Federal Climate Legislation

U.S. Global Research Act of 1990
Public Law 101-606, 104 Stat. 3096-3104, November 11, 1990
"An Act To require the establishment of a United States Global Change Research Program aimed at understanding and responding to global change, including the cumulative effects of human activities and natural processes on the environment, to promote discussions toward international protocols in global change research, and for other purposes."

National Climate Program Act
Public Law 95-367, Sept. 17, 1978
Amended P.L. 106-580, December 29, 2000
"An Act To establish a comprehensive and coordinated national climate policy and program, and for other purposes."

H.R. 906: Global Change Research and Data Management Act of 2007, introduced February 2007
"A bill to promote and coordinate global change research, and for other purposes."
H.R. 906 Summary
H.R. 906 Hearing Charter
H.R. 906 Bill Sections

Activities under the Global Climate Research Act of 1990:

US Global Change Research Program (USGCRP)
The U.S. Global Change Research Program (USGCRP) supports research on the interactions of natural and human-induced changes in the global environment and their implications for society. The USGCRP began as a presidential initiative in 1989 and was codified by Congress in the Global Change Research Act of 1990 (P.L. 101-606), which mandates development of a coordinated interagency research program.

U.S. Climate Change Science Program (CCSP)
The President called for improved government-wide management of climate science and launched two collaborative interagency programs: the Climate Change Science Program (CCSP) and Climate Change Technology Program (CCTP) in February 2002. The CCSP incorporates and integrates the U.S. Global Change Research Program (USGCRP) with the Administration’s U.S. Climate Change Research Initiative (CCRI).
CCSP Scientific Strategic Plan, 2003
The CCSP uses four approaches to work towards its goals: Scientific research, observations, decision-support, and communication.

CCSP Goals
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.
Goal 2: Improve quantification of the forces bringing about changes in the Earth’s climate and related systems.
Goal 3: Reduce uncertainty in projections of how the Earth’s climate and related systems may change in the future.
Goal 4: Understand the sensitivity and adaptability of different natural and managed ecosystems and human systems to climate and related global changes.
Goal 5: Explore the uses and identify the limits of evolving knowledge to manage risks and opportunities related to climate variability and change.

Climate Change Research Initiative (CCRI)
In response to the National Academy of Sciences Report, President Bush launched the Climate Change Research Initiative (CCRI) in June 2001 to further investigate the climate effects of green house gases, the global carbon cycle, and climate modeling and observations to support decision-making on a national scale. The Climate Change Research Initiative (CCRI) represents a focusing of resources and attention on those elements of the USGCRP that can best support improved public debate and decision-making in the near term. In particular, a goal of the CCRI is to improve the integration of scientific knowledge, including measures of uncertainty, into effective decision-support systems.

CCSP Products and Materials (in affiliation with the USGCRP)

CCSP Synthesis and Assessment Products (SAPS)
In July 2002, a 10-year strategic plan for the CCSP was initiated, establishing five main strategic goals to guide the CCSP. For each of the goals, the CCSP was cited to prepare 21 synthesis science-based assessment and products to support policymakers.

"Our Changing Planet," Released annually 1995-present
A Report by the Climate Change Science Program (CCSP) and The Subcommittee on Global Change Research established under the Global Climate Research Act of 1990 and the 2001 Climate Change Research Initiative (CCRI), launched by President Bush.

FY 2008	FY 2007
FY 2006	FY 2005
FY 2004	FY 2003
FY 2002	FY 2001
FY 2000	FY 1999
FY 1998	FY 1997
FY 1996

U.S. National Assessment: Climate Change Impacts on the United States: The Potential Consequences of Climate Variability and Change, 2003

The National Assessment of the Potential Consequences of Climate Variability and Change is part of the ongoing effort to understand climate change as it relates to the U.S. This document is the Assessment Overview, written by the National Assessment Synthesis Team (NAST). The NAST is a committee of experts drawn from governments, universities, industry, and non-governmental organizations. The Assessment was called for by the U.S. Global Climate Research Act of 1990, and has been con-ducted under the USGCRP in response to a request from the President's Science Advisor. The Assessment is part of a national process to research, analyze, and initiate dialogue concerning coming changes in climate, impacts, and potential adaptation strategies.
Separate Relevant Chapters:
Chapter 8: Potential Consequences of Climate Variability & Change for the Western United States
Chapter 7: Potential Consequences of Climate Variability & Change for the Great Plains
Chapter 14: Potential Consequences of Climate Variability & Change for the Water Resources of the United States

Activities under the 1978 National Climate Program Act:

NOAA Climate Program Office
The Climate Program Office (CPO), created in October 2005, incorporates the Office of Global Programs, the Arctic Research Office, and the Climate Observations and Services Program and, coordinates climate activities across all NOAA. These activities serve as a foundation for NOAA's participation in the interagency U.S. Climate Change Science Program (CCSP) and fulfills Section 3 of 15 U.S.C. 2902, National Climate Program Act of 1978 that mandates the establishment of "a national climate program that will assist the Nation and the world to understand and respond to natural and man-induced climate processes and their implications."

An approach to designing a national climate service. (Inaugural article) PNAS 103(52): 19616-19623
Miles, E. L., A. K. Snover, et al. (2006).
Abstract
Climate variability and change are considerably important for a wide range of human activities and natural ecosystems. Climate science has made major advances during the last two decades, yet climate information is neither routinely useful for nor used in planning. What is needed is a mechanism, a national climate service (NCS), to connect climate science to decision-relevant questions and support building capacity to anticipate, plan for, and adapt to climate fluctuations. This article contributes to the national debate for an NCS by describing the rationale for building an NCS, the functions and services it would provide, and how it should be designed and evaluated. The NCS is most effectively achieved as a federal interagency partnership with critically important participation by regional climate centers, state climatologists, the emerging National Integrated Drought Information System, and the National Oceanic and Atmospheric Administration (NOAA) Regional Integrated Sciences Assessment (RISA) teams in a sustained relationship with a wide variety of stakeholders. Because the NCS is a service, and because evidence indicates that the regional spatial scale is most important for delivering climate services, given sub national geographical/geophysical complexity, attention is focused on lessons learned from the University of Washington Climate Impacts Group's 10 years of experience, the first of the NOAA RISA teams.

 

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