Last year the President set new rules on carbon emissions from power plants, but they don't seem to be having an effect.
The third National Climate Assessment, released by the White House, says the number and strength of extreme weather events have increased over the past 50 years. Studies have shown that climate change is having significant financial, ecological and human health impacts across the US and will worsen in the coming decades. Rising sea levels, downpours and extreme heat are damaging infrastructure.
Released shortly after the trio of reports from the Intergovernmental Panel on Climate Change, the assessment re-iterates the finding that climate change is real, and "driven primarily by human activity".
This conclusion comes from the observed evidence on extreme weather events such as heavy downpours of rain and extreme heat. The authors point to the record-breaking summer temperatures in Texas and Oklahoma in 2011, where even during the night the mercury continued to soar. Well-documented threats from wildfires in the West could ultimately cut agricultural productivity.
As well as food security, the report warns that millions of people and properties are at risk from rising seas, which are becoming more acid. Five million people live in areas that are 1.2 meters above the local high-tide level. Read the full report here.
The same problem is occurring across the world. This winter's floods in England caused damage to thousands of homes and more of the south east cliffs crumbled into the sea. I count myself lucky to be living inland in one of the highest parts of the country in Hertfordshire.
The US assessment warns that current efforts to cut emissions are not working and will cause negative social, environmental, and economic consequences.
Around the world, leaders need to take action to regulate industry's emissions. Ordinary people can't tackle big business. But we can ensure our own use of carbon is minimal.