us climate change science program listening session€¦ · us climate change science program...

US Climate Change Science ProgramIncorporating the US Global Change Research Program and the Climate Change Research Initiative

US Climate Change Science ProgramUS Climate Change Science Program

Listening SessionListening Session

Community Participation in the Path AheadCommunity Participation in the Path Ahead

http://www.climatescience.gov/Library/stratoptions/listening-sessions.phphttp://www.climatescience.gov/Library/stratoptions/listening-sessions.php

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Listening SessionListening Session• Motivation: The need to engage a variety of stakeholders in the

strategic planning process of the US Global Change ResearchProgram / Climate Change Science Program (USGCRP/CCSP)

• Primary Objective: Obtain stakeholder input on key topics to informstrategic planning activities and documents

• What CCSP does with the information– Record comments and additional questions

– Collect stakeholder contact information

– Generate session report that identifies key themes and supporting comments

– Provide report to strategic planning teams and post on the CCSP website

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eClimate Change Science ProgramClimate Change Science Program

The Climate Change Science Program (CCSP) incorporates the US GlobalChange Research Program (USGCRP), established by the Global ChangeResearch Act of 1990, and the 2001 Climate Change Research Initiative.

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

Mission: Facilitate the creation and application of knowledge of the Earth’sglobal environment through research, observations, decision support, andcommunication.

Responsibility: Coordinating and integrating scientific research on globalvariability and change sponsored by 13 participating agencies of the USGovernment.

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eCCSP ActivitiesCCSP Activities

Coordination and Planning• Agency leads and EOP liaisons, Interagency

Working Groups, Coordination Office• Strategic Plan (2003), Revised Research Plan

(2008), annual research prioritization• International research cooperation and

coordination (IPCC, International researchprograms, Support of agency activities, Formaland informal partnerships)

Selected Products• Our Changing Planet (annually)• 21 Synthesis and Assessment Products (2006 –

2009)• Scientific Assessment (2008)• Unified Synthesis Product (in progress)

Global Change ResearchInformation Office (GCRIO)www.gcrio.org

Websiteswww.climatescience.govwww.usgcrp.govwww.climatetechnology.govwww.carboncyclescience.gov

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CCSP Strategic Planning ProcessCCSP Strategic Planning Process

• Internal activities– Strategic Planning Study Group– “Building Blocks” (research elements, cross-cutting issues)– Links to agency strategic planning processes

• External activities– National Research Council Committee on Strategic Advice to

the CCSP– Stakeholder listening sessions and roundtables

• Regional• Sector-based (e.g., water managers, public health)• Current and previous reports describing stakeholder needs and

evaluations of the CCSP– Forums at professional and service society meetings

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eScience to Inform Adaptation Building BlockScience to Inform Adaptation Building Block

Recommendations for a National Adaptation Strategy:

• Full integration with any national mitigation strategies or efforts

• Bridge activities at the local, state, regional, tribal, and federal government levels;

• Acknowledge the important roles played by non-profit and for-profit partners;

• Specify the spectrum of activities required to understand the risks and opportunitiesof climate change and to make decisions about adaptation and mitigation, from basicresearch to applications;

• Support and guide federal, regional, and local efforts to prepare for and respond toclimate change and limit additional emissions; and

• Affirm the importance of a “patchwork of approaches” that are place-based andgrounded in deliberate and ongoing engagement of stakeholders.

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Adaptation Building BlockAdaptation Building Block• Key Questions Related to:

• Characterizing the Need for Adaptation

• Identifying and Developing Adaptation Approaches

• Implementing and Evaluating Adaptation Approaches

• Pathways and Options:• Few examples of adaptation are available at the national level – some examples at

the local and regional level

• Must respond before impacts become chronic or too large to deal with effectively

• Strategic, integrated science approach is needed to anticipate and effectively adaptto climate change

– Holistic, interdisciplinary approach

– Close programmatic coordination

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Global Water Cycle Building BlockGlobal Water Cycle Building Block

• Complex physical, chemical and biological interactions that providefreshwater necessary to sustain various ecosystems and human life

• Observed warming over several decades linked to large-scalehydrologic cycle changes

• Water and other resource managers, policy makers, and otherstakeholders require advances in climate science research to allowfor informed planning and implementation of adaptation andmitigation efforts

• At the same time, necessary investments (e.g., observations,models, advanced data assimilation and system) are also needed

• Interdisciplinary collaboration is necessary

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Water Cycle Research GoalsWater Cycle Research Goals• Develop strategic frameworks to integrate global water cycle and terrestrial

hydrologic research addressing societal needs in a changing climate(adaptation & mitigation strategies, assessments, decision support)

• Develop and enhance observing and monitoring networks for research, enduse operations, and ecosystem services

• Identify deficiencies in cloud formulations and feedback representations inclimate models, and improve cloud processes representations

• Improve observations and modeling of processes and feedbacks includingsnow and ice packs freeze/thaw, soil moisture, and groundwater interactions

• Link GCMs to regional and/or local scale hydrologic models, includinginvestigation of two way interactions and feedback issues

• Provide improved simulation and prediction of hydrologic parameters andconditions leading to extreme events, such as floods and prolongeddroughts, in the context of changing intensity and frequency

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Discussion QuestionsDiscussion Questions

• What major climate-related challenges or questions are youfacing in the provision and regulation of water resources?

• What data or information do you need to address these challenges?

