USGCRP has released the latest edition of Our Changing Planet, the Program's annual report to Congress. Like past editions, the Fiscal Year 2016 report summarizes USGCRP's significant progress toward achieving its strategic goals, delivering on its legal mandate, supporting the President’s Climate Action Plan, and building a knowledge base that effectively informs human responses to global change.

The report includes an overview of the USGCRP research enterprise and recent highlights in advancing science, informing decisions, conducting assessments, and communicating with and educating diverse audiences. The report also spotlights progress in interagency priority areas, including near- and long-term climate predictions, global change in the Arctic, water extremes such as droughts and heavy rains, and actionable science that can support policy making and management. A few examples include:

• Tracking Earth’s carbon budget with global observations
• Explaining extreme events from a climate perspective
• Predicting changes in Arctic sea ice
• Understanding tropical cyclones in a warmer world
• Mapping fallowed farmland during drought
• Preparing for the health hazards of extreme heat
• Understanding climate risks and opportunities in the energy sector
• Developing scenarios of change for sustained assessment
• Assessing risks to urban agriculture in Asia and Africa
• Engaging with the philanthropic sector to meet climate challenges
• Teaching the National Climate Assessment

These and other highlights in the report represent the broad spectrum of USGCRP’s portfolio, which extends from Earth system observations, modeling, and fundamental research through translational activities that support the needs of society. The report also looks ahead at interagency research priorities for the upcoming fiscal year.

To learn more:

• View the report