The Faculty of Science and Technology, The University of the West Indies, Mona, proudly celebratesProfessor Tannecia Stephenson, Climate Scientist and Deputy Dean for her contribution as a member of the14-person expert committeethat produced the landmark 2026 Consensus Study Report,Attribution of Extreme Weather and Climate Events and Their Impacts, for the U.S.National Academies of Sciences, Engineering, and Medicine.
Prof. Stephenson was the only committee member based at a Small Island Developing State (SIDS) institution—bringing an important Caribbean and SIDS perspective to an assessment with major implications for how the world understands climate extremes.
The significance of this appointment is considerable. The National Academies are among the world's most respected scientific advisory institutions, providing independent, objective analysis and advice on complex issues of science and public policy. Their consensus reports undergo rigorous independent expert review.
And this report addresses one of the most consequential questions in climate science today:
When an extreme event occurs, how much did human-caused climate change contribute to it—and to the damage it caused?
The report finds that Extreme Event Attribution (EEA) science has advanced substantially over the past decade. Scientists can now undertake some attribution studies within days of an event, with particularly high confidence for extreme heat and cold and large-scale heavy rainfall.
Importantly for the Caribbean and other vulnerable regions, the report also highlights what must come next: higher-resolution climate models, better observations and data, stronger capacity in underrepresented regions, greater collaboration with local experts, and improved methods for understanding compound and cascading extremes.
The report also advances the emerging science of attributing the impacts of extreme events—including effects on health, economies, agriculture and loss and damage—not simply changes in the physical hazard itself.
For a Caribbean scientist from The UWI to have a seat at this table is therefore significant—not only for Prof. Stephenson and the University, but for the visibility of Caribbean and SIDS science in shaping the global climate knowledge agenda.
Congratulations, Professor Stephenson, on this outstanding contribution!
Photo caption: Prof. Tannecia Stephenson
