FUNDING FOR ENVIRONMENTAL RESEARCH AND DEVELOPMENT BY THE U.S. GLOBAL CHANGE RESEARCH PROGRAM 2014

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FUNDING FOR ENVIRONMENTAL RESEARCH AND DEVELOPMENT BY THE
U.S. GLOBAL CHANGE RESEARCH PROGRAM
2014
Prepared by Peter Saundry, Ph.D. for the COUNCIL OF ENVIRONMENTAL DEANS AND DIRECTORS,
AND THE MEMBERS OF THE COMMUNITY COLLEGE AFFILIATE PROGRAM OCTOBER 2014
NATIONAL COUNCIL FOR SCIENCE AND THE ENVIRONMENT

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Contents
Foreword ............................................................................................. 4
Summary ............................................................................................. 5
Mission, Strategy, Structure ................................................................. 7
Interagency Working Groups ............................................................... 9
1. Integrated Observations Interagency Working Group ................................... 9
2. Process Research Coordinating Committee ................................................... 9
3. Interagency Group on Integrated Modeling ................................................... 9
4. Carbon Cycle Interagency Working Group ................................................... 9
5. Adaptation Science Interagency Working Group ........................................ 10
6. Interagency Crosscutting Group on Climate Change & Human Health ...... 11
7. Social Sciences Coordinating Committee .................................................... 11
8. Interagency National Climate Assessment Working Group ........................ 11
9. Coordinating Group on Scenarios & Interpretive Science ........................... 11
10. International Research & Cooperation Interagency Working Group......... 12
11. Global Change Information System Interagency Coordination ................. 12
12. Communication & Education Interagency Working Group ...................... 12
Related Federal Interagency Efforts .................................................. 13

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T
Foreword
he National Council for Science and the Environment (NCSE) is pleased to acknowledge and express its deep appreciation to the American Association for the Advancement of Science (AAAS). The AAAS R&D Budget and Policy Program has provided the budget analysis behind this report for the past fifteen years, first under Kei Koizumi and, in recent years, under Patrick Clemins and now Matthew Hourihan.
AAAS drew the data for this report from White House Office of Management and Budget (OMB) R&D data, Budget of the United States Government, and from agency and historical data. Yearly values are adjusted for inflation using OMB's GDP deflators. Nominal values are unadjusted. FY 2013 are estimates adjusted for the full-year continuing resolution and sequestration. The text of this report is largely drawn directly from U.S. Global Change Research Program (USGCRP) materials from the White House,1 USGCRP website,2 and reports and budget justifications of the agencies participating in the USGCRP.
The definition of environmental R&D used in this report includes environmental physical, life, and social sciences; environmental engineering; energy-related fields; environmental data and information; and studies that utilize any or all of the above to address pollution problems or activities that impair the sustained functioning and productivity of the earth’s environment.
We have made no effort to analyze activities by specific “fields of science” or “scientific disciplines.”
Because terms such as “environmental science” and even “research” and “development” have imprecise definitions, estimates of federal funding for environmental R&D must be considered approximations. That is not to say the data and descriptions of particular programs are not accurate, rather that definitions are important in deciding which programs and projects to include in the analysis. We have attempted to maintain consistency over the past fourteen years in order to identify trends.
The budget of the federal government and the activities of its agencies are subject to change — sometimes significant change at short notice. We again encourage readers to explore the web sites and documents of the respective agencies and programs for the latest information.
1. Understanding and Responding to Global Climate Change: The U.S. Global Change Research Program in the 2015 Budget - http://www.si.edu/content/pdf/about/FY2015-BudgetRequest.pdf
2. U.S. Global Change Research Program - http://www.globalchange.gov

