Climate Change: Federal Reports on Climate Change Funding Should Be Clearer and More Complete
Published: 2005-08-25T00:00:00

Fast Facts:

Highlights:
section_title: Why GAO Did This Study
paragraphs: The Congress has required the administration to report annually on federal spending on climate change. The Office of Management and Budget (OMB) reports funding in four categories: technology (to reduce greenhouse gas emissions), science (to better understand the climate), international assistance (to help developing countries), and tax expenditures (to encourage reductions in emissions). The Climate Change Science Program (CCSP), which coordinates many agencies' activities, reports only on science. To measure funding, OMB and CCSP use budget authority, the authority provided in law to enter into financial obligations that will result in government outlays. GAO was asked to examine federal climate change funding for 1993 through 2004, as reported by both agencies, including (1) how total funding and funding by category changed and whether funding data are comparable over time and (2) how funding by agency changed and whether funding data are comparable over time.
section_title: What GAO Found
paragraphs: Federal funding for climate change increased from $2.4 billion in 1993 to $5.1 billion in 2004 (116 percent), as reported by OMB, or from $3.3 billion to $5.1 billion (55 percent) after adjusting for inflation. During this period, inflation-adjusted funding increased for technology and science, but decreased for international assistance. The share for technology increased (36 to 56 percent), while the shares for science and international assistance decreased (56 to 39 percent and 9 to 5 percent, respectively). However, it is unclear whether funding changed as much as reported because modifications in the format and content of OMB reports limit the comparability of funding data over time. For example, OMB reported that it expanded the definitions of some accounts to include more activities, but did not specify how it changed the definitions. Also, while OMB's totals for science funding were generally comparable to CCSP's totals, the more detailed data in CCSP reports were difficult to compare over time because CCSP introduced new categorization methods without explaining how they related to the previous methods. OMB officials stated that changes in their reports were due, in part, to the short timeline for completing them, and that it has not been required to follow a consistent reporting format from one year to the next. The Director of CCSP said that its reports changed as the program evolved. GAO was unable to compare climate-related tax expenditures over time because OMB reported data on proposed, but not on existing tax expenditures. For example, while OMB reported no funding for existing climate-related tax expenditures in 2004, GAO identified four such tax expenditures in 2004, including revenue loss estimates of $330 million to develop certain renewable energy sources. OMB reported that 12 of the 14 agencies that funded climate change programs in 2004 increased such funding between 1993 and 2004, but unexplained changes in the reports' contents limit the comparability of data on funding by agency. GAO found that OMB reported funding for certain agencies in some years but not in others, without explanation. For example, OMB reported funding of $83 million for the Department of Defense in 2003, but did not list any such funding in prior reports. OMB told GAO that it relied on agency budget offices to submit accurate data.

section_title: Letter
paragraphs: The earth’s average temperature has increased by about 1 degree  Fahrenheit over the last 100 years. While this increase seems small,  projected additional changes in temperature, as well as other aspects of the  climate, may alter human social and economic activities. For example,  changes in the frequency and intensity of rainfall, both possible effects of  climate change, could impact crop yields in certain locations. For more  than a decade, the federal government has funded programs to study the  earth’s climate and to reduce emissions of carbon dioxide and other  greenhouse gases linked to climate change. According to the Office of  Management and Budget (OMB), 9 of the 15 cabinet-level executive  departments, along with 5 other federal agencies, received funding for  climate change activities in 2004.
OMB, in annual reports and testimony before the Congress, reported  climate change funding for 1993 through 2004 using four categories:    Technology, which includes the research, development, and  deployment of technologies and processes to reduce greenhouse gas  emissions or increase energy efficiency. Funding for this category  focuses on programs for energy conservation, renewable energy, and  related efforts.
Science, which includes research and monitoring to better understand  climate change, such as measuring changes in forest cover and land use.
International assistance, which helps developing countries to  address climate change by, for example, providing funds for energy  efficiency programs.
Tax expenditures related to climate change, which are federal income  tax provisions that grant preferential tax treatment to encourage  emission reductions by, for example, providing tax incentives to  promote the use of renewable energy.
Over the same time period, the administration also reported annually on  funding specifically for climate change science, one of the four categories  used in OMB reports. The Climate Change Science Program (CCSP)—a  multi-agency coordinating group—is currently responsible for preparing  the climate change science reports.
At your request, we examined (1) how total funding and funding by  category changed and the extent to which data on such funding are  comparable over time and (2) how funding by agency changed and the  extent to which data on such funding are comparable over time. We also  examined whether OMB and CCSP reports provided the data required by  the Congress.
To determine how federal climate change funding by category and agency  changed, we analyzed data from annual OMB and CCSP reports, as well as  congressional testimony. To determine the extent to which the data on  climate change funding were comparable, we analyzed and compared the  contents of the reports. If changes in the reports were not explained, we  asked responsible officials to explain the changes. To examine whether  OMB and CCSP reports provided the data required by the Congress, we  reviewed the reporting requirements, the legislative history of these  requirements, and the data presented by OMB and CCSP in their reports.  The term “funding” in this report reflects discretionary budget authority, or  the authority provided in law to incur financial obligations that will result  in outlays, as reported by OMB and CCSP in their reports. Unless  otherwise stated, we report funding in nominal terms (not adjusted for  inflation), and all years refer to fiscal years. When we adjusted for inflation,  we used a fiscal year price index that we calculated based on a calendar  year price index published by the Department of Commerce’s Bureau of  Economic Analysis. Unless otherwise specified, figures represent actual  funding (not estimates), with the exception of 1993, 1994, and 2004, where  we present estimated funding reported by CCSP because actual data are  not available. For the purposes of this report, the term “agency” includes  executive departments and agencies, and we use the term “account” to  describe the budget accounts, line items, programs, and activities  presented in OMB and CCSP reports. Throughout this report, we  characterize all climate change science reports from 1993 through 2004 as  CCSP reports, even though CCSP has been in existence only since 2002,  and reports prior to 2002 were published by a predecessor organization.  Totals and percentages may not add due to rounding. A more detailed  description of our scope and methodology is presented in appendix I. For  presentation purposes, we show federal climate change funding for 1993,  1997, 2001, and 2004 in report tables. Funding data for 1993 through 2004  are shown in appendixes II, III, and IV. We performed our work between  July 2004 and August 2005 in accordance with generally accepted  government auditing standards.
