The AMS Climate Policy Colloquium:

• Provides an overview of policy basics, and how decisions are made governing the course and future of earth and atmospheric sciences
• Provides opportunities for participants to meet and dialog with the federal officials, Congressional staffers and others who make those decisions
• Surveys current science policy issues, with a focus on climate
• Uses the case study method to explore a limited number of issues, both past and present, in depth and detail
• Helps participants build skills, experience, and contacts they can use throughout their careers to understand and influence the policy process
• Helps participants gauge their aptitude for and interest in the challenges of matching science to national priorities, and scientific program leadership

Who can attend?

• Early and mid-level federal managers and scientists
• Mid-level private-sector executives
• University faculty
• Selected graduate students and postdoctoral fellows of demonstrated scientific and leadership potential

Format

This year’s AMS Climate Policy Colloquium will consist of both in-person and virtual sessions. In-person sessions will take place in Washington DC from December 8-12, 2025. A virtual session in late November/early December will provide participants a Colloquium overview as well as an opportunity for self-introductions. A follow-up virtual session will introduce participants to the group legislative exercise (at that time participants will be assigned to small groups who may subsequently schedule their own virtual sessions to continue the group exercise prior to their arrival in Washington, DC).

Follow-on virtual sessions (exact dates to be determined) will explore a range of additional topics that complement the in-person sessions. These topics involve policy-players widely dispersed geographically (in some cases globally) and so best lend themselves to the virtual format. Featured topics may include:

• Public communication
• Place-based (state and local) science-policy engagement

Virtual sessions will likely last 2 hours with one or two sessions on the scheduled days.

All Colloquium sessions will be held under a modified version of the Chatham House Rule:

Participants are free to use the information received at the Colloquium but attribution of speakers' remarks is not allowed without express permission.

The Chatham House Rule originated at Chatham House with the aim of providing anonymity to speakers and to encourage openness and the sharing of information. It is now used throughout the world as an aid to free discussion. Meetings do not have to take place at Chatham House, or be organized by Chatham House, to be held under the Rule.

Additional details

• Participation is limited to no more than 40 participants
• Attendance at all in-person sessions is required. Attendance at virtual sessions, while not mandatory, is highly recommended as an opportunity to expand upon material covered in the in-person sessions and to network with peers and experts in the policy arena
• A tuition fee of $3,400 includes all sessions, workshops, tours/briefings, and materials. Please note: the $3,400 tuition fee does not include room and board or travel
• Early career scientists (e.g., graduate students and postdoctoral researchers) can apply for financial support. A funding award covers the tuition fee, room and board, and travel. Partial support may also be available.
• In-person sessions will take place in downtown Washington DC

Preliminary agenda

Download a preliminary agenda here.

Please note participants are expected to attend all in-person sessions. Participants use breaks and meals to work on group exercises and for networking. The Colloquium is an intensive experience. Multi-tasking during the sessions is highly discouraged and will lessen the impact of the course.

Reading materials

The experience is most rewarding to participants who have done preparatory reading. We recommend:

• Introductions to the U.S. Federal budget process:
  • CBPP: Introduction to the Federal Budget Process 
  • AAAS: The Federal Budget Process 101
  • CRS: Introduction to the Federal Budget Process
• Understanding the U.S. Congress
  • CRS: Committee Types and Roles (House and Senate)
  • CRS: Introduction to the Legislative Process
  • CRS: The Committee System in the U.S. Congress
• Understanding the White House
  • The White House Transition Project
  • WHTP: An Insiders Guide to the Office of Management and Budget
• Introduction to U.S. science policy
  • Beyond Sputnik: U.S. Science Policy in the 21st Century, Homer Alfred Neal, Tobin Smith, and Jennifer McCormick (400pp)(optional).
  • Working with Congress: A Scientist’s Guide to Policy, Kasey. S. White and Joanne C. Carney (78pp)
• Introduction to climate policy
  • Higgins, P. A. T., 2014: How to deal with climate change. Physics Today, 68, 32–37.
• The legislative language for the group exercise (this will be assigned later)