Lie Conformal Algebra Cohomology and the Variational Complex

We find an interpretation of the complex of variational calculus in terms of the Lie conformal algebra cohomology theory. This leads to a better understanding of both theories. In particular, we give an explicit construction of the Lie conformal algebra cohomology complex, and endow it with a structure of a \mathfrakg{\mathfrak{g}}-complex. On the other hand, we give an explicit construction of the complex of variational calculus in terms of skew-symmetric poly-differential operators.