[Federal Register Volume 61, Number 20 (Tuesday, January 30, 1996)]
[Notices]
[Pages 3026-3029]
From the Federal Register Online via the Government Publishing Office [www.gpo.gov]
[FR Doc No: 96-1611]



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DEPARTMENT OF ENERGY
Office of Energy Research


Energy Research Financial Assistance Program Notice 96-06: Global 
Change Integrated Assessment Research

AGENCY: Department of Energy (DOE).


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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 is a 
follow on to two previous notices published in the Federal Register 
(Notice 93-4 published December 9, 1992, entitled Economics of Global 
Change Research Program and Notice 95-12 published December 29, 1994, 
entitled Global Change Assessment Research Program). The program has 
expanded since 1992 to include core support for integrated assessment 
activities and research on assessment in direct support of global 
change policy. 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 p.m., EST, March 20, 1996, to permit timely 
consideration for awards in Fiscal Year 1996 and Fiscal Year 1997.

ADDRESSES: Formal applications referencing Program Notice 96-06 should 
be forwarded to: U.S. Department of Energy, Office of Energy Research, 
Grants and Contracts Division, ER-64, 19901 Germantown Road, 
Germantown, MD 20874-1290, ATTN: Program Notice 96-06. The following 
address must be used when submitting applications by U.S. Postal 
Service Express Mail, any commercial mail delivery service, or when 
hand-carried by the applicant: U.S. Department of Energy, Office of 
Energy Research, Grants and Contracts Division, ER-64, 19901 Germantown 
Road, Germantown, MD 20874-1290.

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, Germantown, MD 20874-1290 (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 Integrated Assessment Research program for FY 
1996 and FY 1997. Approximately 80 percent of the funds are expected to 
be allocated to the first topic; 20 percent for the second topic.
    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, as well as the policy actions taken in 
response to the first Conference of the Parties in Berlin, 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. 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. Under this 
topic, the Integrated Assessment 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 (particularly for new IA models) 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 Integrated Assessment program for the last three 
years. Potential research projects include such issues as:
     The representation of technology innovation and diffusion 
in IA models. This might include studies such as (a) The expected 
impact of increased R&D programs on technology innovation, (b) 
decomposing technology improvements into various factors, including a 
residual such as the autonomous energy efficiency improvement index, 
(c) capital vintaging and embodied technology in capital stock, and d) 
analysis of the ``top/down versus bottom/up controversy'',
     The rate of technology diffusion from the US to developing 
countries and the prediction of the energy-use path for developing 
countries, including the influence that future technology improvements 
in developed countries will have on developing countries, and
     The translation of existing literature on the economics of 
technology innovation into a representation that could be adapted for 
IA models.
    2. Representing 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, socio-economic systems, human health, 
and other sectors to potential climate changes. This is especially true 
for estimates of the consequences of climate change on the ``non-
market'' goods and services provided by ecosystems. This topic will 
emphasize the interface between impacts sectors and integrated 
assessment rather than process modeling of the sectors. Of particular 
importance are analyses that attempt to predict the change of unmanaged 
ecosystems to transient climate change rather than, for instance, 
static doubled carbon dioxide regime.
    3. Reduced Form Models: This category would support the development 
of selected simplified models that portray an important aspect 

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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.

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. R&D as a Policy Option: Investment or other policies to 
encourage research and development are options for increasing abatement 
and improving adaptation. Research in this category would investigate 
such subjects as how to predict the success of research programs and 
the effectiveness of alternative modes of implementation, such as 
direct grants, cooperative research projects, etc.
    3. 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.
    4. 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 applications 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 96-06 should be sent to Dr. Houghton, Office of Health 
and Environmental Research, ER-74, Germantown, MD 20874-1290, or to 
[email protected]. Preapplications arriving close to the 
deadline for submission of applications may not receive adequate 
attention.
    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 $2 million will be available 
for grant awards in Fiscal Years 1996 and 1997, contingent upon 
availability of appropriated funds. Previous awards for this type of 
research have ranged from $30,000 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 
large integrated assessment activities, which may be funded at up to 
$500,000 per year. 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 10 CFR Part 605, and in the 
Application Guide for the Office of Energy Research Financial 
Assistance Program. The Application Guide is available from the U.S. 
Department of Energy, Office of Health and Environmental Research, 
Environmental Sciences Division, ER-74, Germantown, MD 20874-1290. 
Telephone requests may be made by calling (301) 903-4902. Electronic 
access to ER's Financial Assistance Guide is possible via the Internet 
using the following e-mail address: http://www.er.doe.gov.

Related Funding Opportunities

    Investigators may wish to obtain information about the following 
related funding opportunities:
    National Science Foundation: In concert with other US/GCRP 
agencies, NSF has established Methods and Models for Integrated 
Assessment to sponsor high-quality, fundamental and methodological 
research in two related categories: (1) Research that advances the 
development of methodologies and models that will integrate or couple 
multiple component systems; and (2) research that develops and enhances 
the scientific components of the integrated approach. For both research 
categories, NSF encourages participation and collaboration of 
researchers from all appropriate scientific and engineering 
disciplines, including the mathematical 

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sciences. In FY 1995, NSF awarded approximately $3.4 M through the 
special MMIA competition. Funding in FY 1996 is anticipated at 
approximately the same level, depending on availability of funds. 
Proposals submitted for this competition must be postmarked no later 
than March 11, 1996. For more information on this program, please 
contact; Dr. Robin Cantor, Directorate for Social, Behavioral, and 
Economic Sciences, National Science Foundation, 4201 Wilson Blvd., 
Arlington, VA 22230, PH: (703) 306-1757, FAX: (703) 306-0485, Internet: 
[email protected].
    National Oceanic and Atmospheric Administration: Within the context 
of its Economics and Human Dimensions of Climate Fluctuations Program, 
the Office of Global Programs of the National Oceanic and Atmospheric 
Administration will support research that identifies and analyzes 
social and economic impacts associated with seasonal, year-to-year and 
intradecadal climate variability, improves our understanding of factors 
that determine human vulnerability to such fluctuations, and identifies 
options for reducing vulnerability. The program is particularly 
interested in learning how advanced climate information, as well as an 
improved understanding of current coping mechanisms, could be used for 
reducing vulnerability and providing for more efficient adjustment to 
these variations. Notice of this program is included in the Program 
Announcement for NOAA's Climate and Global Change Program, which is 
published each spring in the Federal Register. The deadline for 
proposals to be considered in Fiscal Year 1997 is expected to be in 
late summer 1996. For further information, contact: Claudia Nierenberg; 
Office of Global Programs; National Oceanic and Atmospheric 
Administration; 1100 Wayne Ave., Suite 1225; Silver Spring, MD 20910; 
Phone: (301) 427-2089, Ext. 46; Internet: [email protected].
    The Catalog of Federal Domestic Assistance Number for this program 
is 81.049, and the solicitation control number is ERFAP 10 CFR part 
605.
John Rodney Clark,
Associate Director for Resource Management, Office of Energy Research.
[FR Doc. 96-1611 Filed 1-29-96; 8:45 am]
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