Strategic Plan for the U.S. Climate Change Science Program

The Strategic Plan for the U.S. Climate Change Science Program is a national cross-sectoral strategic plan of the United States of America. It describes a strategy for developing knowledge of variability and change in climate and related environmental and human systems, and for encouraging the application of this knowledge. The strategy seeks to optimize the benefits of research that is conducted, sponsored, or applied by 13 agencies and departments of the U.S. government. These agencies coordinate their research through the Climate Change Science Program (CCSP), which incorporates the U.S. Global Change Research Program (USGCRP) and the Climate Change Research Initiative (CCRI).
The Plan further provides that five CCSP goals have been identified to focus and orient research in the program to ensure that knowledge developed by the participating agencies and research elements can be integrated and synthesized to address these broad questions. These goals are: 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; and CCSP Goal 5: Explore the uses and identify the limits of evolving knowledge to manage risks and opportunities related to climate variability and change.
Finally, the Plan provides guidance regarding research in the following areas: integrating climate and global change research; atmospheric composition; climate variability and change; water cycle; land-use/land-cover change; carbon cycle; ecosystems; human contributions and responses to environmental change; modeling strategy; decision support resources development; observing and monitoring the climate system; data management and information; communications; and international research and cooperation.