[Federal Register Volume 59, Number 249 (Thursday, December 29, 1994)]
[Unknown Section]
[Page 0]
From the Federal Register Online via the Government Publishing Office [www.gpo.gov]
[FR Doc No: 94-32115]


[[Page Unknown]]

[Federal Register: December 29, 1994]


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DEPARTMENT OF ENERGY

Office of Energy Research

 

Energy Research Financial Assistance Notice 95-12: Global Change 
Assessment Research

AGENCY: U.S. Department of Energy (DOE).

ACTION: Notice inviting grant applications.

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SUMMARY: The Office of Health and Environmental Research (OHER) of the 
Office of Energy Research, U.S. Department of Energy (DOE) hereby 
announces its interest in receiving applications to support research 
and analysis of Global Change Assessment Research. This notice follows 
a notice published December 9, 1992, in the Federal Register (Notice 
93-04) for the Economics of Global Change Research Program. The 
refocused program has expanded since 1992 to include core support for 
integrated assessment activities, research on assessment in direct 
support of global change policy, and broader issues of sustainable 
development. The research program supports the Department's Global 
Change Research Program, the U.S. Global Change Research Program 
(USGCRP), and the Administration's goals to understand and mitigate the 
rise in greenhouse gases.

DATES: Formal applications submitted in response to this notice must be 
received by 4:30 PM, EST, February 23, 1995, to permit timely 
consideration for awards in Fiscal Year 1995.

ADDRESSES: Formal applications referencing Program Notice 95-12 should 
be forwarded to: U.S. Department of Energy, Office of Energy Research, 
Acquisition and Assistance Management Division, ER-64 (GTN), 
Washington, D.C. 20585, ATTN: Program Notice 95-12. The following 
address must be used when submitting applications by U.S. Postal 
Service Express Mail or any commercial mail delivery service, or when 
hand-carried by the applicant: U.S. Department of Energy, Office of 
Energy Research, Acquisition and Assistance Management Division, ER-64, 
19901 Germantown Road, Germantown, MD 20874.

FOR FURTHER INFORMATION CONTACT: Dr. John C. Houghton, Office of Health 
and Environmental Research, Environmental Sciences Division, ER-74 
(GTN), U.S. Department of Energy, Washington, D.C. 20585, (301) 903-
8288, fax (301) 903-7363, or by Internet address, 
[email protected].

SUPPLEMENTARY INFORMATION: There are two topics that are included in 
the DOE Global Change Assessment Research (GCAR) Program for FY 1995. 
Approximately 70 percent of the funds are expected to be allocated to 
the first topic and 30 percent for topic B.

The determination of energy policy, such as that contained in the 
Department of Energy's National Energy Policy Plan and the President's 
Climate Change Action Plan, is tied to understanding the benefits and 
costs of potential actions with respect to the control of greenhouse 
gases and possible climate change. The research described in this 
notice supports the analysis of those benefits and costs as well as 
helps in presenting the results of the U.S. Global Change Research 
Program to the policy-setting process.
    This research will be judged in part on its potential to improve 
and/or support the analytical basis for policy development. For 
instance, research that supports integrated assessment, which in turn 
supports the policy process, is considered relevant. More broadly 
applicable research will be preferred to narrowly focussed research on, 
for example, particular energy technologies, or narrowly-defined 
geographic regions. One of the requirements of the application is to 
define the linkage to policy questions that the research expects to 
address. Applications that involve development of analytical models and 
computer codes will be judged in part on the basis of proposed tasks to 
prepare documentation and make the models and codes available to other 
groups.
    A background document that describes the supplementary information 
in more detail is available from Dr. Houghton. For topics A and B, 
applicants are expected to be familiar with literature on global 
climate change. A representative list of relevant literature is also 
available from Dr. Houghton.

