed by over 500 authors, NCA6 is set to divulge a wide range of insights from varying leaders across the nation. Each contributor will provide expertise and data to disseminate to politicians and the public. "The knowledge, perspectives, and experiences from this diverse group of experts facilitate the development of policy-neutral and policy-relevant information about climate change that is accessible and actionable," he said.  

The NCA6 will undergo extensive reviews from federal climate health experts, along with a panel established by the National Academies of Sciences, Engineering, and Medicine. 

Lanza, a 2024 SUHI (Sinai Urban Health Institute) Equity Research Fellow, is a leading voice on children’s environmental health. He has served on the Children's Health Protection Advisory Committee and the Climate Change Subcommittee of the Board of Scientific Counselors of the U.S. Environmental Protection Agency. 

In his tenure, he has completed a fellowship at the U.S. Centers for Disease Control and Prevention, a PhD in City & Regional Planning from Georgia Institute of Technology, and completed his postdoctoral training at the Michael & Susan Dell Center for Healthy Living at UTHealth Houston School of Public Health. His research has received funding from the National Institutes of Health, National Science Foundation, National Oceanic and Atmospheric Administration, National Aeronautics and Space Administration, Robert Wood Johnson Foundation, and City of Austin, among others.