Highlights

Since 1989, the U.S. Global Change Research Program (USGCRP) has submitted annual reports to Congress called Our Changing Planet. The reports describe the status of USGCRP research activities, provide progress updates, and document recent accomplishments.

In particular, Our Changing Planet highlights progress and accomplishments in interagency activities. These highlights represent the broad spectrum of USGCRP activities that extend from Earth system observations, modeling, and fundamental research through synthesis and assessment, decision support, education, and public engagement.

SERVIR is a joint initiative between NASA and USAID that develops demand-driven services, tools, and training for decision-makers in more than 50 countries. By connecting USAID’s development network with NASA’s science, geospatial technologies, and extensive satellite data, SERVIR helps strengthen local capacity to integrate science and technology into decision-making.

Since 2004, SERVIR has collaborated with leading regional organizations in the developing world to help people and institutions...

USGCRP agencies and interagency groups played a leading role in the development of a Belmont Forum international Collaborative Research Action (CRA) launched in April 2019, focused on issues at the intersection of climate, environment, and human health.

In addition to an international scoping workshop organized by the Interagency Crosscutting Group on Climate Change and Human Health (CCHHG) and International Activities Interagency Working Group (IAIWG) in April 2018, USGCRP member agencies (including NIH, NOAA, and NSF) participated in a year-long,...

USGCRP coordinates and supports the engagement of the U.S. science community in major international assessments on global change science, including those conducted by the Arctic Monitoring and Assessment Programme, the Intergovernmental Panel on Climate Change (IPCC), and the Intergovernmental Science-Policy Platform on Biodiversity and Ecosystem Services (IPBES), as well as science panels informing the Montreal Protocol on Substances that Deplete the Ozone Layer process.

International assessment reports provide policymakers with regular updates on the state of...

USGCRP co-led an international group of funders and implementers in initiating development of a collaborative research action.

The Belmont Forum is an international partnership between national research funding agencies and international science organizations focused on advancing transdisciplinary global change science and accelerating its application. Its Collaborative Research Actions (CRAs) combine natural science, social science, and stakeholder perspectives to produce knowledge for understanding and responding to global environmental change. In November...

USGCRP efforts support building global change research capacity in developing countries.

USGCRP provides support to help sustain the core operations of three international science organizations: the World Climate Research Program (WCRP), which is the primary coordination mechanism for international research on the climate system; System for Analysis, Research and Training (START), which provides opportunities for research, education, and training to scientists, policymakers, and practitioners in developing countries; and Future Earth...

A participant using the GLOBE Observer app on their mobile device examines a magnified mosquito larva to determine if it is a disease-carrying species.

Interagency efforts are engaging citizens in forecasting and observation of mosquito threats.

Global Learning and Observations to Benefit the Environment (GLOBE) is an international science and education program that provides students and the public worldwide with the opportunity to participate in data collection and the scientific process and contribute meaningfully to our understanding of the Earth system and global environment. In 2017, the U.S. Department of State (DOS) partnered with NASA to leverage GLOBE in engaging hard-to-reach populations in...

START (global change SysTem for Analysis, Research and Training) promotes research-driven capacity-building to advance knowledge on global environmental change in Africa and Asia-Pacific, through research grants and fellowships, knowledge assessments and syntheses, curricula development, advanced-training institutes, multi-stakeholder dialogues, and place-based strategic planning. In 2015, with support from USGCRP, START enhanced the ability of over 300 researchers selected as fellows and their partners to incorporate climate information...

Like many developing countries, India faces a disproportionate share of adverse impacts from climate change, including the exacerbation of its already substantial public-health challenges. The government of India has recognized health as a priority area in its climate-adaptation strategy, and many states now include initiatives related to health in their climate action plans; however, internal public-health capacity for climate-change adaptation is limited. The National Institutes of Health, with support from NOAA and the Department of State, collaborated with organizers in India to host a...

$Among many other impacts, the IPCC WGII report finds that the fraction of the world’s population affected by major river floods will increase as the climate warms. Overall, the report concludes that the world is largely ill-prepared for the climate impact$

Following on a draft edition released in March 2014, the Working Group II (WGII) of the IPCC recently delivered its full contribution to AR5, the IPCC’s latest authoritative global assessment of climate change. The product of years of work by leading experts from around the world, the WGII contribution is a thorough examination of the worldwide impacts of climate change and the opportunities for response. It is organized into two report volumes

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Philanthropic organizations can play a pivotal role in how communities strategize around education, housing, transportation, public health, and other social issues that link to the environment. These organizations are in a unique position to build synergy between Federal, local, and private efforts to improve climate literacy and help communities minimize and prepare for the consequences of climate change. As part of an ongoing tri-agency collaboration, program managers from NSF, NOAA, and NASA have been acting as government liaisons in bi-monthly meetings

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Highlights

A new collaboration on data and decision-making supports sustainability in the Amazon Basin

Interagency efforts help lead a new international climate and health research effort

USGCRP supports major international global change assessments

Developing international support for research on climate, environment, and human health

Promoting international research on global change

Supporting responses to climate-sensitive diseases

Advancing Knowledge on Global Environmental Change in Africa and Asia-Pacific

Building Public-Health Capacity for Adaptation in India

A Comprehensive Look at Climate Risks and Responses Worldwide

Engaging the Philanthropic Sector to Meet Climate Challenges