Addressing Climate Change: The Role of the Executive Branch

There are numerous federal agencies and cabinet departments which are tasked with evaluating the causes and impacts of climate change because there are so many stakeholders that span the economic, political, and social spectrum. The list of departments and agencies which are not involved in climate change may even be shorter than the list of those who are, as climate change is such a critical and overarching issue. The departments which are researching the causes and effects of climate change include the departments of State, Agriculture, Defense, Energy, Health and Human Services, Transportation, and the Interior. Other federal agencies involved in such research range from the Environmental Protection Agency (EPA), National Aeronautics and Space Administration (NASA), the National Science Foundation, The Smithsonian Institution, and the U.S. Agency for International Development. Different agencies view climate change in different contexts and use varying tools to contribute to a national understanding of climate change, some providing stronger research into causes and others formulating policy to mitigate effects. For example, the USDA examines the causes of climate change as it “maintains critical long-term data collection and observation networks, including the Snowpack Telemetry (SNOTEL) network, the Soil Climate Analysis Network (SCAN), the National Resources Inventory (NRI), and the Forest Inventory and Assessment (FIA).” (U.S. Global Change Research Program) Whereas agencies like the EPA places a “primary emphasis” on the effects of climate change on “air quality, water quality, aquatic ecosystems, and human health” and setting policies to prevent harmful consequences (U.S. Global Change Research Program).

The Department of Energy’s “Office of Science focuses on the effects of energy production and use on the global climate system” (U.S. Global Change Research Program). Energy production is the main cause of increased GHG and a large contributor to global climate change but is vital to the growth of the U.S. economy. The USGS, part of the Department of the Interior, “has made significant contributions to understanding how…climate..has changed in the geologic past” (U.S. Global Change Research Program). While scientific agencies do generally provide insight into the causes and current state of global climate change and federal policymaking agencies write guidelines, recommendations, and enact legislative actions taken in response to climate change, many of these groups also straddle the line and serve to elucidate and take action regarding both causes and effects. The Department of Health and Human Services, for example, does not look at the causes of climate change but solely at the health consequences of air pollution, temperature change, and the emergence of new pathogens (U.S. Global Change Research Program). Only by working together to unite research and policy within the executive branch and soliciting legislative, judicial, and public and private support, can these departments and agencies fully address the causes and effects of climate change and set the U.S. on a proper course of action in the future.

Work Cited

U.S. Global Change Research Program. About: Participating Agencies. 2014. Web. 14 March 2014.