Implementing Climate and Global Change Research A Review of the Final U.S. Climate Change Science Program Strategic Plan (2004) / Chapter Skim
Currently Skimming:
Appendix A: Excerpts from Planning Climate and Global Change Research: A Review of the Draft U.S. Climate Science Program Strategic Plan
Appendix A: Excerpts from Planning Climate and Global Change Research: A Review of the Draft U.S. Climate Science Program Strategic Plan
Pages 35-77
The Chapter Skim interface presents what we've algorithmically identified as the most significant single chunk of text within every page in the chapter.
Select key terms on the right to highlight them within pages of the chapter.
From page 35... ...
Appendixes
|
From page 37... ...
CLARIFYING VISION AND GOALS 54 Elements of a Strategic Plan, 54 Relationship Between the GCRP and the CCRI, 57 3. MEETING THE NATION'S NEEDS FOR CLIMATE AND GLOBAL CHANGE INFORMATION 59 The Global Climate Observation System, 60 Improve Understanding of Climate and Associated Global Changes, 61 Addressing Key Uncertainties, 64 Decision Support Resources, 65 Capacity Building to Implement the Strategic Plan, 68 Financial Resources for Implementing the Plan, 68 4.
|
From page 38... ...
draft strategic plan for climate informed by the program explicitly mention global changes and global change studies. The letter (see Appendix D)
|
From page 39... ...
Global Change Research strategic plan does not include such data, nor was it Program; Mary Glackin, Oceanic and National possible for the committee or the CCSP to generate it in the Atmospheric Administration; Jack Kaye, National time available. Even if available, these data would reflect Aeronautics and Space Administration; Jerry Elwood, only the current balance of the program and not the future Department of Energy; Ari Patrinos, Department of Energy; directions outlined in the draft plan (e.g., whether new Michael Slimak, Environmental Protection Agency; Steve activities, such as those in decision support, applied climate Shafer, Department of Agriculture; Daniel Reifsnyder, modeling, and land-use and land-cover change, will be Department of State; Harlan Watson, Department of State; supported through new funding or by redirecting funds Martha Garcia, U.S.
|
From page 40... ...
We wish the This study differs from most National Academies CCSP leadership well as it takes on the challenging task of studies in three respects. First, the timeline for this first revising the draft strategic plan to enhance the usefulness of report was limited -- approximately three months from the the program to the decision makers who need to better committee's first meeting to the deadline for delivery of understand the potential impacts of climate change and this report.
|
From page 41... ...
Climate Change Science Program's workshop and other comments received by the program during the public comment period. If time permits, the committee also will comment on any significant process issues related to the workshop that could affect how the program revises the draft plan.
|
From page 42... ...
James Baker, The Academy of Natural Sciences, Philadelphia, Pennsylvania Roberta Balstad Miller, Columbia University, Palisades, New York Christopher B Field, Carnegie Institution of Washington, Stanford, California Inez Fung, University of California, Berkeley Gregory Greenwood, California Resources Agency, Sacramento George M
|
From page 43... ...
GCRP to provide tangible decision support resources, The U.S. Climate Change Science Program (CCSP)
|
From page 44... ...
a two to four year activity give the false impression that decision support is needed only in the near-term. While short-term deliverables are possible in this arena, decision CLARIFY VISION AND GOALS support also will be needed as an ongoing component of the The committee found that the draft strategic plan lacks program.
|
From page 45... ...
responsibilities is particularly important for new areas of research that have not been significant program elements of The plan currently describes scientific planning the GCRP in the past, such as land-use and land-cover committees that will be composed of independent experts to change and decision support. It is also important for help the agencies plan specific program elements, as has crosscutting research elements, notably water cycle and been done for the carbon cycle, the water cycle, climate ecosystems research, which are carried out within multiple observations, climate modeling, and elsewhere.
|
From page 46... ...
Recommendation: The revised strategic plan should Recommendation: The revised plan should strengthen better describe a strategic program for achieving an its approach to the human, economic, and ecological integrated observing system for detecting and dimensions of climate and associated global changes to understanding climate variability and change and ensure it supports the research necessary to project and associated global changes on scales from regional to monitor societal and ecosystem impacts, to design global. adaptation and mitigation strategies, and to understand the costs and benefits of climate change and related The committee believes that the draft plan misses an response options.
|
From page 47... ...
CAPABILITY The committee views the definition and development The draft strategic plan identifies the reduction of of decision support resources as a critical short-term goal of uncertainty as a top priority for the CCSP and the CCRI.
|
From page 48... ...
However, it is clear that the scope of activities described in the draft strategic plan is greatly enlarged over what has SET THE STAGE FOR IMPLEMENTATION been supported in the past through the GCRP. Implementing this expanded suite of activities will require The draft strategic plan calls for a multitude of research significant investments in infrastructure and human and decision support advances, including a greatly resources and therefore will necessitate either greatly strengthened climate modeling infrastructure to address increased funding for the CCSP or a major reprioritization local, regional, national, and international needs; increased and cutback in existing programs.
|
From page 49... ...