subsections: section_title: Background
paragraphs: In 1990, the Congress enacted the Global Change Research Act. This act,  among other things, required the administration to (1) prepare and at least  every 3 years revise and submit to the Congress a national global change  research plan, including an estimate of federal funding for global change  research activities to be conducted under the plan; (2) in each annual  budget submission to the Congress, identify the items in each agency’s  budget that are elements of the United States Global Change Research  Program (USGCRP), an interagency long-term climate change science  research program; and (3) report annually on climate change “expenditures  required” for the USGCRP. In 1992, the United States signed and ratified  the United Nations Framework Convention on Climate Change, which was  intended to stabilize the buildup of greenhouse gases in the earth’s  atmosphere, but did not impose binding limits on emissions. Five years  later, the United States participated in drafting the Kyoto Protocol, an  international agreement to specifically limit greenhouse gas emissions. The  Protocol did not impose limits on developing nations’ emissions, and its  possible effect on the U.S. economy was the subject of numerous studies.  Although the U.S. government signed the Protocol in 1998, it was not  submitted to the Senate for ratification. In March 2001, President Bush  announced that he opposed the Protocol.
In response to the requirements of the 1990 act, the administration  reported annually from 1990 through 2004 on funding for climate change  science in reports titled Our Changing Planet. From 1990 through 2001,  the reports presented detailed science funding data for the USGCRP.  Federal climate change science programs were reorganized in 2001 and  2002. In 2001, the Climate Change Research Initiative (CCRI) was created  to coordinate short-term climate change research focused on reducing  uncertainty, and in 2002, CCSP was created to coordinate and integrate  USGCRP and CCRI activities. Since 2002, CCSP has been responsible for  meeting the reporting requirement and has published the Our Changing  Planet reports. The most recent report in this series was published in July  2004, and the next report is expected to be available in late-2005.
In March 1998, OMB, in response to a congressional requirement for a  detailed account of climate change expenditures and obligations, issued a  brief report summarizing federal agency programs related to global climate  change. In August 1998, the Congressional Budget Office (CBO), in  response to a request from the Senate Committee on the Budget, issued a  more detailed report on the same topic. OMB produced another climate  change expenditures report in March 1999, in response to a similar  requirement. OMB’s 1999 report and CBO’s 1998 report both presented  federal climate change funding using four categories:  technology, science,  international assistance, and tax expenditures. As we testified in 1999,  these reports presented generally comparable information. In response to  a request at that hearing, OMB provided climate change funding data for  1993 through 1998 for the hearing record.
Each year since 1999, the Congress has included a provision in annual  appropriations laws requiring OMB to report in detail all federal agency  obligations and expenditures, domestic and international, for climate  change programs and activities. As a result of these reporting requirements,  OMB annually publishes the Federal Climate Change Expenditures Report  to Congress, which presents federal climate change funding for the  technology, science, and international assistance categories, and tax  expenditures. The climate change activities and associated costs presented  in OMB reports must be identified by line item as presented in the  President’s budget appendix. OMB has interpreted this to mean that the  data in the reports must be shown by budget account. For the last 3 years,  the Congress has required that the administration produce reports for  climate change expenditures and obligations for the current fiscal year  within 45 days after the submission of the President’s budget request for  the upcoming fiscal year. OMB’s most recent report was released in March  2005.
OMB reports include a wide range of federal climate-related programs and  activities. Some activities, like scientific research on global environmental  change by USGCRP, are explicitly climate change programs, whereas  others, such as many technology initiatives, are not solely for climate  change purposes. For example, OMB reports included some programs that  were started after the United States ratified the Framework Convention in  1992, and were specifically designed to encourage businesses and others to  reduce their greenhouse gas emissions, for example, by installing more  efficient lighting. OMB reports also included programs that were expanded  or initiated in the wake of the 1973 oil embargo to support such activities as  energy conservation (to use energy more efficiently), renewable energy (to  substitute for fossil fuels), and fossil energy (to make more efficient use of  fossil fuels), all of which can help to reduce greenhouse gas emissions, but  were not initially developed as climate change programs.
section_title: Reported Federal Climate Change Funding Increased for Three of the Four Funding Categories, but Data May Not Be Comparable Over Time
paragraphs: Federal climate change funding, as reported by OMB, increased from $2.35  billion in 1993 to $5.09 billion in 2004 (116 percent), or from $3.28 billion to  $5.09 billion (55 percent) after adjusting for inflation and also increased for  technology, science, and international assistance between 1993 and 2004,  as shown in table 1. However, changes in reporting methods limit the  comparability of funding data over time, and therefore it is unclear whether  funding increased as much as reported by OMB. Technology funding  increased as a share of total funding over time, while science and  international assistance funding declined as shares of the total because  technology funding increased at a faster rate than the other categories.  OMB did not report estimates for existing climate-related tax expenditures  during this time period, although climate-related tax expenditures  amounted to hundreds of millions of dollars in revenue forgone by the  federal government in fiscal year 2004. OMB officials told us that changes  in reporting methods were due to such reasons as the short amount of time  available to prepare the report, the fact that the reporting requirement is  not permanent law, but appears each year in appropriations legislation, and  changes in administration policy and priorities.
subsections: section_title: Technology
paragraphs: From 1993 through 2004, technology funding increased as a share of total  federal climate funding from 36 percent to 56 percent, as reported by OMB.  Over this time period, technology funding increased from $845 million to  $2.87 billion (239 percent), or adjusted for inflation, from $1.18 billion to  $2.87 billion (143 percent). For example, funding for energy conservation  increased from $346 million to $868 million, and funding for renewable  energy increased from $249 million to $352 million. Funding data for the  seven largest accounts, which accounted for 92 percent of technology  funding in 2004, are presented for selected years in table 2. Year-by-year  data on technology funding are available in appendixes II and IV.
