*EPF412 07/24/2003
Excerpt: Bush Administration Outlines New Climate Change Program
(Effort marked by new investments coordinated strategies) (1380)

The Bush administration unveiled new initiatives July 24 to advance the science of climate change. One keystone of the initiative is a strategic plan for addressing climate change as outlined by the U.S. Climate Change Science Program, a consortium of federal agencies with scientific expertise.

The document begins with a summary of its vision and highlights, presented as an excerpt below.

The report is available in its entirety at http://www.climatescience.gov/Library/stratplan2003/vision/default.htm

Following is the text of the excerpt:

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The U.S. Climate Change Science Program:
Vision for the Program and
Highlights of the Scientific Strategic Plan
Report released 24 July 2003

Overview: The Need for the Best Available Science to Address Global Climate Change Issues

"The Earth's well-being is also an issue important to America. And it's an issue that should be important to every nation in every part of our world. The issue of climate change respects no border. Its effects cannot be reined in by an army nor advanced by any ideology. Climate change, with its potential to impact every corner of the world, is an issue that must be addressed by the world."
-- President Bush, June 11, 2001

Climate shapes the environment, natural resources, the economy, and other aspects of life in all countries of the world. Natural and human-induced changes in climate, as well as the options suggested for adapting to or slowing changes, may have substantial environmental, economic, and societal consequences. Decision makers, resource managers, and other interested citizens need reliable science-based information to make informed judgments regarding policy and actions.

In May 2001, the Administration asked the National Academy of Sciences - National Research Council (NRC) to provide an updated evaluation of key questions about climate change science. Upon receipt of the NRC's report in June 2001, the President directed the relevant agencies and departments of the federal government to build on the extensive U.S. Global Change Research Program (USGCRP) to accelerate research on the most important uncertainties in climate science, enhance climate observation systems, and improve information available to decision makers. To accomplish this, the Administration took several steps:

-- The President launched the Climate Change Research Initiative (CCRI) in June 2001, with an enhanced focus on the climate effects of aerosols (tiny particles) in the atmosphere, the carbon cycle in the Earth system, climate modeling, observations, and development of scientific information to support decision making.

-- The President created a new, cabinet-level organization in February 2002, to improve the government-wide management of climate science and climate-related technology development. Two collaborative interagency programs were launched in response to the President's direction: the Climate Change Science Program (CCSP) and the Climate Change Technology Program (CCTP).

-- In July 2002, a year-long process to prepare a 10-year strategic plan for the CCSP was initiated. This planning process was designed to ensure a comprehensive examination of research and observation needs, transparent review by all the international scientific and stakeholder communities, and establishment of defined goals for the research. This document, together with the companion CCSP scientific strategic plan, represents the culmination of the planning and public review process.

-- The United States has also launched an international effort to design and implement a comprehensive, multilaterally sponsored Earth observing system, which will provide critical information to improve climate science and modeling. This system will build directly upon the major advances in observations and data management already achieved by the United States and other nations. A ministerial meeting hosted by the U.S. government in Washington in July 2003 is the first step in a planned 10-year effort to greatly improve the ability to "take the temperature of the Earth."

Vision and Goals

Research and observations can play unique roles in helping society to deal with key climate change issues. This gives rise to the guiding vision of the U.S. Climate Change Science Program.

GUIDING VISION FOR THE CCSP:

A nation and the global community empowered with the science-based knowledge to manage the risks and opportunities of change in the climate and related environmental systems.

Five principal goals have been adopted to guide the CCSP.

-- CCSP Goal 1: Improve knowledge of the Earth's past and present climate and environment, including its natural variability, and improve understanding of the causes of observed variability and change.

-- CCSP Goal 2: Improve quantification of the forces bringing about changes in the Earth's climate and related systems.

-- CCSP Goal 3: Reduce uncertainty in projections of how the Earth's climate and related systems may change in the future.

-- CCSP Goal 4: Understand the sensitivity and adaptability of different natural and managed ecosystems and human systems to climate and related global changes.

-- CCSP Goal 5: Explore the uses and identify the limits of evolving knowledge to manage risks and opportunities related to climate variability and change.
By developing information with the aim of achieving these goals, the program will ensure that it addresses the most important climate-related issues. For each of the goals, the CCSP will prepare science-based information resources that support policy discussions and decision making.

CCSP Priorities

While the CCSP Strategic Plan includes a decade-long strategy, it also establishes priorities for the near term consistent with the President's Climate Change Research Initiative. The program prioritizes three broad sets of scientific uncertainties: atmospheric distributions and effects of aerosols; climate feedbacks and sensitivity, initially focusing on polar feedbacks; and carbon sources and sinks, focusing particularly on North America.

The CCSP will also focus on climate observing systems, including efforts to document historical records, improve observations for use in climate models, enhance ecological observing systems, and improve data and information system architectures.

Development of state-of-the-art climate modeling that will improve understanding of the causes and impacts of climate change is also a CCSP priority. These models will be key assets in helping policymakers, planners, and resource managers address climate change issues.

CCSP Principal Products

The CCSP plan calls for the creation of a series of more than 20 synthesis and assessment reports during the next 4 years. These reports respond to the CCSP highest priority research, observation, and decision support needs.
In addition to the scheduled integrated reports, the CCSP agencies will continue to sponsor a large number of research projects and observation programs each year. The products of these activities - a wide array of peer-reviewed scientific publications and major observation records - are a major continuing legacy of the CCSP.

Development of the Strategic Plan

This Vision Document provides an overview of the CCSP's long-term Strategic Plan to guide the research effort. The Vision Document focuses primarily on the goals, products, and approaches of the CCSP. The Strategic Plan, spanning more than 300-pages, will guide the coordinated efforts of the 13 agencies participating in the CCSP. The Strategic Plan provides more detailed information on the scientific questions and objectives addressed by the program, as well as additional information on the current state of knowledge. The table of contents of the Strategic Plan is reproduced as Appendix A.

The Strategic Plan responds to the President's direction that climate change research activities be accelerated to provide the best possible scientific information needed for climate-related decisions. The plan reflects a commitment to high-quality science, which requires openness to review and critique by the wider scientific and stakeholder communities. The process by which the plan was drafted incorporates the transparency essential for scientific credibility. The program received extensive comments and suggestions during its Climate Science Workshop in December 2002 attended by more than 1,300 scientists and other participants, including individuals from 47 states and 36 nations. In the weeks following the workshop, the CCSP also received 270 sets of written public comments, involving nearly 900 pages of text. In addition, the CCSP requested and received a detailed evaluation (released in February 2003) from a special committee of the National Research Council. The NRC will provide a second public report in late 2003, expressing the committee's conclusions and recommendations on the content, objectivity, quality, and comprehensiveness of the updated Strategic Plan, on the open process used to produce it, and on the proposed process for developing subsequent findings to be reported by the CCSP.

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(Distributed by the Bureau of International Information Programs, U.S. Department of State. Web site: http://usinfo.state.gov)

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