97-3383. Energy Research Financial Assistance Program Notice 97-06; Integrated Assessment of Global Climate Change Research Program

[Federal Register Volume 62, Number 28 (Tuesday, February 11, 1997)]
[Notices]
[Pages 6230-6232]
From the Federal Register Online via the Government Publishing Office [www.gpo.gov]
[FR Doc No: 97-3383]



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DEPARTMENT OF ENERGY

Office of Energy Research


Energy Research Financial Assistance Program Notice 97-06; 
Integrated Assessment of Global Climate Change Research Program

AGENCY: U.S. Department of Energy.

ACTION: Notice inviting research grant applications.

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SUMMARY: The Office of Health and Environmental Research (OHER) of the 
Office of Energy Research (ER), U.S. Department of Energy (DOE), hereby 
announces its interest in receiving applications for the Integrated 
Assessment of Global Climate Change research grants Program. This 
notice is a follow on to three previous notices published in the 
Federal Register (Notice 93-4 published December 9, 1992, entitled 
Economics of Global Change Research Program; Notice 95-12 published 
December 29, 1994, entitled Global Change Assessment Research Program; 
and Notice 96-06 published January 30, 1996, entitled Global Change 
Integrated Assessment Research). The program has a more narrowly 
defined scope this year to emphasize specific topics in support of 
integrated assessment. The research program supports the Department's 
Global Change Research Program, the U.S. Global Change Research Program 
and the Administration's goals to understand and mitigate the rise in 
greenhouse gases.

DATES: Applicants are encouraged (but not required) to submit a brief 
preapplication for programmatic review. There is no deadline for the 
preapplication, but early submission of preapplications is encouraged 
to allow time for meaningful dialogue. A preapplication should consist 
of two to three pages of narrative describing the research objectives 
and methods of accomplishment together with a brief summary of the 
principal investigator's publication and research background. The 
deadline for receipt of formal applications is 4:30 p.m., E.S.T., March 
27, 1997, to be accepted for merit review and to permit timely 
consideration for award in fiscal year 1997 or early fiscal year 1998. 
An original and seven copies of the application must be submitted; 
however, applicants are requested not to submit multiple applications 
using more than one delivery or mail service.

ADDRESSES: If submitting a preapplication, referencing Program Notice 
97-06, it should be sent E-mail to [e-mail]. Formal 
applications referencing Program Notice 97-06 on the cover page must 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 97-06. This address 
must also be used when submitting applications by U.S. Postal Service 
Express Mail or any other commercial overnight delivery service, or 
when hand-carried by the applicant.

FOR FURTHER INFORMATION CONTACT: Dr. John Houghton, Environmental 
Sciences Division, ER-74, Office of Health and Environmental Research, 
Office of Energy Research, U.S. Department of Energy, 19901 Germantown 
Road, Germantown, MD 20874-1290, telephone: [phone], E-mail: 
[e-mail], fax: [phone].

SUPPLEMENTARY INFORMATION: The determination of energy policy, such as 
the administration analysis of international protocols for global 
climate change, 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.
    This research will be judged in part on its potential to improve 
and/or support the analytical basis for policy development. The program 
is narrowly focused and will primarily concentrate support on three 
specific topics, described below. Applications that involve development 
of analytical models and computer codes will be judged partly on the 
basis of proposed tasks to prepare documentation and make the models 
and codes available to other groups.

