Climate Change Science Program

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The Climate Change Science Program (CCSP) was created by the U.S. government in February, 2002 to address unresolved questions [1] regarding global warming. The CCSP's goal is to "integrate federal research on global change and climate change."

In announcing the CCRI, President Bush directed the reestablishment of priorities for climate change research, including a focus on identifying the scientific information that can be developed within 2 to 5 years to assist the nation's evaluation of optimal strategies to address global change risks. [2]

The program has five goals:

Extend knowledge of the Earth’s past and present climate and environment, including its natural variability, and improve understanding of the causes of observed changes
Improve understanding of the forces bringing about changes in the Earth’s climate and related systems
Reduce uncertainty in projections of how the Earth’s climate and environmental systems may change in the future
Understand the sensitivity and adaptability of different natural and managed systems to climate and associated global changes July 2003 Research under the U.S. Climate Change Science Program is sponsored by 13 Federal agencies:
Explore the uses and identify the limits of evolving knowledge to manage risks and opportunities related to climate variability and change

The first of 21 reports to be produced concluded that the lower atmosphere is growing warmer and that there is "clear evidence of human influences on the climate system." [3]

The program also reports that:

"Fluctuations in the amount of energy emitted by the Sun, slight deviations in the Earth's orbit, volcanic injections of gases and particles into the atmosphere, and natural variations in ocean temperatures and currents, all cause variability and changes in climate conditions." [4]