Earthquakes, floods, and weather extremes are among a range of societal hazards that are increasingly studied by national and international researchers, but the absence of international collaboration and coordination is increasingly leading to inefficiencies and lost opportunities. The world's major funders of global change research are considering how best to align financial and human capital toward delivering the relevant knowledge that society will need in the 21st century. The Belmont Forum (named after the group's first meeting venue in Maryland in 2009) meets twice a year and is composed of funding executives from Australia, Austria, Brazil, Canada, China, France, Germany, India, Japan, Norway, South Africa, the United Kingdom, the United States, and the European Commission, together with the executive directors of the International Council for Science (ICSU) and International Social Sciences Council (ISSC); a full list of members is on the Belmont Forum Web site, http://igfagcr.org/index.php/belmont-forum.
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