We identified three ways that the figures on technology funding presented  in OMB’s three most recent reports may not be comparable to the figures  presented in previous reports. First, OMB added accounts that were not  previously presented. For example, OMB reported that NASA had $152  million in funding for technology-related activities that included research  to reduce emissions associated with aircraft operations in 2003. OMB did  not report this account in the technology category in 2002. Additional  NASA funding in the same account was reported in the science category in  2002 and 2003. Further, OMB reported that the Department of Commerce’s  National Institute of Standards and Technology received funding of $40  million in 2003, to develop climate change measurement instruments and  standards, among other activities. OMB did not report this account in 2002.  About 47 percent of the reported $918-million increase in technology  funding from 2002 to 2003, the largest year-to-year increase of the time  period we studied, was due to the inclusion of new accounts that were not  previously reported. In addition, OMB included and removed some  accounts, without explanation, from reports in years other than 2003. For  example, OMB reported combined funding of $195 million in 1999, and $200  million in 2000, for bio-based products and bio-energy at the Departments  of Energy and Agriculture. No funding for these accounts was reported  from 1993 through 1998 or from 2001 through 2004. In each of these cases,  OMB did not explain whether the new accounts reflected the creation of  new programs, a decision to count an existing program for the first time, or  a decision to re-classify funding from different categories as technology  funding.
According to OMB officials, these changes in report structure and content  for technology funding, as well as similar changes in science and  international assistance funding, were the result of time constraints and  other factors. They told us that the short timeline required by the Congress  for completing the report (within 45 days of submitting the upcoming year’s  budget for the three most recent reports) limited OMB’s ability to analyze  data submitted by agencies. They said that they must rely on funding  estimates quickly developed by agencies in order to produce the report  within the specified timeframe, and that the reports are often compilations  of agency activities and programs, some of which may or may not have  been presented separately in prior years. Moreover, these officials told us  that the presentation of data has changed over time for a variety of other  reasons, including changes in administration priorities and policy, changes  in congressional direction, changes to budget and account structures, and  attempts to more accurately reflect the reporting requirement as specified  in the annual appropriations language. The officials also stated that in each  report, they ensured consistency for the 3 years covered (prior year,  current year, and budget year).
Furthermore, OMB officials told us that the presentation of new accounts  in the technology category, as well as the international assistance category,  was due to the establishment of new programs and the inclusion of existing  programs. They told us that the account-by-account display in the reports  has been changed over time as the CCSP and the Climate Change  Technology Program (CCTP), a multi-agency technology research and  development coordinating structure similar to the CCSP, have become  better defined.
Second, OMB reported that it expanded the definitions of some accounts to  include more activities, but did not specify how the definitions were  changed. We found that over 50 percent of the increase in technology  funding from 2002 to 2003 was due to increases in two existing DOE  accounts:  nuclear energy supply and science (fusion, sequestration, and  hydrogen). OMB reported funding of $32 million in 2002, and $257 million  in 2003, for the nuclear energy supply account. Further, OMB reported  funding of $35 million in 2002, and $298 million in 2003, for the science  (fusion, sequestration, and hydrogen) account. Although OMB stated in its  May 2004 report that 2003 funding data included more activities within  certain accounts, including the research and development of nuclear and  fusion energy, the report was unclear about whether the funding increases  for these two existing accounts were due to the addition of more programs  to the accounts or increased funding for existing programs already counted  in the accounts. Further, if new programs were counted in these accounts,  OMB did not specify what programs were added and why.
OMB officials told us that the definitions of some accounts were changed  to include more nuclear programs because, while the prior administration  did not consider nuclear programs to be part of its activities relating to  climate change, the current administration does consider them to be a key  part of the CCTP.
Third, OMB did not maintain the distinction that it had made in previous  reports between funding for programs whose primary focus is climate  change and programs where climate change is not the primary focus. As a  result, certain accounts in the technology category were consolidated into  larger accounts. From 1993 through 2001, OMB presented funding data as  directly or indirectly related to climate change. The former programs are  those for which climate change is a primary purpose, such as renewable  energy research and development. The latter are programs that have  another primary purpose, but which support climate change goals. For  example, grants to help low-income people weatherize their dwellings are  intended primarily to reduce heating costs, but may also help reduce the  consumption of fossil fuels. OMB did not maintain the distinction between  the two kinds of programs for 2002, 2003, and 2004 funding data. For  example, OMB presented energy conservation funding of $810 million in  2001, including $619 million in direct research and development funding,  and $191 million in indirect funding for weatherization and state energy  grants. In contrast, 2002 funding data presented by OMB reflected energy  conservation funding of $897 million, including $622 million in research  and development, $230 million for weatherization, and $45 million for state  energy grants, but did not distinguish between direct and indirect funding.  OMB presented energy conservation funding of $880 million in 2003, and  $868 million in 2004, as single accounts without any additional detail.
