Thursday, November 13, 2008

Climate Change Discussion: Dec. 3, 2008

Organizing Federal Government to Address Climate Change


Congressional and other proposals to address climate change assign new responsibilities to existing federal agencies and in some cases, suggest governmental reorganization or wholly new agencies. Some plans would move climate-related activities of the federal government well beyond those provided under the 1990 Global Change Research Act and embodied in the current Climate Change Science Program and Climate Change Technology Program.


For example, the U.S. Environmental Protection Agency may assume a large role in managing greenhouse gas emissions. Some Congressional proposals call for the National Oceanic and Atmospheric Administration (NOAA) to establish a "National Climate Service" modeled after the National Weather Service. Recently, several former government leaders have suggested merging NOAA and the U.S. Geological Survey into a combined "Earth System Science Agency" for managing new information requirements about the physical and socioeconomic dimensions of a changing climate and to support policy-related decisionmaking.


Our panel will discuss how best to organize federal agencies for effective governance in addressing climate change, and will also cover regulation, diplomacy and international engagement, science and information, and economic policy.

Who: Moderator: Molly K. Macauley, Senior Fellow, Resources for the Future


Panelists include:


John H. Gibbons, former Director, White House Office of Science and Technology Policy

William Hooke, Director, Policy, American Meteorological Society

Dina Kruger, Director, Climate Change Division, US Environmental Protection Agency
Nigel Purvis, Visiting Scholar, Resources for the Future; and President, Climate Advisers

What: RFF First Wednesday Seminar

When: Wednesday, December 3, 12:45 – 2 p.m.

A light buffet lunch will be available at 12:30 p.m.

Where: Resources for the Future, 1616 P Street NW, Washington, DC

First Floor Conference Center

To R.S.V.P. for this event, please visit RFF's event registration page.

At RFF's monthly First Wednesday Seminar Series, scholars and experts exchange ideas and views with the RFF community on important energy, environmental, and natural resource topics.

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