A. Integrated Assessment of Climate Change

    Integrated Assessment (IA) of climate change is the analysis of 
climate change from the cause, such as greenhouse gas emissions, 
through impacts, such as changed energy requirements for space 
conditioning due to temperature changes. The analysis should include 
feedbacks and be oriented to evaluating policy options. IA is 
sometimes, but not always, implemented as a computer model. The GCAR 
program will support research that either (a) develops IA's for use by 
the policy-setting process, or (b) conducts more narrowly defined 
research topics, the results of which would be used by the IA 
community. Note that the research supports the development of 
methodologies or information rather than the exercise of a model to 
evaluate specific policy options. In case a), a criterion for selecting 
awards will be the potential contribution to the policy decision 
process and the added value of that particular proposed IA effort over 
other ongoing IA activities. In case b), a criterion will be the 
importance of the research results to the IA community.
    The following categories are examples of focused research topics 
that would support IA. They are listed in order of importance.

1. Technology Innovation and Diffusion

    This category has been a primary focus of the GCAR program for the 
last two years. Potential research projects include such issues as:
    Estimates of future overall costs to society of reducing future 
greenhouse gas emissions. This is also sometimes considered as the 
degree to which energy efficiency will improve independent of price and 
specific policies. The issue is commonly known as the top/down versus 
bottom/up controversy and is parameterized in some IA models as the 
autonomous energy efficiency improvement index.
    The rate of technology diffusion from the U.S. to developing 
countries and the prediction of the energy-use path for developing 
countries.
    The portrayal of technology and related assumptions consistently 
across different parts of an IA model.

2. Representing and valuing non-market impacts in integrated 
assessments

    A major challenge before the integrated assessment modeling 
community is to expand the range of representations in integrated 
assessment models of the response of ecosystems and socio-economic 
systems to potential climate changes. This is especially true for 
estimates of the value of the consequences of climate change on the 
``non-market'' goods and services provided by ecosystems. Applications 
should seek to develop new methods for including potential consequences 
of climate change into integrated assessment models, including how to 
value non-market goods.

3. Reduced form models

    This category would support the development of selected simplified 
models that portray an important aspect of the overall problem and can 
be used by several of the IA modelers. This category would also support 
research that addresses paradigms for coordinating research on process 
studies so that they are more easily reformulated as reduced form 
models.

4. Uncertainty

    Research subjects include how to estimate uncertainty in IA models, 
how uncertainty affects the effectiveness of policy options, the 
utility of different representations of uncertainty including 
surprises, and the value of research on different topics based on an 
analysis of the utility of uncertainty reduction.

5. Scale Differences

    In linking the physical, biological, and social science systems 
together, information and sub-models are often collected and 
constructed at different geographical scales and timeframes. For 
example, impacts averaged across large latitude and longitude cells do 
not correspond to nations, which are often the appropriate unit in 
political science models of international negotiating. This category 
includes research on combining different scales in a consistent manner.

6. Data

    Some data sets are so important and common to so many assessment 
activities that support for collection of that data would prevent 
duplication. This category includes two subjects. The first is to 
conduct the research necessary to define specific data sets that are 
needed by the IA community. The second is to conduct the research 
necessary to collect and provide a needed data set.

7. Driving Forces

    This research will help understand the underlying economic forces 
that drive global change and that form a foundation for most economic 
modeling of global change.

8. Definition of Sustainability

    This research pertains to defining sustainability and how to 
augment integrated assessment models of climate change to include 
sustainability concepts, such as including information on other 
sustainable indices, for example water resources, arable land, health, 
and the environmental options available to future generations through 
increased economic growth.

B. Assessment in Direct Support of Policy

    The following subject areas are defined by categories of policy 
concerns rather than by research categories themselves. Successful 
research applications in this area will concentrate on the broader 
issues of policy activities rather than, for example, specific policy 
proposals. Although particular examples or case studies may be 
important to understanding the broader theme, the major goal is the 
general understanding that can be applied to the broad policy. The 
categories are listed in order of importance.