Integrated Assessment of Global Climate Change

    Integrated assessment of climate change is defined here as 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. Integrated Assessment is 
sometimes, but not always, implemented as a computer model. A 
description of Integrated Assessment may be found in Chapter 10: 
``Integrated Assessment of Climate Change: An Overview and Comparison 
of Approaches and Results'', in Climate Change 1995: Economic and 
Social Dimensions of Climate Change, edited by Bruce, James P.; Lee, 
Hoesung; and Haites, Erik F., Cambridge University Press, 1996.
    The following categories are requested research topics:
    1. Technology innovation and diffusion. This category has been a 
primary focus of the Integrated Assessment of Global Climate Change 
Program since its initiation four years ago.
    Potential research projects include such issues as:
     Decomposing the effect of technology innovation and 
diffusion on carbon emissions into such components as changes in GDP, 
sectoral mix, capital stock, innovation, and diffusion. Historical 
records might be used to estimate trends and make projections that vary 
as a function of price effects and policy options.
     Technology innovation and diffusion is an important part 
of several aspects of integrated assessment models, such as backstop 
technologies, adaptation, resource depletion, labor productivity, and 
substitution parameters for shifting factor shares. Investigations 
might include studies to help predict changes in these parameters both 
for a base case and for various policy options, as well as studies to 
analyze the internal consistency among these aspects.
     The rate and nature of technology diffusion from the US to 
developing countries. Relevant factors include the prediction of the 
energy-use path for developing countries, the effects of changes in 
international trade policies and patterns, and ``carbon leakage''.
     The translation of existing literature on the economics of 
technology innovation into a representation that could be adapted for 
IA models.
     Investment or other policies to encourage research and 
development are options for increasing abatement and improving 
adaptation. Research in this topic would investigate such subjects as 
evaluating the effectiveness of alternative modes of implementation, 
such as direct grants, cooperative research projects, et cetera.
    2. Representing impacts in integrated assessments. A major 
challenge before the integrated assessment modeling community is to 
improve and expand the range of representations in integrated 
assessment models of the response of ecosystems, socio-economic 
systems, and other sectors to potential climate changes. Two criteria 
for selection will be (1) The degree of collaboration with scientists 
working on the ecological and socio-economic consequences of climate 
change, and (2) the utility of the results (output) to the integrated 
assessment community, such as the ability to represent potential 
ecological or socio-economic

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consequences of climate change in integrated assessment models. 
Proposed research at a regional or more detailed scale will need an 
explicit description of the potential of the expected results to be 
expanded to a national or continental scale for use directly or 
indirectly by the integrated assessment community. Academic researchers 
interested in regional-scale impact studies or in developing methods 
and models for conducting regional-scale assessments of the 
consequences of climate change may also contact Dr. Jerry Elwood, E-
mail address [e-mail], for information about applying 
to DOE's National Institute for Global Environmental Change (NIGEC) 
research program.
    Topics of high importance include:
     For the OECD countries, unmanaged ecosystems (including 
marine) and energy sectors.
     For the non-OECD countries, energy, water, unmanaged 
ecosystems (including marine), and sea level rise.
    Themes that increase the importance to the integrated assessment 
community include:
     Explicit analysis and treatment of adaptation.
     Analysis of transient climate changes rather than static 
climate scenarios.
     Analysis of thresholds.
     Analysis of variability and extremes (including low-
probability/high-consequence events).
     The combination of several impact sectors so that cross-
sector issues (such as water or land availability) are explicitly 
considered.
    3. Analysis of Environmental Technologies. It is difficult to send 
the ``proper price signals'' (measures of full environmental impacts) 
to designers, manufacturers, policy makers, and research managers so 
that decisions can reflect the full societal impact by the 
manufacturing process of resource use and byproduct disposal, including 
greenhouse gases. The following industries represent 80 percent of the 
energy consumption in the manufacturing sector: chemicals, petroleum 
refining, forest products, steel, aluminum, glass, and metal casting. 
We would welcome applications that propose to prepare an integrated 
assessment framework of these sectors to investigate such issues as 
life cycle analysis, ``industrial ecology'' and ``sustainability'', the 
expected improvement in technologies in response to various policy 
options, and the value of improved technologies. Applicants responding 
to this specific topic are encouraged to develop working collaborations 
with appropriate and relevant industries; applications involving 
industrial collaboration will receive preference over applications of 
equal scientific merit but lacking such collaboration.