•Do you feel that this information readily available to you, or are there gaps inclimate change research that you feel are critical to answer in order for you tomake informed decisions?

•What are your current sources of information? What do you like about thesesources and what could be improved?

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• How can climate change science and information needed tosupport your decisions and discussions be better provided?

•Are data and other climate change information presented in a format that isappropriate and easy to use for the decisions you need to make? If not, how can webetter provide the information needed to support your decisions & discussions?

•What sources of climate change data or information do you use regularly? What doyou like about these sources, and what would you like to see changed?

•Are there training needs or tools that could better assist you in protecting the publicfrom health impacts related to climate change? Who should provide such resources?

•What characteristics of future projections of climate change are important for youand the decisions you need to make?

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• Do you find scientific assessments related to climate change(e.g., IPCC reports, CCSP Synthesis and AssessmentProducts) useful in helping you make informed decisions?

• What aspects of the assessment reports do you find most useful?

• What else should these reports provide?

• What other types of climate change synthesis and assessment documents do you use(e.g., from a specific business or industry, NGO groups, etc.)?

• Should such assessments be conducted by governmental agencies or by third-party organizations (e.g. National Academy of Science)?

• Would it be most useful to organize such assessments around scientificallyrelevant topics (e.g. the carbon cycle) or by impacts (e.g. impacts on agriculture)?

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• What do you feel are the roles and responsibilities of thefederal government in addressing climate change?

•Which of these do you think are currently being fulfilled, and by whom?

•How do these roles and responsibilities relate to those oflocal/state/tribal governments? Business and industry? NGOs?Academia? Grass-roots groups / community organizers and individualcitizens?

•Do you feel there is a need for a central, coordinating federal climateprogram, such as CCSP, and what role should such an entity play?

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You may also provide writtenYou may also provide writtencomments tocomments to

[email protected]@usgcrp.gov

US Climate Change Science ProgramIncorporating the US Global Change Research Program and the Climate Change Research Initiative

Additional InformationAdditional Information

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eCCSP Organizational ContextCCSP Organizational Context

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CCSP Interagency Committee

CCSP Office

Atm. Comp.

Climate Var. & Change

Water Cycle LULCC

Comm.

HCR

Internat.

Carbon

Ecosys.

Obs.

Interagency Working Groups

Modeling FOG

Educ.

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eCCSP Interagency Working GroupsCCSP Interagency Working Groups

• Atmospheric Composition• Climate Variability and

Change• Modeling

• Global Water Cycle• Land Use and Land

Cover Change• Global Carbon Cycle• Ecosystems• Human Contributions and

Responses

• Observing and Monitoringthe Climate System• Data Management

and Information• Communications• International Research

and Cooperation• Education

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Building BlocksBuilding BlocksCross-Cutting Research Elements

Program Framing Atmospheric Composition

Science to Inform Mitigation Climate Variability and Change

Science to Inform Adaptation Carbon Cycle

Observations and DataManagement

Decision Support

Modeling Ecosystems

International Cooperation Land Use/Land Cover Change

Communication and Outreach Human Contributions andResponses

Education Water Cycle

Assessments

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NRC Review of CCSPNRC Review of CCSPhttp://www.nap.edu/catalog.php?record_id=11934http://www.nap.edu/catalog.php?record_id=11934

• Separation of leadership and budget authoritypresents a serious obstacle to progress in theCCSP.

• Discovery science and understanding of theclimate system are proceeding well, but useof that knowledge to support decision makingis proceeding slowly.

• Progress in understanding and predictingclimate change has improved more at global,continental, and ocean basin scales than atregional and local scales.

September 2007

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• Our understanding of the impact of climatechanges on human well-being andvulnerabilities is much less developed than ourunderstanding of the natural climate system.

• Science quality observation systems havefueled advances in climate change science,and applications, but many existing andplanned observing systems have beencanceled, delayed, or degraded, whichthreatens future progress.

• Progress in communicating CCSP results andengaging stakeholders is inadequate.

NRC Review of CCSPNRC Review of CCSPhttp://www.nap.edu/catalog.php?record_id=11934http://www.nap.edu/catalog.php?record_id=11934

September 2007

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eRestructuring Federal Climate Research to Meet theRestructuring Federal Climate Research to Meet the

Challenges of Climate Change (February 2009)Challenges of Climate Change (February 2009)http://books.nap.edu/catalog.php?record_id=12595http://books.nap.edu/catalog.php?record_id=12595

• Reorganize the program around integrated scientific-societal issues tofacilitate crosscutting research focused on understanding theinteractions among the climate, human, and environmental systemsand on supporting societal responses to climate change.

• Establish a U.S. climate observing system, defined as includingphysical, biological, and social observations, to ensure that dataneeded to address climate change are collected or continued.

• Develop the science base and infrastructure to support a newgeneration of coupled Earth system models.

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eRestructuring Federal Climate Research to Meet theRestructuring Federal Climate Research to Meet the

Challenges of Climate Change (February 2009)Challenges of Climate Change (February 2009)http://books.nap.edu/catalog.php?record_id=12595http://books.nap.edu/catalog.php?record_id=12595

• Strengthen research on adaptation, mitigation, and vulnerability.

• Initiate a national assessment process with broad stakeholderparticipation to determine the risks and costs of climate changeimpacts on the United States and to evaluate options for responding.

• Coordinate federal efforts to provide climate services (scientificinformation, tools, and forecasts) routinely to decision makers.

us climate change science program listening session€¦ · us climate change science program...

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