Restructuring U.S. Federal Climate Research

The federal government's climate change research program should broaden its focus to include research that would support actions needed to cope with climate change-related problems that will impact society, while building on its successful research to improve understanding of the causes and processes of climate change, says a new report from the National Research Council.
As the U.S. Climate Change Science Program (CCSP) looks to the future, it should:

• establish a U.S. climate observing system;
• develop new modeling capabilities for regional- and decadal-scale forecasts;
• strengthen research on adaptation, mitigation, and vulnerability;
• initiate a periodic national assessment of climate impacts and responses;
• and routinely provide policymakers with crucial scientific information, tools, and forecasts.

Copies of RESTRUCTURING FEDERAL CLIMATE RESEARCH TO MEET THE CHALLENGES OF CLIMATE CHANGE are available from the National Academies Press.
Source: Press release National Academies