OMB officials stated that they had adopted a different approach to  reporting climate change funding to reflect the new program structures as  the CCSP and CCTP were being established. They stated that the result  was, in some cases, an aggregation of activities that may have previously  been reported in separate accounts. According to the officials, the 2003 and  2004 data more accurately reflect the range of climate change-related  programs as they are now organized. OMB included a crosswalk in its May  2004 report that showed 2003 funding levels as they would have been  presented using the methodology of previous reports. While the crosswalk  identified funding for accounts that were presented in previous reports, it  did not identify new funding reported by OMB or specify whether such  funding was the result of counting new programs, a decision to start  counting existing programs as climate change-related, or shifts between  categories. OMB officials told us that the reporting methodology has  changed since the initial reports and that it may be difficult to resolve the  differences because of changes in budget and account structure. Finally,  they noted that each report has been prepared in response to a one-time  requirement and that there has been no requirement for a consistent  reporting format from one year to the next or to explain differences in  methodology from one report to another.
section_title: Science
paragraphs: According to both OMB and CCSP, the share of total climate change  funding devoted to science decreased from 56 percent in 1993 to 39 percent  in 2004, even though science funding increased from $1.31 billion to $1.98  billion (51 percent), or from $1.82 billion to $1.98 billion (9 percent) after  adjusting for inflation. For example, according to OMB, funding for NASA  on activities such as the satellite measurement of atmospheric ozone  concentrations increased from $888 million to $1.26 billion.
OMB reported new science funding for 2003 and 2004 to reflect the creation  of CCRI. Funding for CCRI increased from $41 million in 2003, the first year  funding for CCRI was presented, to $173 million in 2004, and included  funding by most of the agencies presented in table 3. We present funding  for CCRI as a separate program to illustrate the new organization’s role in  increasing reported climate change funding. Table 3 presents funding as  reported by OMB for the eight largest agencies and programs in the science  category, which account for 99 percent of the science total for 2004. Year- by-year data on science funding are available in appendixes II and IV.
Science funding data from 1993 through 2004, as reported by OMB and  CCSP, were generally comparable, although there were more discrepancies  in earlier years than in later years. Science funding totals reported by  CCSP from 1993 through 1997 were within 3 percent of the OMB totals for  all years except 1996 and 1997. Science funding totals reported by CCSP in  1996 and 1997 were $156 million (9 percent) and $162 million (10 percent)  higher than those reported by OMB. Over 90 percent of the difference for  these years occurred because CCSP reported greater funding for NASA  than OMB reported. CCSP stated in its fiscal year 1998 report that it  increased its 1996 and 1997 budget figures to reflect the reclassification of  certain programs and activities in some agencies that were not previously  included in the science funding total.
Total science funding reported by OMB and CCSP from 1998 through 2004  was identical for 4 of the 7 years. The largest difference for the 3 years that  were not identical was $8 million in 2001, which represented less than 1  percent of the science funding total reported by OMB for that year. The  other differences in total science funding were $3 million in 2002, and $1  million in 1999, and each represented less than 1 percent of the OMB  science total for those years.
Science funding by agency, as presented by OMB and CCSP from 1993  through 1997, differed in many cases, with the exception of funding for the  National Science Foundation (NSF), which was nearly identical over that  time period. For example, CCSP reported $143 million more funding for  NASA in 1996 than OMB reported, and OMB reported $24.9 million more  funding for DOE in 1994 than CCSP reported. The greatest dollar difference  related to NASA’s funding in 1997. Whereas OMB reported funding of $1.22  billion, CCSP reported funding of $1.37 billion—$151 million, or 12 percent  more than the OMB amount. The greatest percentage difference related to  the Department of the Interior’s funding in 1993. Whereas OMB reported  funding of $22 million, CCSP reported funding of $37.7 million—$15.7  million, or 71 percent more than reported by OMB. Further, from 1993  through 1997, OMB did not report science funding by some agencies that  were reported by CCSP. For example, CCSP reported that DOD’s funding  ranged from $5.7 to $6.6 million from 1993 through 1995, and that the  Tennessee Valley Authority received funding of $1 million or less per year  from 1993 through 1997, but OMB did not report any such funding.
OMB officials told us that data used for the 1993 through 1997 science  funding comparison with CCSP were collected too long ago to be able to  identify the differences. However, they stated that the data from early years  were produced in a very short period for use in testimony or questions for  the record. According to OMB, this quick turnaround did not allow time for  a thorough consistency check with other data sources.
From 1998 through 2004, OMB and CCSP data on funding by agency were  nearly identical. Both OMB and CCSP reported science funding for nine  agencies over the entire 7-year period, for a total of 63 agency funding  amounts. Of these, 52, or 83 percent, matched exactly. Of the 11  differences, there was one difference of $8 million, one of $2 million, and  nine of $1 million or less. The greatest difference from 1998 through 2004  was $8 million in funding for the Department of Commerce in 2001, which  was 9 percent of the Department of Commerce total, or less than 1 percent  of total science funding as reported by OMB for that year.
In addition to presenting data on funding by agency and total science  funding, CCSP included more detailed science data in its Our Changing  Planet reports. CCSP used several ways of categorizing data on science  funding in its reports, but the data were difficult to compare over the entire  time period because CCSP periodically introduced new categorization  methods without explaining how the new methods could be compared with  the ones they replaced. Specifically, from 1993 through 2004, in addition to  reported funding by agency, CCSP used seven different methods to present  detailed science funding data, making it impossible to develop consistent  funding trends over the entire timeframe. For example, CCSP presented  climate change science funding from 1993 through 1998 by budget function,  a method that presents funding by agency in categories such as energy,  agriculture, and natural resources and environment. CCSP presented  science funding data for 1998 by budget function and also by research  element, a new categorization method that divided funding by major  components of the earth’s environmental systems, such as “Global Water  Cycle” and “Atmospheric Composition.” In subsequent Our Changing  Planet reports, CCSP continued to use the research element categorization  method to present science funding, but stopped using the budget function  method without explaining how the two methods compared to each other.  As a consequence, the detailed science funding trends presented by budget  function from 1993 through 1998 cannot be compared to funding presented  by research element from 1998 through 2004.
