APPENDIX A

Statement ofTask

The Advisory Committee will author a short report that provides high-level guidance on research priorities for the U.S. Global Change Research Program (USGCRP) as a way to proactively meet their charge to advise the Program on broad, Program-wide issues, and to identify topics of importance to the global change science community. The Committee will consider how USGCRP can best meet the mandate of the US Global Change Research Act of 1990, given the significant climate change impacts happening today and projected to increase in the future. In addressing its charge, the Committee will:

• Provide a short update on accomplishments of USGCRP to date;
• Identify the most critical global change risks and uncertainties facing the nation and the world in the next 5-10 years;
• Recommend priorities for research needed to advance understanding of these risks and uncertainties and to support decision making at local to national scales; and
• Discuss opportunities for USGCRP participating agencies and other partners to advance the identified research priorities and applications to decision contexts, including new approaches for better linking the process of scientific deliberations with people who use information.

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