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International Research and Cooperation
Recent Accomplishments |
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Updated 1 December 2007
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International Research and Cooperation |
Observing and Monitoring the Climate SystemRecent Accomplishments CCSP / USGCRP International Working Group Members
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The following are selected highlights of recent activities supported by CCSP participating agencies (as reported in the fiscal year 2008 edition of the annual report, Our Changing Planet). Intergovernmental Panel on Climate Change Fourth Assessment Report. The IPCC began release of its Fourth Assessment Report (AR4) in early 2007. In addition to providing scientific expertise and leadership during the drafting and editing process, CCSP supports the activities of the Working Group I Technical Support Unit via interagency distributed costs. Via its coordination office, CCSP managed the U.S. author nomination process, the Expert and Government Reviews, and the final government review of the Summaries for Policymakers for Working Groups I and II. The Working Group I report, Climate Change 2007: The Physical Science Basis, was accepted in February 2007; the Working Group II report, Climate Change 2007: Impacts, Adaptation, and Vulnerability, in April 2007; and the Working Group III report, Climate Change 2007: Mitigation of Climate Change, in May 2007. The final Synthesis Report is scheduled for release in November 2007.
Famine Early Warning System Network Program.USAID Famine Early Warning System Network (FEWS NET) efforts to provide short- and long-term climate forecasting in the developing world is helping to enhance the adaptive capacity of developing countries to respond to climate variability and change. For instance, in August 2005, FEWS NET released a report on Recent Drought Tendencies in Ethiopia and Equatorial Subtropical Eastern Africa, which demonstrated how warming in the Indian Ocean and changes in the monsoonal circulation pattern could reduce rainfall across large areas of the Greater Horn of Africa. A new report is being prepared that extends this analysis to other areas of the African continent. This information will better enable development agencies and regional and local institutions to direct appropriate resources and support toward strengthening the adaptive capacity of affected groups and the food production systems upon which they depend.World Climate Research Program. In addition to its extensive core activities, the World Climate Research Program (WCRP) in 2006 contributed significantly to the IPCC AR4 through the WCRP-Coupled Model Intercomparison Project. WCRP reported to the UNFCCC Subsidiary Body for Scientific and Technical Advice (SBSTA) 25 on research gaps and needs related to the convention with ESSP partners. WCRP also held a successful workshop on sea-level rise and variability which developed an interdisciplinary international
consensus on observational needs for monitoring sea-level rise. WCRP, in cooperation with the International Geosphere-Biosphere Programme (IGBP), convened a workshop on next-generation Earth system models and emissions scenario requirements in preparation for the IPCC Fifth Assessment Report (AR5) and communicated them to the IPCC Chair.
International Geosphere-Biosphere Programme.In addition to the successful input to the IPCC with the WCRP through the Coupled Carbon Cycle Model Intercomparison Project, IGBP published its second-phase Science Plan and Implementation Strategy that will guide the IGBP with nine core projects through the coming years. IGBP joined with CCSP and others to sponsor the first AfricaNess Workshop in 2005 and continued its support of development of an African Global Change Research Network. Currently, a science plan is under development to underpin the efforts of this network.International Human Dimensions Programme.The International Human Dimensions Programme (IHDP) is currently preparing a science plan for the period 2007 to 2015. IHDP has also recently decided to relocate the activities of its central secretariat to the United Nations University in Bonn to reduce costs and improve the international linkages of its programs. Given its unique scientific community that includes social scientists who study the science policy and science practice interface, IHDP’s increased emphasis on decision support complements the decision-support activities of CCSP.DIVERSITAS Programme. DIVERSITAS emphasizes aspects of biodiversity science related to climate and global change, thus complementing CCSP’s responsibility to monitor changes in biodiversity related to global change. In 2006, DIVERSITAS’ international profile continued to expand. The program was recognized as a Participating Organization in the Group on Earth Observations GEO-III plenary and asked to serve as the lead agency for the Biodiversity Societal Benefit Area; and, with the Global Terrestrial Observing System, the Global Biodiversity Information Facility, and GEO organized a workshop to define user needs for a global biodiversity observing system. The program also continued to provide significant contributions to development of an International Mechanism of Scientific Expertise on Biodiversity (IMoSEB). DIVERSITAS continues to make progress in implementing all of its core projects including forging critical links with other programs’ projects and activities.
