The difficulties and uncertainties of modeling the Earth's climate and analyzing plans for sustainable practices have received much attention in the past decade. A number of mathematical institutions in North America are involved in research activities that study these issues. Thirteen of these institutions (eight in the United States and five in Canada) have chosen have joined together.

AIM (American Institute of Mathematics), BIRS (Banff International Research Station), CRM (Centre de Recherches Mathématiques), DIMACS (Center for Discrete Mathematics and Theoretical Computer  Science), Fields Institute for Research in Mathematical Sciences, IMA (Institute for Mathematics and its Applications), IPAM (Institute for Pure and Applied Mathematics), MBI (Mathematical Biosciences Institute), MITACS (Mathematics of Information Technology and Complex Systems), MSRI (Mathematical Sciences Research Institute), NIMBioS (National Institute for Mathematical and Biological Synthesis), PIMS (Pacific Institute for the Mathematical Sciences) and SAMSI (Statistical et Applied Mathematical Sciences Institute).