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Summary
he U.S. Global Change Research Program (USGCRP – known as the U.S. Climate Change Science Program from 2002 through 2008) coordinates and integrates federal research on changes in the global environment and their implications for society. During the past two decades, the United States, through the USGCRP, has made the world’s largest scientific investment in the areas of climate change and global change research.
The USGCRP began as a presidential initiative in 1989 and was mandated by Congress in the Global Change Research Act of 1990 (P.L. 101-606), which called for a comprehensive and integrated United States research program which will assist the nation and the world to understand, assess, predict, and respond to human-induced and natural processes of global change.
Thirteen departments and agencies participate in the USGCRP. One agency, the National Aeronautics and Space Administration (NASA), accounts for 57 percent of the USGCRP budget, while two others, the National Science Foundation (NSF) and the National Oceanic and Atmospheric Administration (NOAA), each account for 13 percent.
The Program is steered by the Subcommittee on Global Change Research (SGCR) under the National Science and Technology Council’s Committee on Environment and Natural Resources, overseen by the Executive Office of the President, and facilitated by an Integration and Coordination Office.
Figure 1. U.S. Global Change Research Program (budget authority in millions of constant 2014 dollars)
Notes:
1. Source: White House Office of Science and Technology Policy.
2. FY 2009 includes Recovery Act (ARRA or “stimulus”) funding.
3. FY 2015 funding is the level requested by the Administration to Congress, prior to any approval.

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Table 1. U.S. Global Change Research Program by Agency (budget authority in millions of dollars)
FY 2012 Actual
FY 2013 Actual
FY 2014 Estimate
FY 2015 Request
1
National Science Foundation
333
316
313
318 2 U.S. Department of Energy 212 209 217 246
3
U.S. Department of Commerce (NOAA)
327
301
329
248 4 U.S. Department of Agriculture 115 107 111 88
5
U.S. Department of the Interior
59
55
54
72 6 U.S. Environmental Protection Agency 18 17 18 20
7
Health and Human Services
6
10
8
8 8 National Aeronautics & Space Administration 1,422 1,355 1,431 1,392
9
Smithsonian Institution
18
8
8
8 10 Department of Transportation 1 1 1 1
TOTAL
2,511
2,379
2,489
2,501 Related but not included with USGCRP
11
State Department
3
3
3
3 12 USAID/International Assistance 10 11 11 8
13
U.S. Department of Defense1
--
--
--
--
Note:
1. Because Department of Defense (DOD) research activities are conducted for defense-related missions, they are not included in this USGCRP budget crosscut.

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Mission, Strategy, Structure
The USGCRP engages in a variety of activities aimed to strengthen and strategically direct climate change research in the United States and improve the flow of that information to policy makers; federal, state, and local decision makers; and the public.
The Program coordinates federal research efforts through the following four strategic goals:
1. Advance Science: Advance scientific knowledge of the integrated natural and human components of the Earth system to understand climate and global change.
2. Inform Decisions: Provide the scientific basis to inform and enable timely decisions on adaptation and mitigation.
3. Conduct Sustained Assessments: Build sustained assessment capacity that improves the nation’s ability to understand, anticipate, and respond to global change impacts and vulnerabilities.
4. Communicate and Educate: Advance communications and education to broaden public understanding of global change and develop the scientific workforce of the future.
The 2012–2021 Strategic Plan3 was developed by a team of over 100 federal scientists in collaboration with USGCRP leadership. The team drew on the advice of the National Academies and feedback from public sessions with stakeholder groups. The plan was revised in response to public comments and reviews by USGCRP, the member agencies of the Committee on Environment, Natural Resources, and Sustainability (CENRS), and the National Research Council.
Advances in these areas have been documented in numerous assessments commissioned by the program and have played prominent roles in international assessments such as those of the Intergovernmental Panel on Climate Change (IPCC). Program results and plans are documented in the program’s annual report, “Our Changing Planet.”
The USGCRP is led by a team of Principals from each of its thirteen participating agencies. The operational structure of the USGCRP is shown in Figure 2 below.
Interagency Working Groups (IWGs) are the primary USGCRP vehicles for implementing and coordinating global change research activities within and across agencies. These groups are critical to the integration and assessment of progress throughout the Program. The working groups span a wide range of interconnected climate and global change issues and address major components of the Earth's environmental and human systems, as well as cross-disciplinary approaches for addressing these issues.
IWGs are designed to bring agencies together to plan, develop, and implement coordinated activities and to identify and fill gaps in the Program’s plans. They allow public officials to communicate with each other on emerging directions within their agencies, their stakeholder needs, and best practices learned from agency activities. Together, these functions allow the agencies to work in a more coordinated and effective manner.
3. The National Global Change Research Plan 2012-2021: A Strategic Plan for the U.S. Global Change Research Program - http://www.globalchange.gov/browse/reports/national-global-change-research-plan-2012–2021- strategic-plan-us-global-change