Earth System Science Partnership.The Earth System Science Partnership hosted its Second Open Science Conference on “Global Environmental Change: Regional Challenges” in November 2006 in Beijing, People’s Republic of China. This meeting brought together over 800 scientists from virtually all climate and global change research disciplines. At this meeting, the Global Environmental Change and Human Health Project and the Monsoon Asia Integrated Regional Study (MAIRS) were launched. These projects, along with the Global Water System Project (GWSP), the Global Carbon Project (GCP), and Global Environmental Change and Food Systems (GECAFS), are expected to contribute to significant scientific advances in the science of global change research.SysTem for Analysis, Research and Training Programme. START programs, given their focus on development of research-driven capacity in developing countries for all of the ESSP programs, directly supports U.S. goals of fostering global change research and developing research capacity as called for in the Global Change Research Act of 1990. With its global reach and extensive on-the-ground experience working with
scientific principal investigators, local communities, governments, and young scientists, the START program has played a critical role in advancing a variety of projects of interest to the United States and the global scientific community. Prior to the ESSP Open Science Conference, the START program successfully held its second START Young Scientists Conference which brought together the talent of early career scientists from all over the world (including many from the United States) and from many global change disciplines to discuss their research and forge connections that will promote international collaborative scientific cooperation and activities. START, through its connections with development aid agencies, is uniquely positioned to forge meaningful connections between the global change research and development communities.
Global Earth Observation System of Systems. The United States is playing an important role in the Global Earth Observation System of Systems (GEOSS), an international framework for coordinating and sustaining Earth observations and related information. Information from GEOSS is expected to revolutionize understanding of the Earth and how Earth observations may benefit society. A copy of the 10-year implementation plan for GEOSS adopted by the United States and nearly 60 countries in February 2005 may be found at
. The U.S. Group on Earth Observations (USGEO) has drafted a strategic plan for integrated Earth observations, which contributes directly to GEOSS. CCSP coordinates USGEO’s climate and global change-related activities. USGEO is focusing on the following areas, many of which are directly or indirectly related to CCSP: understanding, assessing, predicting, mitigating, and adapting to climate variability and change; weather forecasting; reducing loss of life and property from disasters; protecting and monitoring ocean resources; supporting sustainable agriculture and combating land degradation; understanding the effect of environmental factors on human health and well-being; developing the capacity to make ecological forecasts; protecting and monitoring water resources; and monitoring and managing energy resources.
Bilateral Cooperation in Climate Change Science and Technology.Since June 2001, the United States has launched bilateral climate partnerships with 15 countries and regional organizations that, combined with the United States, account for almost 80% of global greenhouse gas emissions (for a more substantive discussion of the climate change science and technology bilaterals, see www.climatescience.gov/Library/ stratplan2003/final/ccspstratplan2003-chap15.htm#5). Partnerships have been established with Australia, Brazil, Canada, China, Central America (Belize, Costa Rica, El Salvador, Guatemala, Honduras, Nicaragua, and Panama), the European Union, Germany, India, Italy, Japan, Mexico, New Zealand, the Republic of Korea, the Russian Federation, and South Africa. These bilateral initiatives seek to build on key elements of CCSP and the Climate Change Technology Program, including research, observations, data management and distribution, and capacity building.Successful joint projects have been initiated in areas such as climate change science; clean and advanced energy technologies; carbon capture, storage, and sequestration; and policy approaches to reducing greenhouse gas emissions. The United States is also assisting key developing countries in efforts to build the scientific and technological capacity needed to address climate change. Two ongoing objectives for the bilateral activities will be continued advancement of results-oriented programs and the fostering of substantive policy dialogs within all of the bilateral climate change partnerships. In order to broaden U.S. cooperative efforts to advance a practical and effective global response to climate change, the United States will expand outreach and support to the developing country community, utilizing a regional approach where feasible. |
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