[Federal Register Volume 65, Number 79 (Monday, April 24, 2000)]
[Notices]
[Pages 21795-21797]
From the Federal Register Online via the Government Publishing Office [www.gpo.gov]
[FR Doc No: 00-10121]


-----------------------------------------------------------------------

NATIONAL SCIENCE FOUNDATION


Subcommittee on Global Change Research; Notice of Availability of 
Draft Reports and Request for Comment

AGENCY: National Science Foundation.

ACTION: Notice of the availability of draft reports and request for 
comment.

-----------------------------------------------------------------------

SUMMARY: Three working groups of the Intergovernmental Panel on Climate 
Change (IPCC) have prepared draft versions of their Third Assessment 
Report (TAR) on Climate Change. The

[[Page 21796]]

IPCC Secretariat requires comments on this report from national 
governments so that the Secretariat can meet its obligations to member 
governments of the IPCC. The U.S. Subcommittee on Global Change 
Research (SGCR) has been assigned responsibility for coordinating the 
preparation of the comments of the United States Government.
    Through this notice, the SGCR is announcing the availability of the 
draft Third Assessment Report upon its receipt from IPCC and is 
requesting comments on the draft report by the deadlines indicated from 
scientists, experts and other interested organizations and individuals. 
A list of chapters making up the draft Third Assessment Report is 
included with this notice to facilitate determination of interest in 
participating in this review. The comments received will be reviewed, 
combined, and incorporated, as appropriate, in the process of preparing 
the set of official USG comments to the IPCC. It should be noted that 
this is a draft report and should not be cited or quoted as it is still 
undergoing review and is likely to be changed based on reviewer 
comments.
    Requests to be a reviewer should indicate: (1) Name, postal 
address, email address, and other contact information; (2) the 
qualifications and general area of expertise of the reviewer to review 
specific parts of the report; and (3) the working group and chapters 
that the reviewer will review (see attached listing of working groups 
and chapters). Based on these requests, information will be provided 
about how to access and download from the Web copies of the relevant 
chapters and on the format of comments to be submitted; paper copies of 
the chapters are not being offered for review.

DATES: Requests to be a reviewer and for information on being provided 
Web access to the draft reports for review purposes only may be 
submitted up until the dates on which the review comments are due. 
Reviewer comments on the draft Third Assessment Report (preferably 
submitted as an attachment to an email message) must be received at the 
email address indicated below on or before the closing dates listed.
    The draft of the Working Group I Report is expected to be available 
about April 17, and comments in response to this notice must be 
received by May 8, 2000.
    The draft of the Working Group II Report is expected to be 
available about May 15, and comments in response to this notice must be 
received by June 12, 2000.
    The draft of the Working Group III Report is expected to be 
available about May 20, and comments in response to this notice must be 
received by June 26, 2000.
    The SGCR cannot extend these deadlines because the member countries 
of the IPCC have established a strict timetable for the review process 
and require prompt submission of USG comments.

ADDRESSES: Requests to serve as a reviewer of the report are being 
handled by the Global Change Research Information Office (GCRIO) that 
is sponsored by the SGCR. Request to be a reviewer can be submitted by: 
(1) Filing out a form on the GCRIO Web site at http://www/gcrio.org/ipccform/>; (2) sending an email request with the required information 
(see above) to ``[email protected]'' or (3) sending a letter to GCRIO at 
P.O. Box 1000, 61 Route 9W, Palisades, New York 10964.
    Review comments should be submitted via email over the Internet as 
a Microsoft Word or WordPerfect attachment using a separate file for 
each chapter that is reviewed. Review comments should be formatted 
based on the guidelines provided by GCRIO upon notification of how to 
access the report. Review comments on the Working Group I report should 
be emailed to [email protected]; review comments on the Working 
Group II report should be emailed to [email protected]; and review 
comments on the Working Group III report should be emailed to 
[email protected].
    If email submission is not possible, review comments may be 
submitted via mail to: IPCC TAR Comments, Office of the U.S. Global 
Change Research Program, 400 Virginia Avenue, SW., Suite 750, 
Washington, DC 20024.

FOR FURTHER INFORMATION CONTACT: IPCC TAR Review Coordinator, Office of 
the U.S. Global Change Research Program, Suite 750, 400 Virginia 
Avenue, SW., Washington DC 20024; or telephone 202-488-8630, fax at 
202-488-8681, or send an email to [email protected].

SUPPLEMENTARY INFORMATION:

I. Background

    The Intergovernmental Panel on Climate Change (IPCC) was jointly 
established in 1988 by the United Nations Environment Programme and the 
World Meteorological Organization to conduct periodic assessments of 
the state of knowledge concerning global climate change. The IPCC has 
formed working groups to study various aspects of climate change.
    Working Group I addresses the state of the science concerning what 
is happening and is projected to happen to the climate system; Working 
Group II addresses the state of the science concerning regional, 
sectoral and cross-sectoral impacts of, and adaptation to, climate 
change, including the social dimensions (e.g., equity) and economic 
costs and benefits; and Working Group III addresses the state of 
science concerning mitigation of climate change, including the social 
aspects and economic costs and benefits, and methodological aspects of 
cross-cutting issues.
    Each Working Group is charged with issuing periodic assessments. 
The first Scientific Assessment of Climate Change, for example, was 
prepared in 1990 and the Second Assessment Report was prepared in 1995. 
Special and supplementary reports have also been prepared (additional 
information on the IPCC is available on their Web site at http://www.ipcc.ch/). Periodic assessment reports such as these provide a 
comprehensive statement of the state of knowledge concerning topics 
such as scientific information, environmental impacts, response 
strategies, and other issues concerning climate change.