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Figure 2. Structure of the US Global Change Research Program
1. Integrated Observations
2. Process Research
3. Integrated Modeling
4. Carbon Cycle
5. Adaptation Science
6. Climate Change and Human Health
7. Social Sciences
8. National Climate Assessment
9. Scenarios and Interpretive Science
10. International Research and Cooperation
11. Global Change Information System
12. Communicate and Educate

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Interagency Working Groups
The twelve Interagency Working Groups are:
1. Integrated Observations Interagency Working Group
The Integrated Observations Interagency Working Group (ObsIWG) plans, evaluates, and reports on interagency coordination and implementation of observations and monitoring among participating U.S. agencies. As a standing committee that supports USGCRP and the SGCR, the ObsIWG provides a forum for discussion, coordination, and implementation of integrated observational and monitoring capabilities for climate and related global change.
The scope of the ObsIWG includes the comprehensive observational system needed to meet climate science research and monitoring requirements as well as satellite-based observations and in situ observations (airborne, ground-based, and ocean-based, including systematic human observations) in the terrestrial, oceanic, and atmospheric domains.
Coordination strategies developed will be relative to the comprehensive climate observational system, not only to those portions covered by the USGCRP budget, and will reflect external coordination with international organizations and partners.
2. Process Research Coordinating Committee
The Process Research Coordinating Committee helps identify and prioritize fundamental global change science questions that require a coordinated interagency response. This coordination is organized through several "clusters" of interagency efforts that report back to the Process Research Coordinating Committee, in areas such as ecosystems and biodiversity, biogeochemical cycles, the water cycle, clouds and aerosols, and integrated Earth and human systems.
3. Interagency Group on Integrated Modeling
USGCRP’s Interagency Group on Integrated Modeling (IGIM) is charged with coordinating global change-related modeling activities across the federal government and providing guidance to USGCRP on modeling priorities. The ten federal agencies that participate in the IGIM engage on a range of relevant topics, including physical models of the Earth system, socioeconomic models of human systems and their interactions with the Earth system, and impacts models.
4. Carbon Cycle Interagency Working Group
USGCRP’s Carbon Cycle Interagency Working Group (CCIWG) coordinates carbon cycle research funded by USGCRP member agencies. Because the carbon cycle is associated with a wide range of global change research needs, the CCIWG works closely with other IWGs and engages with international partners. CCIWG works to establish priorities for carbon cycle science and evaluate needs emerging from new findings and observations. Currently, CCIWG coordinates work to advance the following priorities:

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 Explain past and current variations in observed atmospheric concentrations of the major carbon-containing greenhouse gases (GHGs; e.g., carbon dioxide and methane);
 Understand and quantify socioeconomic drivers of carbon emissions;
 Develop transparent methods to monitor and verify both natural and anthropogenic carbon emissions;
 Assess and evaluate the vulnerability of carbon fluxes and stocks under future conditions of global change and human activities;
 Predict the effects of different carbon dioxide and climate change scenarios on biodiversity, ecosystems, and natural resources, including potential positive feedbacks to the climate system;
 Assess the effectiveness and potential for unintended consequences of carbon management options that may be undertaken to mitigate GHG emissions and climate change; and
 Address needs of decision makers of all levels for useable data, information, models, projections, and decision support tools.
In consultation with the CCIWG, the U.S. Carbon Cycle Science Program provides a coordinated and focused scientific strategy for conducting federal carbon cycle research.
5. Adaptation Science Interagency Working Group
The mission of USGCRP's Adaptation Science Interagency Working Group (ASIWG) is to ensure that federal science effectively informs adaptation decisions at a range of scales in diverse sectors. The ASIWG is responsible for the effective implementation of USGCRP’s shared interagency priorities, investments, and activities related to science in support of adaptation within the broader context of the USGCRP’s Strategic Goal to Inform Decisions. Several critical roles of the ASIWG include:
 Conducting, translating, and facilitating the development of research for and of climate change adaptation; and
 Providing interagency coordination, management, and oversight of the USGCRP adaptation science portfolio.
Through these roles, the ASIWG provides scientific support to agencies in the adaptation planning process established under Executive Order (EO) 13514: Federal Leadership in Environmental, Energy, and Economic Performance and EO 13653: Preparing the United States for the Impacts of Climate Change. Specifically, the ASIWG is leading the following efforts:
 Identification of existing capabilities and critical gaps in science for informing adaptation decisions and policies;
 Improvement of the application and translation of science to meet the needs of decision makers;
 Advancement of social, behavioral, and economic science needed to visualize, analyze, and understand adaptation options;
 Development of data and frameworks to evaluate the effectiveness of adaptive actions;
 Advancement of the co-benefits and conflicts between adaptation and mitigation actions; and
 Coordination of science, tools, and services for regional adaptation.

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6. Interagency Crosscutting Group on Climate Change & Human Health
The Interagency Crosscutting Group on Climate Change and Human Health’s (CCHHG) mission is to promote and protect the nation’s public health by leading and coordinating federal scientific activities related to climate change and human health in an end-to-end manner, from basic research through public health practice. The CCHHG supports all four of USGCRP’s new strategic goals and works to address key gaps in understanding of the human health-related impacts of global change. Specific areas of focus include, but are not limited to: predictive modeling of health outcomes; producing data integration tools and products; supporting assessment activities (e.g., National Climate Assessment [NCA] and IPCC); and engaging with federal and non-federal stakeholders, both domestically and internationally.
7. Social Sciences Coordinating Committee
The 2012-2021 Strategic Plan recognizes the need to better integrate a broad range of knowledge and expertise from across the breadth of the social sciences. The Social Science Coordinating Committee (SSCC) fosters integration of the methods, findings, and disciplinary perspectives of the social, behavioral, and economic sciences into USGCRP activities in support of the Program’s strategic goals. In developing its initial focus, the SSCC is drawing heavily upon the recommendations of the USGCRP Social Science Task Force, which was established in 2012 after the release of the 2012-2021 Strategic Plan and fulfilled its mandate in early 2014.
8. Interagency National Climate Assessment Working Group
USGCRP’s Interagency National Climate Assessment (INCA) Working Group plays a vital role in coordinating, supporting, and implementing the federal components of the NCA, including deploying essential research and infrastructure for a sustained assessment process and products. The INCA Working Group is responsible for coordinating, developing, and implementing an interagency operational plan for the NCA, providing critical input to identify and support future NCA products, and developing interagency assessment capacity at the national and regional scales.
The INCA Working Group plans, coordinates, and implements the development of numerous technical products necessary for the assessment process, many of which have generated cutting-edge, interagency research on climate change science, impacts, and vulnerabilities. Under SGCR guidance, the INCA has hosted a wide range of expert and stakeholder workshops over the years in numerous regions and sectors to support the development of these technical products, advance assessment methodologies, and identify research needs.
9. Coordinating Group on Scenarios & Interpretive Science
The Coordinating Group on Scenarios and Interpretative Science fosters interagency coordination with the goal of building a U.S. scenario science enterprise. This effort is motivated by shared agency information needs for quantitative and qualitative scenario-related products aligned around regions, sectors, systems, and topics over spatial and temporal scales of interest. The major objectives of the Coordinating Group include:
 Advancing collaborative science around critical knowledge gaps;
 Enhancing methodologies for use-inspired scenario development, decision framing, and

