[Federal Register Volume 87, Number 16 (Tuesday, January 25, 2022)]
[Notices]
[Pages 3801-3803]
From the Federal Register Online via the Government Publishing Office [www.gpo.gov]
[FR Doc No: 2022-01387]


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ENVIRONMENTAL PROTECTION AGENCY

[FRL-9479-01-OA]


Request for Nominations of Experts for the Review of Technical 
Support Document for the Social Cost of Greenhouse Gases

AGENCY: Environmental Protection Agency (EPA).

ACTION: Notice; request for nominations.

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SUMMARY: The Environmental Protection Agency (EPA) National Center for 
Environmental Economics (NCEE), on behalf of the co-chairs of the 
Interagency Working Group on the Social Cost of Greenhouse Gases (IWG), 
including the Chair of the Council of Economic Advisors (CEA), the 
Director of the Office of Management and Budget (OMB), and the Director 
of the Office of Science and Technology Policy (OSTP), requests public 
nominations of scientific experts for the upcoming peer review of 
``Technical Support Document: Social Cost of Greenhouse Gas 
Estimates.'' This document will undergo independent external scientific 
peer review managed by a contractor to EPA. Interested stakeholders 
will be provided 21 days to submit nominations for expert reviewers for 
consideration by the EPA contractor.

DATES: The 21-day public comment period to provide nominations begins 
January 25, 2022 and ends February 15, 2022. Comments must be received 
on or before February 15, 2022.

ADDRESSES: Submit your nominations by emailing them to [email protected] 
(subject line: SC-GHG Peer Review Nomination) no later than February 
15, 2022. To receive full consideration, nominations should include all 
of the information requested below. Please be advised that public 
comments are subject to release under the Freedom of Information Act, 
including communications on these nominations.

FOR FURTHER INFORMATION CONTACT: 
    For general information, please contact: Nathalie Simon, NCEE; 
email: [email protected].
    Questions about the peer review, including the nomination process, 
can be directed to [email protected] (subject line: SC-GHG Peer Review 
Question) until a contractor is selected or by phone: (202)566-2347. 
Once selected,

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contractor information will be made available at https://www.epa.gov/environmental-economics/scghg-tsd-peer-review.

SUPPLEMENTARY INFORMATION:

I. Background

    A robust and scientifically founded assessment of the positive and 
negative impacts that an action can be expected to have on society 
provides important insights in the policy-making process. Estimates of 
the social cost of carbon (SC-CO2), social cost of methane 
(SC-CH4), and social cost of nitrous oxide (SC-
N2O), collectively called the Social Cost of Greenhouse 
Gases (SC-GHG), are used to estimate the value to society of marginal 
reductions in greenhouse gas emissions, or conversely, the social costs 
of increasing such emissions, in the policymaking process. Federal 
agencies began regularly incorporating SC-CO2 estimates in 
benefit-cost analyses conducted under Executive Order (E.O.) 12866 in 
2008, following a court ruling in which an agency was ordered to 
consider the value of reducing carbon dioxide emissions in a rulemaking 
process. In 2009, an original interagency working group (IWG) was 
established to ensure that agencies had access to the best available 
science and to promote consistency in the estimated values. The IWG 
published SC-CO2 estimates in 2010. These estimates were 
updated in 2013. In August 2016, the IWG published a technical support 
document (TSD) providing SC-CH4 and SC-N2O 
estimates using methodologies that are consistent with the methodology 
underlying the SC-CO2 estimates.
    On February 26, 2021, under Executive Order (E.O.) 13990, a re-
constituted IWG issued an updated TSD that recommended interim 
estimates of the SC-CO2, SC-CH4, and SC-
N2O while a more comprehensive updated set of SC-GHG 
estimates were developed. The interim SC-GHG estimates are reported in 
2020 dollars, but otherwise use identical methods and inputs to those 
presented in the 2016 version of the TSD and its Addendum, including 
the same three peer-reviewed integrated assessment models. On May 7, 
2021, OMB, on behalf of the co-chairs of the IWG, published a notice 
requesting public comment on the interim TSD as well as on how best to 
incorporate the latest peer-reviewed science and economics literature 
in developing an updated set of SC-GHG estimates.
    A TSD with updated SC-GHG estimates is being developed and will be 
released for public comment and will undergo peer review. The 
forthcoming TSD will present a comprehensive update of the SC-GHG 
estimates taking into consideration the recommendations of the National 
Academies of Sciences, Engineering, and Medicine (as reported in 
Valuing Climate Damages: Updating Estimation of the Social Cost of 
Carbon Dioxide (2017)), other pertinent scientific literature, and the 
public comments received on the February 2021 interim TSD.
    EPA is releasing this announcement to notify the public of upcoming 
peer review activities related to the forthcoming TSD containing 
updated SC-GHG estimates. This TSD will undergo independent, external 
scientific peer review managed by a contractor to EPA. EPA will provide 
the selected contractor with all reviewer nominations received in 
response to this notice. The contractor will both screen the nominees 
submitted as a result of this notice to ensure they have the types of 
disciplinary expertise listed in the notice and use traditional 
techniques (e.g., a literature search) to identify additional qualified 
candidates in the disciplines described below. The contractor will 
formulate a pool of at least (15) candidate external reviewers to 
provide independent external reviews of the TSD. The contractor will 
request comment on the pool of candidate external reviewers (i.e., List 
of Candidates) in a future public posting (as described below). After 
consideration of public comments on the List of Candidates, the 
contractor will select from this pool the final multi-disciplinary 
panel of five (5) to seven (7) peer reviewers in a manner consistent 
with EPA's Peer Review Handbook 4th Edition, 2015 (EPA/100/B-15/001). 
EPA will provide updates on the status of the peer review via the SC-
GHG TSD peer review website (https://www.epa.gov/environmental-economics/scghg-tsd-peer-review). EPA encourages all interested 
stakeholders to register for receipt of future announcements by 
emailing [email protected] (subject line: SC-GHG Peer Review Future 
Announcements). Until a contractor selection is made, specific 
questions or comments on the peer review process should also be 
directed to [email protected] (subject line: SC-GHG Peer Review Question).