1. U.S. Emission Abatement Strategies

    The research would help predict the direct and indirect 
effectiveness of emission abatement strategies, such as cost, impacts, 
and timing. For example, assessing effectiveness of voluntary actions 
would be important for some short-term abatement actions.

2. Developing Country Abatement Strategies

    The goal of this category is to understand other countries' general 
abatement options so that, for example, constructing guidelines for 
joint implementation projects can be analyzed.

3. Adaptation

    Research in this area would help energy sector planners plan for a 
potentially changing climate. The energy sector includes electric 
generation from fossil fuels, hydroelectric, nuclear, renewable, 
transmission and storage, and others. Adaptation in other sectors, such 
as water and transportation, would be important to the extent that the 
issues, for example temperature and quantity of cooling water supply, 
relate to the energy sector.

4. Global Change in the Context of Other Social and Environmental 
Policy Options

    Often global change policy issues are discussed in the context of 
broader social and environmental goals. This category would support the 
extension of global change assessment to include measures and concepts 
that would benefit the broader debate, such as international trade, job 
formation, and economic competitiveness.

5. International negotiations

    This category includes research on past roles or future prospects 
for science and integrated assessments in international environmental 
negotiating processes and the formation and stability of international 
agreements, for instance, whether agreements can be generated that are 
both effective in reducing emissions and that do not encourage 
countries to ``drop out.''
    Potential applicants are strongly encouraged to submit a brief 
preapplication in accordance with 10 CFR 600.10(d)(2), which consists 
of two to three pages of narrative describing research objectives. 
Preapplications will be used to identify potential opportunities for 
coordinated research, to enable DOE to advise potential applicants of 
DOE's interest in their research ideas, and to serve as a basis for 
arranging reviews of formal applications.
    Preapplications should include no more than two to three double-
spaced pages (10 pt.), including proposed research; names and telephone 
numbers for all principal investigators (PIs), coprincipal 
investigators, and collaborators; and telefax number, Internet address 
(if available) and mail address for the PI. Preapplications referencing 
Program Notice 95-12 should be received by January 16, 1995, and sent 
to Dr. Houghton, Office of Health and Environmental Research, ER-74, 
Washington, D.C. 20585, or to Internet address 
[email protected]. A response to the preapplication will 
be communicated to the PI by February 1, 1995.
    Preapplications and formal applications will be reviewed relative 
to the DOE interests described by this notice and in reference to scope 
and research priorities of the U.S. Global Climate Change Research 
Program (USGCRP). Preapplications will be reviewed for relevance to 
Program needs and interests. Formal applications will be subjected to 
merit review and will be evaluated against the evaluation criteria set 
forth in 10 CFR Part 605 as well as the specifics referenced above.
    It is anticipated that approximately $1.5 million will be available 
for grant awards in Fiscal Year 1995, contingent upon availability of 
appropriated funds. Previous awards for this type of research have 
ranged from $50,000 up to $250,000 per year, with most not exceeding 
$150,000. While most awards are expected to range from $50,000 to 
$150,000 per year, a few larger awards may be granted for integrated 
assessment activities. Funding of multiple year grant awards of up to 
three years is available and is also contingent upon availability of 
appropriated funds.
    Information about the development and submission of applications, 
eligibility, limitations, evaluation, selection process, and other 
policies and procedures, may be found in the Application Guide for the 
Office of Energy Research Financial Assistance Program and 10 CFR Part 
605. The Application Guide is available from the U.S. Department of 
Energy, Office of Health and Environmental Research, Environmental 
Sciences Division, ER-74, Washington, D.C. 20585. Telephone requests 
may be made by calling (301) 903-4902.

The Catalog of Federal Domestic Assistance Number for this program 
is 81.049, and the solicitation control number is ERFAP 10 CFR part 
605.
D. D. Mayhew,
Director, Office of Management, Office of Energy Research.
[FR Doc. 94-32115 Filed 12-28-94; 8:45 am]
BILLING CODE 6450-01-P