The North American Carbon Program: a pillar of the US carbon cycle science community

The North American Carbon Program (NACP) is a multi-agency, multidisciplinary scientific research support initiative focused on quantifying carbon sources and sinks in North America and its adjacent oceans. NACP is the only cross-agency initiative in the USA with an emphasis on diagnosing the contemporary carbon cycle, developing and sharing scientific understanding of how it responds to natural and human forcings, and improving skillful predictions of its likely future dynamics. At a time when understanding and mitigating the impacts of climate change and the role of greenhouse gases is a global imperative, an open science program like the NACP is needed now more than ever. NACP has and will continue to fulfill a vital role in providing a platform for the carbon cycle community to: (a) share progress, (b) design and plan innovations, (c) collaborate across disciplines, (d) support early career researchers and (e) build a diverse and inclusive community. There are multiple programs across the US federal portfolio that are investing in carbon-related work, as well as surging activity in the private sector. NACP’s community engagement and coordination can help ensure that the whole is greater than the sum of its parts. Additionally, the NACP community is pursuing opportunities to enhance continental and international collaboration, contributing to harmonized future observations, contextualizing the US and North America within the global carbon cycle.