Obama Budget Makes Strong Commitment to Climate Change Research and Preparing for Climate Impacts

The U.S. Office of Management and Budget released today (1 Feb 2010)  the Budget of the United States Government, Fiscal Year 2011.  Under the budget, the Obama Administration proposes investing $2.6 billion for climate change research under the U.S. Global Change Research Program (USGCRP).  The 21 percent, $439 million, increase over the 2010 enacted level brings program funding higher than under any prior administration.  According to the president's budget

"While climate policies are developed and investments in clean energy technologies are made, investments to understand the impacts of climate change are also crucial. Coastal areas, floodplains, and water systems will all be affected by the changing climate, and it is vital that we understand the potential effects of climate change so businesses, farmers, ranchers, and the entire Nation can prepare for them now. That is why the Budget invests $2.6 billion to deepen our understanding of climate change and its impact."

We provide below a table showing budget trends for the USGCRP since 1989.  In constant 2008 dollars, the proposed FY 2011 budget is second only to the Administration's FY 2009 budget in size.  The Office of Science and Technology Policy, which oversees the USGCRP explains in a fact sheet (A New Era for Research on Climate and Global Change: The U.S. Global Change Research Program in the 2011 Budget):

"After several years of declining funding, the Obama Administration has revitalized the USGCRP. The 2009 Omnibus Appropriations Act signed by President Obama reversed the downward funding trends in the USGCRP, and the Recovery Act provided an additional one-time boost for key climate programs; the recently enacted 2010 appropriations keep USGCRP on an upward trajectory, and the 2011 Budget sustains the commitment with a substantial $439 million increase."

Other Online Resources:

• USGCRP Budget Table [PDF].  Page from the budget's "Analytical Perspectives" document (see bottom of table for USGCRP budget).  The table shows the Fiscal Years 2009-2011 budgets for the USGCRP, broken down by agency.
• A New Era for Research on Climate and Global Change: The U.S. Global Change Research Program in the 2011 Budget [PDF].  Fact sheet from the White House Office of Science and Technology Policy, 1 Feb 2010.
• Budget Estimates: Fiscal Year 2011 [PDF] From the National Oceanic and Atmospheric Administration (dtd 28 Jan 2010).  See especially p 321-344 (Climate Research)
• Creating the Clean Energy Economy of Tomorrow.  Fact sheet from the White House Office of Management and Budget, 1 Feb 2010.
• Budget of the United States Government, Fiscal Year 2011. 
• Will Obama’s FY2011 budget fund essential new climate change research priorities?  Posting (18 Jan 2010) from Climate Science Watch.