II. Review Process

    The member countries of the IPCC have established a timetable that 
includes a brief period for comments from governments so that the IPCC 
Secretariat can meet its obligations for a timely completion of the 
IPCC Third Assessment Report.
    The Subcommittee on Global Change Research is responsible for 
coordinating preparation of the U.S. Government response, and through 
this notice is seeking the views of experts and interested 
organizations and individuals to help in the formulation of its 
response. Comments that are provided will be reviewed, integrated, and 
used, as appropriate, in the preparation of the official U.S. 
Government comments.
    An information sheet providing specific requests for formatting 
submissions of comments will be provided with notification of how to 
access the chapter on the Web. All comments must indicate who is 
submitting the comments, indicate their affiliation, and provide an 
indication of their area of expertise in accord with the IPCC practice 
of all reviewer comments being attributed. In this review process, the 
emphasis should be on providing detailed recommendations on specific 
chapters for which the reviewer has established expertise or interest.

[[Page 21797]]

    To be most useful, comments should be specific in suggesting 
alternative working or other changes to the text of a particular 
paragraph or chapter and, where appropriate, offer supporting 
information and peer-reviewed references supporting the proposed 
changes. Comments on the overall tone and scientific validity of the 
chapters and comments expressing the reasons for agreement or 
disagreement with specific major points in the Executive Summary of the 
chapters are also solicited.
    The materials available for review include the draft chapters and 
draft Summary for Policymakers for each of the three Working Groups. 
Reviewers should undertake detailed review only of those specific 
chapters of the draft IPCC Working Group Third Assessment Report for 
which they have expertise or special interest. Reviews of the draft 
Summary for Policymakers should consider the consistency of any chapter 
and the selection and representation of its major points in the draft 
Summary for Policymakers.
    Reviews of each chapter should be submitted separately and the 
reviews of the different working group reports should be submitted as 
separate files to the appropriate email address indicated above.
    Based on chapter titles from the expert review draft, the chapters 
that are expected to be available for review from the various working 
groups include the following:

Working Group I: Climate System and Climate Change

WB I Summary for Policymakers
1. The Climate System--an Overview
2. Observed Climate Variability and Change
3. Carbon Cycle & Atmosphere CO2
4. Atmospheric Chemistry & Radiative Trace Gases
5. Aerosols and Indirect Cloud Effects
6. Radiative Forcing of Climate
7. Physical Climate Processes and Feedbacks
8. Global Climate Models--Evaluation
9. Global Climate Models--Projections
10. Regional Information--Evaluation and Projections
11. Changes in Sea Level
12. Detection of Climate Change and Attribution of Causes
13. Climate Change Scenario Development
14. Advancing our Understanding

Working Group II: Climate Change; Impacts, Adaptation, and 
Vulnerability

WG II Summary for Policymakers
1. Overview
2. Methods and Tools
3. Scenarios in Climate Change Impact, Adaptation, and Vulnerability 
Assessment
4. Hydrology and Water Resources
5. Natural and Managed Ecosystems
6. Coastal Zones and Marine Ecosystems
7. Energy, Industry, and Settlements
8. Financial Services
9. Human Health
10. Africa
11. Asia
12. Australasia
13. Europe
14. Latin America
15. North America
16. Polar Regions (Arctic and Antarctic)
17. Small Island States
18. Adaptation to Climate Change in the Context of Sustainable 
Development and Equity
19. Synthesis and Integration of Impacts, Adaptation, and Vulnerability

Working Group III: Mitigation of Climate Change

WG III Summary for Policymakers Introduction
1. Scope of the Report
2. Greenhouse Gas Emissions Mitigation Scenarios and Implications
3. Technological and Economic Potential of GHG Emissions Reduction
4. Technological and Economic Potential of Options to Enhance, Maintain 
and Manage Biological Carbon Reservoirs and Geo-Engineering
5. Barriers, Opportunities and Market Potential of Technologies and 
Practices
6. Polices, Measures and Instruments
7. Costing Methodologies for Mitigation (coordinated with WG-II)
8. Global, Regional and National Costs and Ancillary Benefits of 
Mitigation
9. Sector Costs and Ancillary Benefits of Mitigation
10. Decision Making Frameworks (coordinated with WG-11)

III. Public Availability of Comments

    Subsequent to the U.S. assembly of its comments, the collection of 
comments received will be available for public inspection weekdays 
during normal business hours at the library of the National Science 
Foundation in Arlington, VA. Appointments can be made by calling 703-
306-0658. Note that the IPCC draft reports are only available over the 
Web and are not archived at the NSF library.

    Dated: April 13, 2000.
Karen J. York,
Committee Management Officer.
[FR Doc. 00-10121 Filed 4-21-00; 8:45 am]
BILLING CODE 7555-01-M