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6230 Federal Register / Vol. 62, No. 28 / Tuesday, February 11, 1997 / NoticesDEPARTMENT OF ENERGYOffice of Energy ResearchEnergy Research Financial AssistanceProgram Notice 97–06; IntegratedAssessment of Global Climate ChangeResearch ProgramAGENCY: U.S. Department of Energy.ACTION: Notice inviting research grantapplications.SUMMARY: The Office of Health andEnvironmental Research (OHER) of theOffice of Energy Research (ER), U.S.Department of Energy (DOE), herebyannounces its interest in receivingapplications for the IntegratedAssessment of Global Climate Changeresearch grants Program. This notice isa follow on to three previous noticespublished in the Federal Register(Notice 93–4 published December 9,1992, entitled Economics of GlobalChange Research Program; Notice 95–12published December 29, 1994, entitledGlobal Change Assessment ResearchProgram; and Notice 96–06 publishedJanuary 30, 1996, entitled GlobalChange Integrated AssessmentResearch). The program has a morenarrowly defined scope this year toemphasize specific topics in support ofintegrated assessment. The researchprogram supports the Department’sGlobal Change Research Program, theU.S. Global Change Research Programand the Administration’s goals tounderstand and mitigate the rise ingreenhouse gases.DATES: Applicants are encouraged (butnot required) to submit a briefpreapplication for programmatic review.There is no deadline for thepreapplication, but early submission ofpreapplications is encouraged to allowtime for meaningful dialogue. Apreapplication should consist of two tothree pages of narrative describing theresearch objectives and methods ofaccomplishment together with a briefsummary of the principal investigator’spublication and research background.The deadline for receipt of formalapplications is 4:30 p.m., E.S.T., March27, 1997, to be accepted for merit reviewand to permit timely consideration foraward in fiscal year 1997 or early fiscalyear 1998. An original and seven copiesof the application must be submitted;however, applicants are requested not tosubmit multiple applications usingmore than one delivery or mail service.ADDRESSES: If submitting apreapplication, referencing ProgramNotice 97–06, it should be sent E-mailto john.houghton@oer.doe.gov. Formalapplications referencing Program Notice97–06 on the cover page must beforwarded to: U.S. Department ofEnergy, Office of Energy Research,Grants and Contracts Division, ER–64,19901 Germantown Road, Germantown,MD 20874–1290, ATTN: Program Notice97–06. This address must also be usedwhen submitting applications by U.S.Postal Service Express Mail or any othercommercial overnight delivery service,or when hand-carried by the applicant.FOR FURTHER INFORMATION CONTACT: Dr.John Houghton, Environmental SciencesDivision, ER–74, Office of Health andEnvironmental Research, Office ofEnergy Research, U.S. Department ofEnergy, 19901 Germantown Road,Germantown, MD 20874–1290,telephone: (301) 903–8288, E-mail:john.houghton@oer.doe.gov, fax: (301)903–8519.SUPPLEMENTARY INFORMATION: Thedetermination of energy policy, such asthe administration analysis ofinternational protocols for globalclimate change, is tied to understandingthe benefits and costs of potentialactions with respect to the control ofgreenhouse gases and possible climatechange. The research described in thisnotice supports the analysis of thosebenefits and costs.This research will be judged in parton its potential to improve and/orsupport the analytical basis for policydevelopment. The program is narrowlyfocused and will primarily concentratesupport on three specific topics,described below. Applications thatinvolve development of analyticalmodels and computer codes will bejudged partly on the basis of proposedtasks to prepare documentation andmake the models and codes available toother groups.Integrated Assessment of GlobalClimate ChangeIntegrated assessment of climatechange is defined here as the analysis ofclimate change from the cause, such asgreenhouse gas emissions, throughimpacts, such as changed energyrequirements for space conditioning dueto temperature changes. IntegratedAssessment is sometimes, but notalways, implemented as a computermodel. A description of IntegratedAssessment may be found in Chapter10: ‘‘Integrated Assessment of ClimateChange: An Overview and Comparisonof Approaches and Results’’, in ClimateChange 1995: Economic and SocialDimensions of Climate Change, editedby Bruce, James P.; Lee, Hoesung; andHaites, Erik F., Cambridge UniversityPress, 1996.The following categories are requestedresearch topics:1. Technology innovation anddiffusion. This category has been aprimary focus of the IntegratedAssessment of Global Climate ChangeProgram since its initiation four yearsago.Potential research projects includesuch issues as:• Decomposing the effect oftechnology innovation and diffusion oncarbon emissions into such componentsas changes in GDP, sectoral mix, capitalstock, innovation, and diffusion.Historical records might be used toestimate trends and make projectionsthat vary as a function of price effectsand policy options.• Technology innovation anddiffusion is an important part of severalaspects of integrated assessment models,such as backstop technologies,adaptation, resource depletion, laborproductivity, and substitutionparameters for shifting factor shares.Investigations might include studies tohelp predict changes in theseparameters both for a base case and forvarious policy options, as well asstudies to analyze the internalconsistency among these aspects.• The rate and nature of technologydiffusion from the US to developingcountries. Relevant factors include theprediction of the energy-use path fordeveloping countries, the effects ofchanges in international trade policiesand patterns, and ‘‘carbon leakage’’.• The translation of existing literatureon the economics of technologyinnovation into a representation thatcould be adapted for IA models.• Investment or other policies toencourage research and developmentare options for increasing abatement andimproving adaptation. Research in thistopic would investigate such subjects asevaluating the effectiveness ofalternative modes of implementation,such as direct grants, cooperativeresearch projects, et cetera.2. Representing impacts in integratedassessments. A major challenge beforethe integrated assessment modelingcommunity is to improve and expandthe range of representations inintegrated assessment models of theresponse of ecosystems, socio-economicsystems, and other sectors to potentialclimate changes. Two criteria forselection will be (1) The degree ofcollaboration with scientists working onthe ecological and socio-economicconsequences of climate change, and (2)the utility of the results (output) to theintegrated assessment community, suchas the ability to represent potentialecological or socio-economic