From 1999 through 2004, in addition to funding by agency, CCSP used two  categorization methods, but these methods changed, making comparisons  over time difficult. The two other categorization methods employed by  CCSP included research element, described above, and program by agency,  which listed funding by specific programs within each agency. Both of  these methods changed from 1999 through 2004. For example, the research  elements used to categorize funding in 2000 included “Understanding the  Climate System,” “Understanding the Composition and Chemistry of the  Atmosphere,” “Global Water Cycle,” “Global Carbon Cycle,”  “Understanding Changes in Ecosystems,” “Understanding the Human  Dimensions of Global Change,” and “Paleoclimate: The History of the Earth  System.” In contrast, the research elements that were used to categorize  2004 funding eliminated the “Paleoclimate” element and added a “Land  Use” element.
Further, the program by agency categorization method became less  detailed over time. For funding from 1993 through 2001, this method  included comparable program descriptions and presented program-specific  funding by agency. Reported funding for 2002, 2003, and 2004 generally  continued this presentation style, but some agencies replaced the program- specific funding with less detailed funding categorizations. For example,  from 1993 through 2000, CCSP presented detailed funding for certain NASA  programs, including funding for the Earth Observing System, a series of  satellites and advanced data systems designed to study clouds,  atmospheric chemistry, and other processes. However, CCSP presented  less detail for NASA’s funding from 2001 through 2004, and did not present  funding by specific program over this time period. As a consequence,  NASA’s funding for the Earth Observing System and other specific  programs can no longer be identified in the CCSP reports. Similarly, CCSP  presented less detail for NSF funding from 2002 through 2004.
The director of CCSP told us that changes to reports, such as the creation  and deletion of different categorization methods, were made because CCSP  is changing towards a goals-oriented budget, and that categorization  methods changed as the program evolved. The director also said that future  reports will explicitly present budget data as they were reported in prior  reports to retain continuity, even if new methods are introduced. Another  CCSP official told us that CCSP now works with OMB to ensure that  consistent funding information is presented in Our Changing Planet  reports and OMB reports, and that, beginning with the fiscal year 2006  report (to be published in late-2005), CCSP will attempt to explain when  and why changes are made to reporting methods.
section_title: International Assistance
paragraphs: From 1993 through 2004, international assistance funding decreased from 9  percent to 5 percent of total federal funding on climate change, as reported  by OMB. Over the same time period, international assistance funding  increased from $201 million to $252 million (an increase of 25 percent), but  after adjusting for inflation, decreased from $280 million to $252 million (a  decrease of 10 percent). For example, reported funding for the Department  of the Treasury to help developing countries invest in energy efficiency,  renewable energy, and the development of clean energy technologies, such  as fuel cells, increased from zero in 1993 to $32 million in 2004. Table 4  presents funding as reported by OMB for the three largest accounts in the  international assistance category.  Year-by-year data on international  assistance funding are available in appendixes II and IV.
International assistance funding reported by OMB was generally  comparable over time, although some new accounts were added without  explanation. For example, OMB reported climate change funding of $2  million in 2003 and $3 million in 2004 by USAID on the Andean  Counterdrug Initiative, but OMB did not report funding for this account in  previous years. According to OMB, the Andean Counterdrug Initiative  promoted carbon capture and sequestration by reducing illicit coca  production in Peru. In its reports, OMB did not provide an explanation of  whether such new accounts reflected the creation of new programs or a  decision to count existing programs as climate change-related for the first  time. OMB officials told us that the presentation of new accounts in the  international assistance category was due to the establishment of new  programs and the inclusion of existing programs. They told us that the  account-by-account display in the reports has been changed over time as  climate change programs have become better defined.
section_title: Tax Expenditures
paragraphs: Although not required to provide information on tax expenditures related  to climate change, OMB reported certain information related to climate- related tax expenditures for each year. Specifically, it listed proposed  climate-related tax expenditures appearing in the President’s budget, but it  did not report revenue loss estimates for existing climate-related tax  expenditures from 1993 through 2004. Based on the Department of the  Treasury’s tax expenditure list published in the 2006 budget, we identified  four existing tax expenditures that have purposes similar to programs  reported by OMB in its climate change reports. In 2004, estimated revenue  losses amounted to hundreds of millions of dollars for the following tax  expenditures: $330 million in revenue losses was estimated for new technology tax  credits to reduce the cost of generating electricity from renewable  resources. A credit of 10 percent was available for investment in solar  and geothermal energy facilities. In addition, a credit of 1.5 cents was  available per kilowatt hour of electricity produced from renewable  resources such as biomass, poultry waste, and wind facilities.   $100 million in revenue losses was estimated for excluded interest on  energy facility bonds to reduce the cost of investing in certain  hydroelectric and solid waste disposal facilities. The interest earned on  state and local bonds used to finance the construction of certain  hydroelectric generating facilities was tax exempt. Some solid waste  disposal facilities that produced electricity also qualified for this  exemption.   $100 million in revenue losses was estimated for excluded income from  conservation subsidies provided by public utilities to reduce the cost of  purchasing energy-efficient technologies. Residential utility customers  could exclude from their taxable income energy conservation subsidies  provided by public utilities. Customers could exclude subsidies used for  installing or modifying certain equipment that reduced energy  consumption or improved the management of energy demand.   $70 million in revenue losses was estimated for tax incentives for the  purchase of clean fueled vehicles to reduce automobile emissions. A tax  credit of 10 percent, not to exceed $4,000, was available to purchasers of  electric vehicles. Purchasers of vehicles powered by compressed  natural gas, hydrogen, alcohol, and other clean fuels could deduct up to  $50,000 of the vehicle purchase costs from their taxable income,  depending upon the weight and cost of the vehicle. Similarly, owners of  refueling properties could deduct up to $100,000 for the purchase of re- fueling equipment for clean fueled vehicles.
OMB officials said that they consistently reported proposed tax  expenditures where a key purpose was specifically to reduce greenhouse  gas emissions. They also stated that they did not include existing tax  expenditures that may have greenhouse gas benefits but were enacted for  other purposes, and that the Congress has provided no guidance to suggest  additional tax expenditure data should be included in the annual reports.
