The Interagency Working Group on the Social Cost of Greenhouse Gases has issued updated guidance designed to bolster the government’s methodology for how to account and track GHGs.

Howard Shelanski, Office of Information and Regulatory Affairs administrator, and Jay Shambaugh, Council of Economic Advisers member, wrote in a blog post published Friday the IWG asked National Academies of Sciences to provide advice on how to update the former’s methodology to reflect the most current science.

The IWG has expanded the presentation of its social cost of carbon dioxide estimates through NAS-recommended discussion and will incorporate advise from the Academies’ into the social cost of carbon and release new estimates for methane and nitrous oxide.

“As we take steps to continue to keep these estimates informed by the most up-to-date science and economics, this Administration also recognizes that climate change is a global threat that requires international cooperation to combat effectively,” Shelanski noted.

The post added that the IWG will look to evaluate its estimation approach on the social cost of GHGs based on the longer-term guidance from the NAS’ final report.

The National Institute of Standards and Technology has published a report on the challenges faced by people with mobility impairments during emergency evacuations from multi-story buildings.

NIST said Friday it conducted the Perspectives of Occupants with Mobility Impairments on Fire Evacuation and Elevators study through face-to-face interviews with 51 persons that have mobility impairments to discuss means to leave a building during a fire evacuation.

A question on the study involved the use of an occupant evacuation elevator designed to transport people with mobility impairments out of a building without the assistance of others as an alternative to the stairs method.

“For too long, building evacuation plans have been put in place with measures that designers believe people with mobility impairments will need… Our study shows that you can’t do it properly without listening to what they actually do require,” said Erica Kuligowski, co-author on the report.

NIST noted the respondents generally agreed that evacuation strategies should provide people with mobility impairments a feeling of safety, independence, an opportunity to remain with a mobility aid, a means to quickly evacuate and communicate with security.

U.S. Attorney General Loretta Lynch appointed Richard Hartunian of the Northern District of New York and Barbara McQuade of the Eastern District of Michigan as the respective chair and vice chair of the Attorney General’s advisory committee.

The Justice Department said Monday that Hartunian replaces former U.S. Attorney John Walsh for the District of Colorado as committee chair while McQuade succeeds Hartunian as vice chair.

“They are both seasoned prosecutors, exemplary law enforcement officers, and devoted public servants, and I look forward to benefitting from their long experience and wise counsel as we advance the department’s vital work in the months ahead,” said U.S. Attorney General Loretta Lynch.

Hartunian became vice chair of the AGAC in January 2015 after he previously served as co-chair of the border and immigration subcommittee and as a member of the subcommittees focused on Native American issues, health care fraud and environmental crimes.

He was appointed U.S. attorney for the Northern District of New York in 2010 and prior to that he was assistant U.S. attorney since 1997 and as the district’s Narcotics Chief and Organized Crime Drug.

McQuade, who joined the AGAC in April 2013, previously was co-chair of the terrorism and national security subcommittee as well as served on subcommittees that tackle civil rights and border security matters.

She also worked as an assistant U.S. attorney in Detroit, Michigan, and as deputy chief of the National Security Unit.

Established in 1973, AGAC provides advice to the Attorney General on policy, management and operational issues that affect the offices of the U.S. Attorneys.