The committee believes it is essential for the CCSP to move forward with the important new elements of CCRI while preserving crucial parts of existing GCRP programs. Recommendation: The CCSP should use the clear goals and program priorities of the revised strategic plan and advice from the independent advisory body recommended by the committee to guide future funding decisions.
|
From page 50... ...
There is no doubt that global changes, and to add research that will enable humans have modified the abundances of key greenhouse decision makers to understand the potential impacts ahead gases in the atmosphere, in particular carbon dioxide, and make choices among possible response strategies. methane, nitrous oxide, and tropospheric ozone (IPCC, Further, new collaborations among scientists, policy 2001c)
|
From page 51... ...
produced Global Environmental coordinating national global change research, the Global Change: Research Pathways for the Next Decade (NRC, Change Research Act mandated that the GCRP produce 1999b)
|
From page 52... ...
DOS Secretary: OSTP Associate Director for Science Members DS/US Level: CEQ, DOD, DOI, DOS, DOT, EPA, HHS, NASA, NEC, NSF, OMB, USDA Climate Change Science Program Climate Change Technology Program Director: Assistant Secretary of Commerce Director: Assistant Secretary of Energy for Oceans and Atmosphere for Energy Efficiency and Renewable Energy Members: DOC, DOD, DOE, DOI, DOS, DOT, EPA, Members: DOC, DOD, DOE, DOI, DOS, DOT, EPA, HHS, NASA, NSF, OMB, OSTP, Smithsonian, USAID, HHS, NASA, NSF, OMB, OSTP, USAID, USDA USDA * Chair and Vice Chair of Committee and Working Group rotate annually November 2002 FIGURE 1-1 Climate Science and Technology Management Structure.
|
From page 53... ...
This committee will issue a second report stakeholders at a major planning workshop in Washington, reviewing the final strategic plan and the CCSP's planning D.C., on December 3-5, 2002. The CCSP also requested process.
|
From page 54... ...
program design and resource allocation; and · Management plan that provides mechanisms for ELEMENTS OF A STRATEGIC PLAN ensuring that the goals are met and for coordinating, Vision integrating, and balancing individual program elements and participating agencies. The vision for a large government research program like the CCSP should address such national aims as A coherent strategic plan containing these elements is understanding how humans affect global change; especially critical when, as in the CCSP, the institutional implementing efforts to minimize the most harmful effects; environment is diverse and fragmented and when the reducing vulnerability to global change; and protecting program involves new directions and collaborations.
|
From page 55... ...
In crafting its vision, the CCSP will need to explicitly The draft plan lists many proposed activities, yet it consider the scope of the program; that is, does the program does not identify which of these activities have higher focus exclusively on issues of "climate change" -- as one priorities than others, either across the CCSP as a whole or might infer from the name of the Climate Change Science within individual program areas of the CCRI or GCRP, nor Program itself and its constituent, the Climate Change does it describe a process for establishing priorities.8 The Research Initiative -- or does it encompass all, or some, mismatch between these multiple proposed activities and other global changes -- as one might infer from the name of the resources currently devoted to the program implies that the CCSP's other constituent, the U.S. Global Change not all of the projects will be pursued with the same Research Program?
|
From page 56... ...
· "[a] ddress key and emerging climate change science areas that offer the prospect of significant improvement in understanding of climate change phenomena, and where accelerated development of decision support information is possible" (p.
|
From page 57... ...
Chapter 15 of the draft strategic plan Many of the activities described in Chapters 2 and 3 of constitutes a preliminary management plan for the CCSP the draft plan, however, are not consistent with the CCRI and describes at a general level the management structures focus on decision support and are unlikely to produce and processes that will be used to coordinate and integrate deliverables within four years. This is not to say that these federal research and technology development in climate and activities are unimportant, but simply that they are not associated global change.
|
From page 58... ...
include an explicit mechanism to link GCRP and the decision support needs of the CCRI. The revised plan CCRI activities.
|
From page 59... ...
Even at this · Develop decision support resources. Creating level the plan specifies that one of the objectives of the "resources to support policymaking and resource CCRI will be to identify "national-level decisions and [use]
|
From page 60... ...
Its goals would be to supply the scientific basis for detecting climate guided by an overarching observation strategy. It is important that the revised strategic plan address the and associated global changes and for testing and following: calibrating the climate system models, and to develop data products of use to decision makers.
|
From page 61... ...
The CCSP highlights Recommendation: The revised strategic plan should the need to investigate regional problems, devoting a better describe a strategic program for achieving an section in Chapter 4 of the draft plan to "Decision Support integrated observing system for detecting and Resources for Regional Resource Management" (CCSP, understanding climate variability and change and 2002, p.
|
From page 62... ...