OMB’s decision criteria for determining which tax expenditures to include  differed in two key respects from its criteria for determining which  accounts to include. First, OMB presented funding for existing as well as  proposed accounts, but presented information only on proposed, but not  existing, tax expenditures. Second, OMB presented funding for programs  where a key purpose was specifically to reduce greenhouse gas emissions,  as well as for programs that may have greenhouse gas benefits but were  enacted for other purposes. However, OMB presented information only on  proposed tax expenditures where a key purpose was specifically to reduce  greenhouse gas emissions.
section_title: Reported Funding for Most Agencies Increased, but Unexplained Changes in Report Content Limit the Comparability of Data Over Time
paragraphs: OMB reported that 12 of the 14 agencies that received funding for climate  change programs in 2004 received more funding in that year than they had  in 1993. However, it is unclear whether funding changed as much as  reported by OMB because unexplained modifications in the reports’  contents limit the comparability of agencies’ funding data. From 1993  through 2004, climate change funding for DOE increased more than any  other agency, from $963 million to $2.52 billion, for an increase of $1.56  billion (162 percent). Adjusted for inflation, such funding increased from  $1.34 billion to $2.52 billion, for an increase of $1.18 billion (88 percent).  The second largest increase in agency funding was for NASA, which  received a $660 million (74 percent) increase in funding over the same time  period. NASA’s funding increased $310 million (25 percent) over this period  after adjusting for inflation. The funding increases for these two agencies  accounted for 81 percent of the reported total increase in federal climate  change funding from 1993 through 2004. Conversely, USAID experienced  the largest decrease in funding—from $200 million in 1993 to $195 million  in 2004 (3 percent), or, in inflation-adjusted terms, from $279 million to  $195 million (30 percent).
From 1993 through 2004, eight agencies’ funding increased as a share of the  total federal funding for climate change, while the other six agencies’  funding decreased as a share of the total. DOE’s funding increased at a  faster rate than other agencies from 1993 through 2004, meaning its share  increased more than the funding shares of other agencies. For example,  DOE’s share of total climate change funding increased from 41 percent in  1993, to 49 percent in 2004, for a share increase of almost 9 percent. The  Environmental Protection Agency (EPA) experienced the next largest  share increase from 1 percent of the total in 1993, to 2 percent of the total  in 2004, for a share increase of 1 percent. By contrast, although NASA’s  climate change funding increased by $660 million, its share decreased from  38 percent in 1993, to 30 percent in 2004, because its funding did not  increase as fast as some other agencies, most notably DOE. Table 5  presents funding as reported by OMB for selected agencies. Year-by-year  data on funding by agency are available in appendix III.
Unexplained changes in the content of OMB reports limit the comparability  of agencies’ funding data, and therefore it is unclear whether funding  changed as much as was reported by OMB. Because agency funding totals  are composed of individual accounts, the changes in the reports’ contents  discussed earlier, such as the unexplained addition of accounts to the  technology category, limit the comparability of agencies’ funding data over  time. For example, OMB reported Army, Navy, Air Force, and Defense-wide  funding totaling $83 million in 2003, and $51 million in 2004, in accounts  titled Research, Development, Test, and Evaluation, but did not report  these accounts for prior years. OMB did not explain whether these  accounts reflected the creation of new programs or a decision to count  existing programs for the first time. Accordingly, there is some uncertainty  about DOD’s climate change funding over time. Similarly, OMB reported  funding for other agencies in some years but not in others, without  explanation. For example, OMB did not report any funding for the  Department of Transportation from 2000 through 2002, but reported  funding of $27 million in 2003, and $9 million in 2004, for the development  of hydrogen fuel cells.OMB also presented $10 million of funding for the  Department of Housing and Urban Development in 1999 and 2000, but in no  other years.
OMB officials told us that agencies can be included in reports for the first  time when new initiatives or programs are started, such as the CCTP. In  some cases, those initiatives or programs are made up of entirely new  funding but in other cases they may be additions on top of a small amount  of base funding. These officials told us that agencies sometimes include  data that were not previously reported when they requested funding for  those initiatives, but they assured us that the data are reported consistently  for the 3 years presented in each report.
section_title: OMB Reports Presented Information on Budget Authority Rather Than—as Required by the Congress—on Expenditures and Obligations
paragraphs: The federal budget process is complex, and there are numerous steps that  culminate in the outlay of federal funds. Among the key steps in this  process are the following, as defined by OMB:  Budget authority means the authority provided in law to incur  financial obligations that will result in outlays.
Obligations are binding agreements that will result in outlays,  immediately or in the future.
Outlays are payments to liquidate an obligation. The Congress, in the  Congressional Budget and Impoundment Control Act of 1974, as  amended, has defined outlays as being the expenditures and net lending  of funds under budget authority.
In simplified terms, budget authority precedes obligations, which precede  outlays in the process of spending federal funds.
As noted above, since 1999, the Congress has required the President to  submit a report each year to the Senate and House Committees on  Appropriations describing in detail all federal agency obligations and  expenditures, domestic and international, for climate change programs and  activities. In response, OMB has annually published the Federal Climate  Change Expenditures Report to Congress that presents budget authority  information in summary data tables instead of obligations and  expenditures, as the title of the report and the table titles suggest. For  example, although the March 2005 report’s summary table is entitled in  bold as a “Summary of Federal Climate Change Expenditures,” the table’s  data are presented in terms of budget authority. The only indication that  the table presents budget authority information, rather than expenditures,  is a parenthetical statement to that effect in a significantly smaller font.
OMB officials told us that the term “expenditures” is used in the report title  and text because that is the term used most often in the legislative  language. They also said that the reports present data in terms of budget  authority because OMB has always interpreted the bill and report language  to request the budget authority levels for each activity in a particular year.  They stated further that, from a technical budget standpoint, expenditures  are usually synonymous with outlays, and that one way to think of budget  authority is that it is the level of expenditures (over a period of one or more  years) that is made available in a particular appropriations bill. OMB views  this as an appropriate interpretation of the congressional requirements  since the Committees on Appropriations work with budget authority and  not outlays. Moreover, OMB told us that the Appropriations Committees  have never objected to its interpretation of “obligations and expenditures”  as budget authority and that OMB has always identified the data provided  in the table as budget authority.
