Interagency Partners

The Carbon Cycle Interagency Working Group (CCIWG)

The Carbon Cycle Interagency Working Group (CCIWG) supports carbon cycle research across the Federal Government and is responsible for defining program goals, setting research priorities, and reviewing the progress of the research programs that contribute to carbon cycle science. As part of the United States Global Change Research Program (USGCRP)’s sustained assessment process, the CCIWG led and coordinated the production of the Second State of the Carbon Cycle Report, the latest decadal assessment of the carbon cycle and its connection to climate and society in North America.

The CCIWG also supports USGCRP's 2022-2031 Strategic Plan, which includes research on feedbacks in the carbon cycle that act to enhance or reduce the warming effect of human emissions. Carbon-cycle research goals intend to inform policies designed to achieve net-zero emissions by developing the following information:

Trends in atmospheric greenhouse gas levels
Improved estimates of greenhouse gas emissions from domestic and international sources that have been difficult to quantify
Estimates of natural sources and sinks of greenhouse gases, including the role of the ocean and terrestrial systems
Future climate projections based on anthropogenic emission trends and Earth system feedbacks
The feasibility, carbon removal potential, and risks and benefits of various carbon removal strategies, including the potential for and implications of significantly scaling up these measures—particularly for biodiversity and land use

Fifteen federal agencies and departments, listed below, are part of CCIWG program activities. CCIWG works closely with other USGCRP Interagency Groups and engages with U.S. and international partners. Since 2021, the CCIWG has included a sub-group on carbon dioxide removal known as the Interagency Carbon Dioxide Removal Research Coordination Workstream (I-CDR-C).