US Climate Change Science Program Listening Session. Community Participation in the Path Ahead

Transcription

1 Listening Session Community Participation in the Path Ahead

2 Listening Session Motivation: The need to engage a variety of stakeholders in the strategic planning process of the US Global Change Research Program / Climate Change Science Program (USGCRP/CCSP) Primary Objective: Obtain stakeholder input on key topics to inform strategic 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

3 Climate Change Science Program The Climate Change Science Program (CCSP) incorporates the US Global Change Research Program (USGCRP), established by the Global Change Research Act of 1990, and the 2001 Climate Change Research Initiative. Vision: A nation and the global community empowered with the sciencebased knowledge to manage the risks and opportunities of change in the climate and related environmental systems. Mission: Facilitate the creation and application of knowledge of the Earth s global environment through research, observations, decision support, and communication. Responsibility: Coordinating and integrating scientific research on global variability and change sponsored by 13 participating agencies of the US Government.

4 CCSP Activities Global Change Research Information Office (GCRIO) Websites 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 research programs, Support of agency activities, Formal and informal partnerships) Selected Products Our Changing Planet (annually) 21 Synthesis and Assessment Products ( ) Scientific Assessment (2008) Unified Synthesis Product (in progress)

5 CCSP 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

6 Science 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 opportunities of climate change and to make decisions about adaptation and mitigation, from basic research to applications; Support and guide federal, regional, and local efforts to prepare for and respond to climate change and limit additional emissions; and Affirm the importance of a patchwork of approaches that are place-based and grounded in deliberate and ongoing engagement of stakeholders.

7 Adaptation 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 adapt to climate change Holistic, interdisciplinary approach Close programmatic coordination

8 Global Water Cycle Building Block Complex physical, chemical and biological interactions that provide freshwater necessary to sustain various ecosystems and human life Observed warming over several decades linked to large-scale hydrologic cycle changes Water and other resource managers, policy makers, and other stakeholders require advances in climate science research to allow for informed planning and implementation of adaptation and mitigation efforts At the same time, necessary investments (e.g., observations, models, advanced data assimilation and system) are also needed Interdisciplinary collaboration is necessary

9 Water 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, end use operations, and ecosystem services Identify deficiencies in cloud formulations and feedback representations in climate models, and improve cloud processes representations Improve observations and modeling of processes and feedbacks including snow and ice packs freeze/thaw, soil moisture, and groundwater interactions Link GCMs to regional and/or local scale hydrologic models, including investigation of two way interactions and feedback issues Provide improved simulation and prediction of hydrologic parameters and conditions leading to extreme events, such as floods and prolonged droughts, in the context of changing intensity and frequency

10 Discussion Questions What major climate-related challenges or questions are you facing 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 in climate change research that you feel are critical to answer in order for you to make informed decisions? What are your current sources of information? What do you like about these sources and what could be improved?

11 Discussion Questions How can climate change science and information needed to support your decisions and discussions be better provided? Are data and other climate change information presented in a format that is appropriate and easy to use for the decisions you need to make? If not, how can we better provide the information needed to support your decisions & discussions? What sources of climate change data or information do you use regularly? What do you 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 public from health impacts related to climate change? Who should provide such resources? What characteristics of future projections of climate change are important for you and the decisions you need to make?

12 Discussion Questions Do you find scientific assessments related to climate change (e.g., IPCC reports, CCSP Synthesis and Assessment Products) 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 thirdparty organizations (e.g. National Academy of Science)? Would it be most useful to organize such assessments around scientifically relevant topics (e.g. the carbon cycle) or by impacts (e.g. impacts on agriculture)?

13 Discussion Questions What do you feel are the roles and responsibilities of the federal 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 of local/state/tribal governments? Business and industry? NGOs? Academia? Grass-roots groups / community organizers and individual citizens? Do you feel there is a need for a central, coordinating federal climate program, such as CCSP, and what role should such an entity play?

14 You may also provide written comments to

15 Additional Information

16 CCSP Organizational Context

17 Atm. Comp. Ecosys. Internat. CCSP Interagency Committee CCSP Office Interagency Working Groups Carbon Water Cycle LULCC HCR Climate Var. & Change Educ. Modeling Comm. Obs. FOG

18 CCSP 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 Monitoring the Climate System Data Management and Information Communications International Research and Cooperation Education

19 Building Blocks Cross-Cutting Program Framing Science to Inform Mitigation Science to Inform Adaptation Observations and Data Management Modeling International Cooperation Communication and Outreach Education Assessments Research Elements Atmospheric Composition Climate Variability and Change Carbon Cycle Decision Support Ecosystems Land Use/Land Cover Change Human Contributions and Responses Water Cycle

20 NRC Review of CCSP Separation of leadership and budget authority presents a serious obstacle to progress in the CCSP. Discovery science and understanding of the climate system are proceeding well, but use of that knowledge to support decision making is proceeding slowly. Progress in understanding and predicting climate change has improved more at global, continental, and ocean basin scales than at regional and local scales. September 2007

21 NRC Review of CCSP Our understanding of the impact of climate changes on human well-being and vulnerabilities is much less developed than our understanding of the natural climate system. Science quality observation systems have fueled advances in climate change science, and applications, but many existing and planned observing systems have been canceled, delayed, or degraded, which threatens future progress. Progress in communicating CCSP results and engaging stakeholders is inadequate. September 2007

22 Restructuring Federal Climate Research to Meet the Challenges of Climate Change (February 2009) Reorganize the program around integrated scientific-societal issues to facilitate crosscutting research focused on understanding the interactions among the climate, human, and environmental systems and on supporting societal responses to climate change. Establish a U.S. climate observing system, defined as including physical, biological, and social observations, to ensure that data needed to address climate change are collected or continued. Develop the science base and infrastructure to support a new generation of coupled Earth system models.

23 Restructuring Federal Climate Research to Meet the Challenges of Climate Change (February 2009) Strengthen research on adaptation, mitigation, and vulnerability. Initiate a national assessment process with broad stakeholder participation to determine the risks and costs of climate change impacts on the United States and to evaluate options for responding. Coordinate federal efforts to provide climate services (scientific information, tools, and forecasts) routinely to decision makers.