We have several concerns with OMB’s approach. First, OMB’s approach of  reporting budget authority does not comply with the language of the annual  legal requirements to report on climate change “obligations and  expenditures.” Second, in reviewing the legislative history of these  reporting requirements, we found no support for OMB’s interpretation that  when the Congress called for “obligations and expenditures” information, it  actually meant “budget authority” information. Third, OMB’s interpretation  is not consistent with its own Circular A-11, which defines budget authority  as stated above, not as actual obligations and expenditures. Nonetheless,  we recognize that it is not possible for OMB to meet the most recent  reporting requirements because it must provide a report on climate change  obligations and expenditures for the current fiscal year within 45 days of  submitting the President’s budget for the following fiscal year (which must  be submitted the first Monday of February). For example, the President  submitted the fiscal year 2006 budget on February 7, 2005, so OMB’s report  on fiscal year 2005 climate change expenditures and obligations had to be  submitted in March 2005—approximately halfway through the 2005 fiscal  year. However, complete expenditures data are available only after the end  of each fiscal year. Thus, OMB could not meet both the timing requirement  and report all actual expenditures and obligations in fiscal year 2005.
CCSP has also reported budget authority data in its Our Changing Planet  reports. As noted above, CCSP, or its predecessor organization, initially  was required to report annually on certain climate change “amounts spent,”  “amounts expected to be spent,” and “amounts requested,” but this  reporting requirement was terminated in 2000. Currently, CCSP is  responsible for reporting information relating to the federal budget and  federal funding for climate change science, not climate change expenditure  information. Since 2000, CCSP has fulfilled these reporting requirements by  providing budget authority information in its Our Changing Planet reports.
section_title: Conclusions
paragraphs: The Congress has required the administration to provide reports on federal  climate change spending, funding, and requested funding. From year to  year there were numerous changes in the format and content of OMB and  CCSP reports, but the reasons for such changes have generally not been  well explained. Consequently, these reports—taken collectively—do not  provide a fully comparable picture of funding or spending trends, and the  Congress and the public cannot consistently track federal climate change  funding or spending over time. Accordingly, it is unclear whether funding  or spending has changed as much as was reported. Even though the  agencies have not been required to follow a consistent reporting format  from one year to the next, we believe the Congress would have better  information for policy decisions if OMB and CCSP clearly explained  changes in report content and format when they occurred and  communicated how such changes affected trends over time.
Further, even though OMB is not required to include information on tax  expenditures in its reports, it included certain information on proposed tax  expenditures each year. In order to present a complete picture of federal  resources supporting climate-related activities, we believe that OMB  should also include information on existing tax expenditures. For the same  reason, we believe that OMB should use the same criteria for determining  what types of tax expenditures to include in its reports as it uses in  determining which funding accounts to include.
We found that OMB reports presented information on budget authority,  not—as required by the Congress--on expenditures and obligations. OMB is  aware of this discrepancy because it uses the term “expenditures” in the  reports’ titles and tables, but presents budget authority data. Although  OMB asserts that this approach is sufficient because the Committees on  Appropriations have not objected, and while we recognize that it is not  possible for OMB to meet both the substantive and timing requirements for  the reports, we believe that OMB should take the initiative regarding future  reporting requirements and request that the Congress specify that the  reports should include budget authority information or provide OMB with  additional time so that it can report actual expenditures and obligations.
section_title: Recommendations for Executive Action
paragraphs: To better ensure that the Congress and the public can consistently track  federal climate change funding or spending over time, we are making the  following seven recommendations.
We recommend that OMB and CCSP,   from year-to-year, each use the same format for presenting data, to the  extent that they may do so and remain in compliance with reporting  requirements;  explain changes in report content or format when they are introduced;   provide and maintain a crosswalk comparing new and old report  structures when changes in report format are introduced.
We also recommend that OMB  include information on existing climate-related tax expenditures in its   use the same criteria for determining which tax expenditures to include  as it uses for determining which accounts to include;  request that the Congress clarify whether future reports should be  presented in terms of expenditures and obligations or in terms of budget  authority, and if the Congress prefers the former, OMB should request  the necessary time to prepare reports on that basis; and  if it continues to report budget authority rather than expenditures and  obligations, clearly identify the information reported as budget authority  throughout the report.
section_title: Agency Comments and Our Evaluation
paragraphs: We provided a draft of this report to the Director, OMB, and the Director,  CCSP, for their review and comment. The Deputy Associate Director of  OMB’s Natural Resources Division provided oral comments on August 1,  2005. He said that OMB agreed with most of our recommendations.  Specifically, he said OMB agreed with our recommendations regarding the  format and content of its reports, and was studying the recommendations  on its presentation of tax expenditure data and use of budget terminology.
The Director, CCSP, provided comments in a letter dated July 28, 2005, (see  app. V). CCSP stated that the report presents a fair assessment of how  CCSP documents and presents budget information, and agreed with all of  our recommendations.
As agreed with your offices, unless you publicly announce the contents of  this report earlier, we plan no further distribution until 30 days from its  issuance. At that time, we will send copies of this report to the Director,  CCSP; Director, OMB; and other interested officials. We will make copies  available to others upon request. In addition, the report will be available at  no charge on GAO’s Web site at http://www.gao.gov.
section_title: Objectives, Scope, and Methodology
paragraphs: This report examines federal climate change funding from 1993 through  2004, as reported by OMB and CCSP to determine (1) how total funding and  funding by category changed and the extent to which data on such funding  are comparable over time and (2) how funding by agency changed and the  extent to which data on such funding are comparable over time. To answer  these objectives we analyzed annual reports and congressional testimony  on climate change funding. If changes in the reports were not explained, we  asked responsible officials to explain the changes. To examine whether  OMB and CCSP reports presented the data required by the Congress, we  reviewed the reporting requirements, the legislative history of the  requirements, and the data provided by OMB and CCSP in their reports.
