1998 Year of the Ocean Impacts of Global Climate Change 



DOMESTIC LEGAL REGIME 

 Contents 



Global Change Research Act (15 U.S.C. §§ 2921 et seq.) 



National Climate Program Act (15 U.S.C. §§ 2901-2908) 



National Flood Insurance Reform Act of 1 994 (NFIRA) 



National Sea Grant College Program Act (33 U.S.C. §§ 1121 et seq.) 



National Weather Service Organic Act (15 U.S.C. §§313) 



NFIRA Section 577 



Robert T. Stafford Disaster Relief and Assistance Act (42 U.S.C. § 5121 et seq.) 



Coastal Barrier Resources Act of 1982 (CBRA) (16 U.S.C. §§ 3501 et seg.) 



Coastal Zone Management Act of 1972 (CZMA) (16 U.S.C. §§ 1451 et seq.) 



The legal regime covering the topic of weather, climate, and natural hazards is based on a 

 collection of important federal statutory authorities. The following is a brief description of some 

 of those authorities relating to weather, climate and natural hazards. The list is selective and is 

 designed to illustrate some major weather, climate and natural hazards Acts. The list is not meant 

 to be comprehensive. 



Global Change Research Act , 15 U.S.C. §§ 2921 et seq. 



Subchapter I - U.S. Global Change Research Program: The purpose of this subchapter is to 

 provide for the development and coordination of a comprehensive and integrated U.S. research 

 program which will promote, in both the domestic and international arenas, improved 

 understanding, assessment, prediction and response to global change. Section 2938(a) directs the 

 President, the Chairman of the Council, and the Secretary of Commerce to ensure that relevant 

 research activities of the National Climate Program are considered in developing national global 

 change research efforts. 



Subchapter II - International Cooperation in Global Change Research: Section 2952(a) authorizes 

 the President to direct the Secretary of State, in cooperation with the Committee on Earth and 

 Environmental Sciences, of which the National Oceanic and Atmospheric Administration is a 

 member, to initiate discussions with other nations leading toward international protocols and 

 other agreements to coordinate global change research activities. As noted in the Climate Change 

 Impact on U.S. Coastal Areas Year Of The Ocean theme paper, the U.S. is a signatory to the 

 U.N. Framework Convention on Climate Change, which was adopted in 1992 and entered into 

 force in 1994. Article 5 of the U.N. Framework Convention, "Research and Systematic 

 Observation", provides for the development of international and intergovernmental programs and 

 networks aimed at conducting research, data collection, and systematic observation. The U.N. 

 Framework Convention recognizes that the measures required to address climate change will be 



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