Copernicus Climate Change Service Precursor Projects
On 21st November 2012 the European Commission issued a call, FP7-SPACE-2013-1, which included 5 topics specifically targeting preparations for the Copernicus Climate ChangeClimate Change
Climate change refers to a change in the state of the climate that can be identified (e.g., by using statistical tests) by changes in the mean and/or the variability of its properties, and that persists for an extended period, typically decades or longer. Climate change may be due to natural internal processes or external forcings such as modulations of the solar cycles, volcanic eruptions and persistent anthropogenic changes in the composition of the atmosphere or in land use. Note that the United Nations Framework Convention on Climate Change (UNFCCC), in its Article 1, defines climate change as: 'a change of climate which is attributed directly or indirectly to human activity that alters the composition of the global atmosphere and which is in addition to natural climate variability observed over comparable time periods'. The UNFCCC thus makes a distinction between climate change attributable to human activities altering the atmospheric composition, and climate variability attributa Service (C3S). The five projects funded to tackle these projects started in late 2013 and early 2014. Together they will develop the scientific and technological foundations for C3S.