GCP%20International%20Project%20Office

1
GCP International Project Office CSIRO Earth
Observation Centre Canberra, Australia Prepared
by Pep Canadell January 2004
2
Outline

• Rationale for the establishment of the GCP
• Brief History
• Mandate, Science and Implementation
• Portfolio of Activities
• Products

3
Rationale for the establishment of the GCP
4
1. Past and future atmospheric composition
280ppm
180ppm
IPCC 2001, GCP 2001
5
2. Global and annual mean radiative forcing
gt60
IPCC 2001
6
3. Multiplicity of research disciplines
Biophysical system
Management system
Canadell et al. 2000
7
4. National and regional research
Canada
Siberia
CarboEurope
North America Carbon Plan
Jp
China
LBA
SA
Australia
NZ
8
Earth System Science Partnership
Joint Projects on Global Sustainability
IGBP
International Geophere- Biosphere Program
IHDP
Global Carbon Project
International Human Dimensions Program
WCRP
World Climate Research Program
Water
Food
Diversitas
9
Brief History
10
Brief History - 1

• 1997 GCTE (Hal Mooney and Pep Canadell) convene a
  meeting in Palo Alto, California, to discuss the
  integration of process level studies, inverse CO2
  concentrations approaches, biogeochemical
  modeling, and flux and remote sensing data for C
  cycle studies. They recognize the existence of a
  programmatic gap.
• 1998 IGBP (Berrien Moore and Will Steffen)
  recognize the need for an IGBP-wide integration
  effort on the carbon cycle outside of GAIM.
• 1999 IGBP convenes the first IGBP-wide meeting in
  Isle-sur-la-Sorge, France.
• 1999 Jil Jäger, IHDP executive director,
  challenge IGBP to make more concrete the
  collaboration with IGBP and the C cycle is chosen
  as the first challenge.
• 2000 IHDP and IGBP organize a meeting in Oslo
  with Oran Young, Arid Underdal, Will Steffen and
  others to address the challenge.

11
Brief History - 2

• 2000 Interest on Earth system science is on the
  rise and becomes clear that WCRP brings another
  fundamental piece of the carbon-climate-human
  system that we want to study and manage. The
  concept of the triple sponsorship for the C
  project is now a reality.
• 2001 The GCP is presented at the IGBP-IHDP-WCRP
  Open Science Conference in Amsterdam. Right
  after, the project is approved by the Chairs and
  Directors, and the first SSC is assembled. The
  idea to institutionalize the partnership among
  the 4 major global environmental change
  programmes (IGBP, IHDP, WCRP, Diversitas) result
  in the creation of the Earth System Science
  Partnership which becomes the official sponsor of
  the GCP.
• 2001-2003 The GCP develops a science framework
  and implementation building upon a number of
  meetings Isle-sur-la-Sorge-1998, Stockholm-1999,
  Lisbon-2000, Paris-2000, New Hampshire-2000, San
  Francisco-2001, Tsukuba-2002, Tsukuba-2003.
• 2003 The GCP Science Framework and Implementation
  is published.

12
Mandate, Science, and Implementation
13
Objectives
To develop comprehensive, policy-relevant
understanding of the global carbon cycle,
encompassing its natural and human dimensions and
their interactions.
14
Mandate
1. Providing international coordination (gaps,
duplications, recommendations)
2. Leveraging resources among countries
3. Increasing comparability and standardization
among national progr.
4. Adding the global connectivity and
constraints to national and regional programmes
5. Providing capacity building opportunities
6. Working with FCCC and other Conventions as a
Research Non Governmental Organization
7. Leading a highly interdisciplinary research
agenda on the CC
15
Links to other C international efforts
Research GCP
Observations IGOS-P (IGCO)
Assessment IPCC
16
Science Themes
Theme 1
What are the geographical and temporal patterns
of carbon sources and sinks?
Theme 2
What are the control and feedback mechanisms
both anthropogenic and non-anthropogenic that
determine the dynamics of the carbon cycle?
Theme 3
What are the likely dynamics of the
carbon-climate system into the future and what
points of intervention and window exist for human
societies to manage this system?