OMB presented federal climate change funding from 1993 through 1998 in  testimony before the Congress, and from 1999 through 2004 in annual  reports. The administration also reported annually from 1993 through 2004  on funding for climate change science, one of the four categories used in  OMB reports. The term “funding” in this report reflects discretionary  budget authority, or the authority provided in law to incur financial  obligations that will result in outlays, as reported by OMB and CCSP in  their reports. For each annual report, OMB and CCSP generally presented  estimated funding for the year of the report, actual funding for the previous  year, and proposed funding for the next year. For example, OMB’s July 2002  report includes actual funding for fiscal year 2001, estimated funding for  fiscal year 2002, and proposed funding for fiscal year 2003. We analyzed the  most recently reported actual funding (not estimates) reported by OMB  and CCSP. The exceptions were 1993, 1994, and 2004, where we present  estimated science funding for CCSP.
We consolidated actual funding data presented in OMB and CCSP reports  and testimony. OMB reports presented climate change funding in four  categories (technology, science, international assistance, and tax  expenditures), and reports prior to 2002 also distinguished between direct  and indirect climate change funding. We assembled a consolidated OMB  account table (shown in app. IV) using the four category direct/indirect  framework. We used OMB’s 1999 testimony (which presented funding data  from 1993 through 1998) as the baseline for the consolidated table, and  analyzed OMB’s annual reports to identify whether accounts listed in the  reports matched those presented in the testimony. If the account matched  an account from the testimony, we included the value for the existing  account in the consolidated table. If the account was not presented in the  testimony, we added the account to the consolidated table. We continued  this process until the consolidated table presented in appendix IV included  all the accounts reported by OMB from 1993 through 2004, and used a  similar methodology to consolidate CCSP reports. We did not include  accounts in the appendixes where OMB presented data on proposed, but  not actual, funding. We calculated totals for some accounts using data  presented by OMB in its reports. These accounts are labeled in appendix IV.
After consolidating the OMB and CCSP report accounts, we developed  totals for funding by category and agency for each year. We presented  category totals as developed by OMB, when available, and calculated  category totals when no OMB total was available. To develop agency  funding totals, we identified accounts in appendix IV associated with each  agency and summed them. However, OMB stated, and our analysis  confirmed, that the sum of the accounts for a category or agency may not  match the category or agency totals presented by OMB in its reports.  According to OMB, the differences in account sums and category and  agency totals were due to removal of programs that were counted in more  than one account or category. OMB officials said they were unable to  determine the effect of these double counts over time because they did not  keep a single database with the report information for each year.  Accordingly, we presented OMB category totals when they were available.  If OMB did not present a funding category total, we calculated it by  summing the accounts for each category. OMB presented agency funding  totals for 2003 and 2004, but not for the other years. To ensure consistency  over the entire time period, we calculated agency funding totals for all  years by adding the accounts in appendix IV associated with each agency.  In 2003 and 2004, the account sums we calculated and the agency totals  presented by OMB were within $1 million of each other in all cases but one,  2004 funding for USAID. According to OMB, $6 million of USAID funding  was presented in two different places in the report. Our methodology  would have counted this $6 million twice, so we adjusted the USAID total  to reflect OMB’s agency total. We did not adjust the agency totals we  calculated in any other cases. CCSP reports already presented climate  change science funding by agency. We then used the funding by agency,  funding by category, and consolidated account tables to analyze funding  trends over time and compare OMB and CCSP science totals. Funding by  category is presented in appendix II, and funding by agency is presented in  appendix III.
To identify existing tax expenditures aimed at promoting energy  conservation and encouraging supply of renewable and alternative energy,  we reviewed the list of tax expenditures developed by the Department of  the Treasury for the fiscal year 2006 budget. We present the estimated 2004  revenue losses due to these tax expenditures as reported in the Budget of  the U.S. Government, Fiscal Year 2006 edition, Analytical Perspectives,  chapter 19.
We determined that the data available in the OMB and CCSP reports were  sufficiently reliable for our purposes because the reports were  supplements to the budget (in the case of CCSP) or assembled from the  budget (in the case of OMB). Unless otherwise specified, we report funding  in nominal terms (not adjusted for inflation), and all years refer to fiscal  years. When we adjusted for inflation, to put the data in fiscal year 2004  dollars, we used a fiscal year price index that we calculated based on the  calendar year price index in the National Income and Product Accounts  Table 3.10.4: Price Indexes for Government Consumption Expenditures  and General Government Gross Output, Line 34: Nondefense  consumption expenditures, published by the Department of Commerce’s  Bureau of Economic Analysis.
In this report, the term “agency” includes executive departments and  agencies, and we use the term “account” to describe the budget accounts,  line items, programs, and activities presented in the OMB and CCSP  reports. For consistency, we characterize all Our Changing Planet reports  from 1993 through 2004 as CCSP reports, even though CCSP has been in  existence only since 2002, and prior reports were published by the  USGCRP. Totals and percentages may not add due to rounding. For  presentation purposes, we show federal climate change funding for 1993,  1997, 2001, and 2004 in report tables. Funding data for 1993 through 2004  are available in appendixes II, III, and IV.
We performed our work between July 2004 and August 2005 in accordance  with generally accepted government auditing standards.
section_title: Comments from the Climate Change Science Program
section_title: GAO Contact and Staff Acknowledgments
subsections: section_title: GAO Contact
section_title: Staff Acknowledgments
paragraphs: In addition to the individual named above, David Marwick, Assistant  Director, Anne K. Johnson, and Joseph D. Thompson made key  contributions to this report. Also, John Delicath, Anne Stevens, and Amy  Webbink made important contributions.