ADMINISTRATIVE INFORMATION: The preparation and submission of grant 
applications must follow the guidelines given in the Application Guide 
for the Office of Energy Research Financial Assistance Program 10 CFR 
Part 605.
    Information about the development, submission of applications, 
eligibility, limitations, evaluation, the 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 Energy Research, ER-74, 19901 
Germantown Road, Germantown, MD 20874-1290. Telephone requests may be 
made by calling [phone]. Electronic access to ER's Financial 
Assistance Application Guide and forms is possible via the World Wide 
Web at: http://www.er.doe.gov/production/grants/grants.html. The 
research description must be 15 pages or less, exclusive of 
attachments, and must contain an abstract or summary of the proposed 
research. Attachments include curriculum vitae, a listing of all 
current and pending federal support, and letters of intent when 
collaborations are part of the proposed research.
    Applications will be subjected to formal merit review (peer review) 
and will be evaluated against the following evaluation criteria which 
are listed in descending order of importance codified at 10 CFR 
605.10(d):
    1. Scientific and/or Technical Merit of the Project;
    2. Appropriateness of the Proposed Method or Approach;
    3. Competency of Applicant's Personnel and Adequacy of Proposed 
Resources;
    4. Reasonableness and Appropriateness of the Proposed Budget.
    The evaluation will include program policy factors such as the 
relevance of the proposed research to the terms of the announcement and 
an agency's programmatic needs. Note, external peer reviewers are 
selected with regard to both their scientific expertise and the absence 
of conflict-of-interest issues. Non-federal reviewers will often be 
used, and submission of an application constitutes agreement that this 
is acceptable to the investigator(s) and the submitting institution.
    It is anticipated that up to $1.5 million will be available for 
multiple awards to be made in FY 1997 and early FY 1998 in the 
categories described above, contingent on availability of appropriated 
funds. Applications may request project support up to three years, with 
out-year support contingent on availability of funds, progress of the 
research, and programmatic needs. Annual budgets are expected to range 
from $30,000 to $150,000 total costs.
    Although the required original and seven copies of the application 
must be submitted, researchers are asked to submit an electronic 
version of their abstract of the proposed research in ASCII format and 
their E-mail address to Karen Carlson by E-mail at 
[e-mail]. Additional information on the Integrated 
Assessment Program is available at the following web site: http://
www.er.doe.gov/production/oher/john/iapage.html. For researchers who do 
not have access to the world wide web, please contact Karen Carlson; 
Environmental Sciences Division, ER-74; U.S. Department of Energy; 
19901 Germantown Road; Germantown, MD 20874-1290; telephone: (301) 903-
3338; fax: [phone]; E-mail: [e-mail]; for hard 
copies of background material mentioned in this solicitation. 
Curriculum vitae should be submitted in a form similar to that of NIH 
or NSF (two to three pages), see for example: http://www.nsf.gov:80/
bfa/cpo/gpg/fkit.htm#forms-9.

Related Funding Opportunities

    Investigators may wish to obtain information about the following 
related funding opportunities.

National Science Foundation/Methods and Models for Integrated 
Assessment

    In concert with other USGCRP agencies, NSF sponsors 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. NSF encourages participation and collaboration of researchers 
from all appropriate scientific and engineering disciplines, including 
the mathematical sciences. In FY 1996, NSF awarded approximately $3.4 
million through the special MMIA competition. Funding in FY 1997 is 
anticipated at approximately the same level, depending on availability 
of funds. Proposals submitted for this competition must be

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received by NSF by February 14, 1997. For more information on this 
program, please contact; Dr. Keith Crank, Directorate for Mathematical 
and Physical Sciences, National Science Foundation, 4201 Wilson Blvd., 
Arlington, VA 22230, telephone: [phone], fax: [phone], 
Internet: [e-mail]. NSF also supports related research in all 
fields of science and engineering. Information on NSF environment and 
global change funding opportunities is available at: http://
www.nsf.gov/stratare/egch/.

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 (e.g., ENSO-based probabilistic climate forecasts), 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 1998 is expected to be in 
late summer 1997. For further information, contact: Caitlin Simpson; 
Office of Global Programs; National Oceanic and Atmospheric 
Administration; 1100 Wayne Ave., Suite 1225; Silver Spring, MD 20910; 
telephone: [phone], ext. 47; Internet: [e-mail].

Environmental Protection Agency

    In 1997 the Environmental Protection Agency (EPA) will support 
research on Consequences of Global Change on Ecosystems by joining the 
interagency Terrestrial Ecology and Global Change (TECO) Program, 
administered by the National Science Foundation (NSF). Related requests 
for applications that are currently advertised on the EPA Home Page 
include ``Ecosystem Indicators''; ``Ecosystem Restoration''--sponsored 
jointly with National Aeronautics and Space Administration; and 
``Water/Watersheds''--sponsored jointly with the NSF. The EPA offers 
grants in global climate change through its ``National Center for 
Environmental Research and Quality Assurance''. Information is 
available through web site: http://www.epa.gov/ncerqa or hotline 1-800-
490-9194. For further information, contact Barbara M. Levinson, EPA 
(8723), Washington, DC 20460, telephone: [phone], fax: (202) 
260-4524, E-mail: [e-mail].

    The Catalog of Federal Domestic Assistance Number for this 
program is 81.049, and the solicitation control number is ERFAP 10 
CFR Part 605.

    Issued in Washington, DC, on February 3, 1997.
John Rodney Clark,
Associate Director for Resource Management, Office of Energy Research.
[FR Doc. 97-3383 Filed 2-10-97; 8:45 am]
BILLING CODE 6450-01-P