Under the guidance and support of Chinese Academy of Sciences (CAS) and relevant national departments, the relevant research teams from CAS are organized and coordinated to satisfy the needs of national climate change diplomacy and national sustainable development. Therefore, the Climate Change Research Center (CCRC) was established in July 2009 and served as a research unit of the CAS. CCRC works on strategic, comprehensive and integrated scientific research on a scientific basis, the impacts of and adaptation to climate change, and further provides strong scientific support for policy decisions on the adaptation and response to climate change at the national level. In February 2024, the CCRC was transformed into a research department of the Institute of Atmospheric Physics (IAP), CAS, and continues to conduct fundamental research on climate change issues.

General objectives:

1. To coordinate the research teams related to climate within CAS, to meet the needs of the country to respond to climate change and achieve sustainable development, to carry out comprehensive and integrated research, and to provide scientific support for the government's decision-making.

2. To build a core research unit on climate change within IAP, CAS, and to develop it into a scientific "think tank" for national diplomatic negotiation on climate change.

3. To cooperate internationally in the field of climate change on behalf of IAP, CAS.

Main research fields:

1. Paleoclimate modeling

In-depth understanding of East Asian climate evolution history and dynamic mechanisms since the Cenozoic era, revealing the main characteristics, processes, and interaction mechanisms of the evolution of the westerlies and Asian monsoon since the Last Glacial Maximum, comprehensively elucidating the impacts of climate change at multiple time scales on geographical environments, ecosystems, and biodiversity.

2. Climate variability and mechanisms

Revealing the characteristics and patterns of decadal-scale climate variability, investigating the influences of internal variability within the climate system, natural external forcing factors, and human activities on decadal climate variability, gaining a deeper understanding of the impact of interactions among the ocean, land, atmosphere, and cryosphere on decadal climate variability in the context of global change.

3. Climate change and its impacts

Scientifically estimating the evolving characteristics and trends of future average and extreme climates in China, and quantifying the uncertainty of the project results; exploring the impacts and risks of future climate change and extreme events on human society and natural systems, to provide scientific support for the formulation of corresponding disaster prevention and mitigation policies by the country and for international climate change negotiations.

Director: WANG Huijun

Executive Deputy Director: WANG Tao