IN RESPONSE TO rising concerns about climate change and global warming at the end of the 20th century, the government of the United Kingdom created the Atmosphere, Climate, and Environmental Information Programme (ACE) as the academic arm of the Atmospheric Research and Information Centre (ARIC). Operating under the auspices of the Department for Environment, Food, and Rural Affairs (DEFRA) and supported by the Department of the Environment, Transport, and Regions (DETR), ACE was established in part as a means of promoting DETR's “Are You Doing Your Bit?” campaign. Activities of the ACE were directed at educating the public about the ways in which human activities affect climate change and in promoting national legislation and international cooperation in mitigating those effects.

In 2005 DEFRA withdrew financial support ...