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contextual interpretation;
 Developing the next generation of scenario work products for model intercomparison efforts, national and international assessment, and related analyses; and
 Improving interagency communications, coordination, and accessibility to knowledge, work products, and technical resources.
10. International Research & Cooperation Interagency Working Group
The International Research and Cooperation Interagency Working Group advises and assists the SGCR in advancing USGCRP’s strategic goals through international coordination and partnerships. The group coordinates a portfolio of activities, priorities, and goals for USGCRP’s international efforts.
11. Global Change Information System (GCIS) Interagency Coordination
USGCRP and the Global Change Information System (GCIS) leadership work closely with the U.S. GEO Data Management Working Group (DMWG), which provides guidance on interagency operability, technical design and implementation, and standards compatibility for the GCIS.
12. Communication & Education Interagency Working Group
USGCRP agencies work on a wide range of climate change education, training, and outreach programs. The USGCRP Communication and Education Interagency Working Group (CEIWG) was formed in 2008 to coordinate these efforts and to develop an integrated national approach to climate change. The group coordinates climate education, communication, and engagement activities and priorities across the USGCRP member agencies.

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Related Federal Interagency Efforts
1. The Committee on Environment, Natural Resources, and Sustainability (CENRS) coordinates interagency activities relevant to environmental research and policy, domestically and internationally. CENRS encompasses several subcommittees, including the Subcommittee on Global Change Research (the steering body for USGCRP) as well as other subcommittees with which USGCRP works closely.
2. The State, Local, and Tribal Leaders Task Force on Climate Preparedness and Resilience consists of individuals who will use their first-hand experiences in building climate preparedness and resilience in their communities to inform their recommendations to the Administration.
3. The Council on Climate Preparedness and Resilience considers recommendations developed by the above Task Force; coordinates federal climate preparedness and resilience activities; and supports state, local, and tribal actions to increase climate preparedness and resilience of communities, critical economic sectors, infrastructure, and natural resources.
4. The Interagency Arctic Research Policy Committee enhances scientific monitoring of and research on local, regional, and global environmental issues in the Arctic.
5. The National Ocean Council (NOC) is charged with implementing the National Ocean Policy, which covers actions the federal government will take to improve the health of the ocean, coasts, and Great Lakes. The Subcommittee on Ocean Science and Technology (SOST; a subcommittee of CENRS) works closely with the NOC to foster the implementation of the National Ocean Policy, including through the development and execution of national ocean research priorities.
6. The Air Quality Research Subcommittee (AQRS; a subcommittee of CENRS) works to enhance the effectiveness and productivity of U.S. air quality research and to improve information exchange between research and policy on air quality issues, including the scientific knowledge base for air quality standards and for assessing compliance.
7. The Subcommittee on Water Availability and Quality (SWAQ; a subcommittee of CENRS) focuses on science issues and associated policy options related to the availability and quality of water resources in the U.S. within the context of the global hydrologic cycle and changing climate.
8. The Subcommittee on Ecological Systems (SES; a subcommittee of CENRS) focuses on national ecological research priorities and includes the Working Group on Biodiversity and Ecosystem Informatics.
9. The Subcommittee on Disaster Reduction (SDR; a subcommittee of CENRS) facilitates national strategies for reducing disaster risks and losses that are based on effective use of science and technology, including in many climate-related areas.
10. The U.S. Group on Earth Observations (USGEO) supports cooperative, international efforts to build the Global Earth Observation System of Systems (GEOSS). GEOSS is being developed through the intergovernmental Group on Earth Observations (GEO), a partnership of 80 countries, the European Commission, and nearly 60 international organizations.

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NATIONAL COUNCIL FOR SCIENCE AND THE ENVIRONMENT

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