The need for research in these areas logically outcomes. Overall, the draft plan devotes insufficient follows from the CCSP's new emphasis on decision attention to understanding the interplay between climate support, and is identified in the draft strategic plan.10 Strong change and the ecological patterns and processes that and strategic research programs on human dimensions and sustain the capacity of ecosystems to deliver goods and ecosystems and better integration of economic concepts services desired by society (e.g., the diversity, distribution, would enable CCSP to meet this need.
|
From page 63... ...
that have large feedbacks to climate Integration of Critical Crosscutting Issues and change. Associated Global Changes The draft plan makes an important step in this direction through its inclusion of land use and land cover change as a While the draft strategic plan does a better job of new core program element.
|
From page 64... ...
These include questions that can be addressed The draft strategic plan identifies reducing uncertainty using "if, then" scenarios and improvements to climate as a top priority for the CCSP, and the CCRI in particular models that can be accomplished with existing data and (e.g., CCSP, 2002, p.
|
From page 65... ...
Although the draft strategic plan has incorporated the Key uncertainties should be identified more general language about decision support in many places, it systematically, in consultation with decision makers to is vague about what this will actually mean. In some cases learn what decisions they need to make.
|
From page 66... ...
Research on processes to improve decision making The applied climate modeling discussion could be should comprise activities to tailor available tools for improved by strengthening its treatment of several decision support and risk analysis, the transfer of tools substantial challenges to meeting the ambitious goals it sets across context, and the development of tools customized for forward. climate and global change decision making.
|
From page 67... ...
The UNEP/WMO ozone CAPACITY BUILDING TO IMPLEMENT assessments have had fifteen years of highly successful THE STRATEGIC PLAN interaction with governments as Parties to the 1987 Montreal Protocol on Substances that Deplete the Ozone The draft strategic plan calls for many research and Layer. While the IPCC assessments are referenced and used decision support advances, including a greatly strengthened to justify the CCSP, the lessons learned, among others the climate modeling infrastructure to address local, regional, outstanding success in communicating with governments national, and international needs; increased collaboration on around the world, are overlooked.
|
From page 68... ...
The committee believes that the CCSP faces a major Recommendation: The revised strategic plan should challenge in systematically developing institutional provide details about how the CCSP will acquire the infrastructure, growing new cross-disciplinary intellectual computing resources necessary to achieve its goals. talent, nurturing networks of diverse perspectives and capabilities, and fostering successful transition from FINANCIAL RESOURCES FOR research to decision support applications.
|
From page 69... ...
As discussed in Chapter 2 of this report, forward with the important new elements of CCRI while these resource allocation decisions must be based on the preserving crucial parts of existing GCRP programs. goals and priorities of the program, which should be clearly described in the revised strategic plan.
|
From page 70... ...
, and calls for the development of a new mechanism to analysis, and decision support functions in the CCSP that improve the integration of program elements that are not critically depend on a deep understanding of the central to the core missions of participating agencies.11 In technologies and options that are being developed to the sections that follow, the committee examines elements address climate and associated global changes. These of this management framework and offers advice on how include the rate of diffusion of new technologies, the cost they could be improved in the revised strategic plan.
|
From page 71... ...
. The new CCSP Defining responsibilities is particularly important for new management structure announced by President Bush in areas of research that have not been supported by the GCRP February 2002 is designed to address this problem by in the past, such as land-use and land-cover change and providing a level of accountability and direction that was decision support.
|
From page 72... ...
Thus, there will be a need for scientific and ability to direct other agencies' efforts and hold them other stakeholder guidance at the level of the program to accountable for performance and coordination. The success ensure that are established clear priorities and of the CCSP will also require the support and oversight of communicated, toward meeting that progress the the Committee on Climate Change Science and Technology subsequent goals can be evaluated, and that the inevitable Integration and the Interagency Working Group on Climate trade-offs in resources and allocation of time can be done Change Science and Technology, as well as the continued with an eye toward meeting the most important of the guidance of independent advisory bodies.
|
From page 73... ...
As discussed in Chapter 3 of this report and as The plan needs to clearly indicate how its research activities identified repeatedly at the December planning workshop, will support both of these types of decisions, as well as one overarching weakness of the draft strategic plan is its those for a broader suite of stakeholders. treatment of decision support.
|
From page 74... ...
In particular, portions of the draft plan focus so These concepts are mentioned in Chapter 14 of the draft strongly on decision support in the United States, on land plan, but not in a strategic way. The value of multi-national cover in the United States, on the carbon cycle in the United research networks has been demonstrated in several States, and so forth that it is not at all clear what the balance ongoing agency programs and in international may be between focusing on the United States itself and organizations.
|
From page 75... ...
Chapter 13 of the human dimensions and decision support tasks, which draft plan accurately describes the need for improved public should be better integrated into relevant chapters. understanding of climate change, and lists a number of mechanisms that could be used for this purpose.
|
From page 76... ...
Global Change Research Program and Climate Washington, D.C.: National Academy Press. Change Research Initiative.
|
From page 77... ...
2001a. Climate Change Science: An Analysis of Some Washington, D.C.: National Academy Press.
|
Key Terms
This material may be derived from roughly machine-read images, and so is provided only to facilitate research.
More
information on Chapter Skim is available.