CCSP GOALS AND ANALYSIS OF PROGRESS TOWARD THESE GOALS. OUR CHANGING PLANET The U.S. Climate Change

The U.S. Climate Change Science Program for FY 2008Integrated Program AnalysisIn a highly distributed program such as CCSP, it is often a challenge to develop andmaintain a cohesive perspective, ensuring that key components or interactions of theintegrated Earth system are not overlooked. To help address this challenge, theprogram has often sought guidance from the National Academies. CCSP is funding aNational Research Council (NRC) committee to provide high-level, independent,integrated advice on the strategy and evolution of the program. Specific topics thecommittee will address in its first two reports are outlined below.• The first committee report (released in September 2007) included findings andrecommendations on the process for evaluating progress toward the five CCSPgoals and a preliminary assessment of progress to date.• The second report will identify priorities to guide the future evolution of theprogram in the context of established scientific and societal objectives. At the request of CCSP, the NRC recently produced a report on global changeassessments that is briefly described in a later section.CCSP will continue to rely on other mechanisms for scientific guidance and advice,including other NRC committees that focus on particular components of the climatesystem (e.g., the Climate Research Committee and the Committee on the HumanDimensions of Global Change). CCSP will continue to rely on scientific advisory groupsthat support individual ...