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== Mandate ==
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" .<ref name="agreement" />. 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.<ref name="munn" /><ref name=grassl>{{cite web |url=https://www.clisap.de/discover/reading-matter/climate-interviews/interview-with-hartmut-grassl/interview-with-hartmut-grassl-page-1-2/ |title=Interview with Prof. Hartmut Graßl, former WCRP Director |publisher=CLISAP}}</ref> The programme does not fund climate research directly, but may at times exchange views with research funding agencies on global research priorities.<ref name="munn" /><ref name="grassl" />
== Structure ==
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 in [[white paper]] articles, and serve on WCRP science or advisory boards.<ref>{{cite book |last1=Asrar |first1=G.R. |last2=Hurrell |first2=J.W. |last3=Busalacchi |first3=A.J. |editor1-last=Asrar |editor1-first=G.R. |editor2-last=Hurrell |editor2-first=J.W. |title=Climate Science for Serving Society |publisher=Springer Netherlands |date=2013 |pages=1-121–12 |chapter=The World Climate Research Program Strategy and Priorities: Next Decade}}</ref> 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. <ref name=review2017>{{cite web |url=http://unesdoc.unesco.org/images/0025/002562/256218e.pdf |title=Report of and update on the WMO-IOC-ICSU World Climate Research Programme (WCRP) and its review by its sponsors |publisher=IOC/UNESCO Information Document |date=2017}}</ref> Everyday operations are supported by a secretariat of around 8 full-time staff, hosted by the [[World Meteorological Organization]] in Geneva.
== Activities and Projects ==
WCRP's largest activities are its four "Core Projects" (called [[Stratospheric Processes And their Role in Climate|SPARC]], [[CLIVAR]], [[CliC]], and [[GEWEX]]),<ref name="review2017" />, which support climate research on the global atmosphere, oceans, the cryosphere, 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.<ref>{{cite web |url=http://www.dkn-future-earth.org/data/mediapool/wcrp_implementation_plan.pdf |title=The World Climate Research Programme Implementation Plan 2010-2015 |publisher=World Meteorological Organization |date=2017 |number= WMO/TD-No. 1503}}</ref> Additional "Grand Challenges" target specific questions of societal interest within climate science.<ref>{{cite web |url=https://www.wcrp-climate.org/grand-challenges/grand-challenges-overview |title=Overview of the WCRP Grand Challenges}}</ref>
One particular output by a WCRP task team is the [[Coupled Model Intercomparison Project]], which standardizes and coordinates regular comparisons of the world's climate models<ref>{{cite web |url=https://pcmdi.llnl.gov/mips/cmip/about-cmip.html |title=About the Coupled Model Intercomparison Project (CMIP)}}</ref><ref>{{cite journal |last=Eyring |first=V. et al.|display-authors=etal |date=2016 |title=Overview of the Coupled Model Intercomparison Project Phase 6 (CMIP6) experimental design and organization |journal=Geoscientific Model Development |volume=9 |pages=1937-19581937–1958 |url=https://www.geosci-model-dev.net/9/1937/2016/}}</ref> and which provides an important basis for the IPCC Assessment Reports' climate projections.<ref>{{cite book |last1=Pachauri |first1=R.K. |last2=Dahe |first2=Q. |last3=Stocker |first3=T.F. |editor1-last=Stocker |editor1-first=T.F. et al.|display-editors=etal |title=Climate Change 2013 The Physical Science Basis Working Group I Contribution to the Fifth Assessment Report of the Intergovernmental Panel on Climate Change |publisher=Springer Netherlands |date=2013 |chapter=Foreword |url=http://www.ipcc.ch/report/ar5/wg1/}}</ref>
==See also==
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