II. Information About This Peer Review

    EPA is seeking nominations of nationally and internationally 
recognized experts with demonstrated expertise and research on in one 
or more of the following areas:
     Environmental economics with a focus on modeling the 
impacts of climate change, uncertainty, and/or discounting,
     climate science, with a focus on the estimation of future 
climatic variables resulting from different emission scenarios, and on 
the calculation of impacts resulting from elevated greenhouse gas 
concentrations,
     integrated assessment modeling, and
     benefit-cost analysis.
    A balanced review panel includes candidates who possess the 
necessary domains of knowledge, the relevant scientific perspectives 
(which, among other factors, can be influenced by work history and 
affiliation), and the collective breadth of experience to adequately 
provide rigorous scientific peer review. In forming the list of 
candidate external reviewers (i.e., the List of Candidates), the 
contractor will consider the nominations submitted in response to this 
notice and use traditional techniques (e.g., a literature search) to 
identify additional qualified candidates in the disciplines listed 
above. Public comments on the List of Candidates will be solicited in a 
future announcement. The contractor will rely on public comments 
received on the List of Candidates, the information provided by the 
candidates themselves, and background information. Selection criteria 
to be used for panel membership include: (a) Scientific and/or 
technical expertise, knowledge, and experience (primary factors); (b) 
availability and willingness to serve; (c) absence of any potential 
organizational or personal conflicts of interest; and (d) skills 
working in committees, subcommittees and advisory panels.
    Process and Deadline for Submitting Nominations: Any interested 
person or organization may nominate qualified individuals in the areas 
of expertise described above. Self-nominations are permitted. Submit 
your nominations by email to [email protected] (subject line: SC-GHG Peer 
Review Nomination). To receive full consideration, nominations should 
include all of the requested information: Contact information about the 
person making the nomination; contact information about the nominee; 
the nominee's disciplinary and specific areas of expertise; the 
nominee's resume or curriculum vitae; sources of recent grant and/or 
contract support; and a biographical sketch of the nominee indicating 
current position, educational background, research activities, and 
recent service on other national advisory committees or national 
professional organizations. Persons having questions about the 
nomination procedures should contact [email protected] (subject line: SC-
GHG Peer

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Review Question), as noted above. EPA will acknowledge receipt of 
nominations and will refer all nominations to the contractor for 
evaluation. The names and biosketches of qualified nominees identified 
by respondents to this Federal Register notice, along with additional 
experts identified by the contractor, will be posted on the SC-GHG TSD 
peer review website and will be available for public comment. The 
process for public comment on the pool of nominees, as well as the date 
and location of public meetings related to this peer review, will be 
announced on the SC-GHG TSD peer review website, and through the SC-GHG 
TSD peer review contact list.

    Dated: January 19, 2022.
Albert McGartland,
Director, National Center for Environmental Economics.
[FR Doc. 2022-01387 Filed 1-24-22; 8:45 am]
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