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| Abbreviation | WCRP |
|---|---|
| Formation | 1980; 46 years ago (1980) |
| Type | INGO |
Region served | Worldwide |
Official language | English |
Parent organization | TheWorld Meteorological Organization, theInternational Council for Science and theIntergovernmental Oceanographic Commission |
| Website | wcrp-climate |
TheWorld Climate Research Programme (WCRP) is an international programme that helps to coordinate globalclimate research.[1] The WCRP was established in 1980, under the joint sponsorship of theWorld Meteorological Organization (WMO) and theInternational Council for Science (ICSU), and has also been sponsored by theIntergovernmental Oceanographic Commission (IOC) ofUNESCO since 1993.[2]
The programme is funded by its three sponsors and additional contributions by nation states or other donors.[3] WCRP uses these funds to organize science workshops or conferences and support collaboration between climate scientists at an international level. Its expert groups also develop international standards for climate data and propose future emphasis areas in international climate research, among others.
The World Climate Research Programme (WCRP) came into existence in 1980, with theInternational Science Council (ISC)—known as theInternational Council for Science (ICSU) until its reorganization in July 2018—and theWorld Meteorological Organization (WMO) acting as its founding sponsors. The sponsorship circle widened in 1993 when theIntergovernmental Oceanographic Commission (IOC) ofUNESCO joined as a sponsor.
Over a span of more than 40 years, the WCRP has been instrumental in propelling the advancement of climate science. It has fostered the ability of climate scientists to monitor, simulate, and forecast the global climate with unparalleled accuracy. This has led to the provision of essential climate information that aids policy and decision-making, as well as supports various practical applications for end-users across multiple sectors. The significance of the WCRP's contributions is documented in celebratory publications such as the "25th Anniversary Brochure,"[4] the "WCRP Film: 40 years of international climate science,"[5] and articles like "The World Climate Research Programme (WCRP) celebrates its 40th anniversary."[6][7]
WCRP's objective is stated as "a better understanding of the climate system and the causes of climate variability and change" and "to determine the predictability of climate; and to determine the effect of human activities on climate".[2] In practice, the programme aims to foster initiatives in climate research which require or benefit from international coordination and which are unlikely to emerge from national efforts alone.[1][8] The programme does not fund climate research directly, but may at times exchange views with research funding agencies on global research priorities.[1][8]
The largest group of contributors to WCRP are several thousands of climate scientists from around the world who offer their expertise and time as volunteers to, for example, help organize workshops in key areas of research, lay out avenues for future research inwhite paper articles, and serve on WCRP science or advisory boards.[9] Official scientific guidance for the programme is provided by a Joint Scientific Committee (JSC) consisting of 18 volunteer scientists selected by mutual agreement between the three sponsoring organizations.[10] Everyday operations are supported by a secretariat of around 8 full-time staff, hosted by theWorld Meteorological Organization in Geneva.
WCRP's largest activities are its four "Core Projects" (calledSPARC,CLIVAR,CliC, andGEWEX),[10] which support climate research on the global atmosphere, oceans, thecryosphere, and the land surface (together constituting the Earth's physical climate system) as well as interactions and exchanges between them. Each Core Project again has a structure similar to that of WCRP itself, namely contributing scientists, a scientific steering group, and a secretariat ("international project office") hosted by individual countries.
The programme further maintains topical working groups and advisory councils on climate data, climate modelling, subseasonal-to-decadal climate prediction, and regional climate modelling.[11] Additional "Grand Challenges" target specific questions of societal interest within climate science.[12]
One particular output by a WCRP task team is theCoupled Model Intercomparison Project, which standardizes and coordinates regular comparisons of the world's climate models[13][14] and which provides an important basis for the IPCC Assessment Reports' climate projections.[15]
Stratosphere-troposphere Processes and their Role in Climate (SPARC) is a core project of the programme. Founded in 1992, SPARC has coordinated high-level research activities related to understanding Earth system processes for over two decades. More specifically, SPARC promotes and facilitates cutting-edge international research activities on how chemical and physical processes inthe atmosphere interact with climate and climate change.
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