Description:
Societal Challenge
Worldwide, there is now widespread recognition of the impact of greenhouse gas emissions on the climate system, leading to dangerous, accelerated warming. Within the U.S. and internationally, there is a growingdemand for information about current and future greenhouse gas emissions, their impact on the state of the global climate system, and options and effectiveness of climate change mitigation measures at different scales.
Overview
The Nation and decision makers at sub-national scales require information about a number of difficult-to-quantify greenhouse gas (GHG) emission sources and sinks, the effectiveness of GHG mitigation actions over time, and the benefits and potential risks of some mitigation and removal measures, some of which have been proposed but remain untested at scale.
Given the trajectory of anthropogenic GHG emissions and Earth-system feedbacks, there is an urgent need for accurate, reliable, and timely information about GHG emissions.
Examples of appropriate research topic areas for applications from small businesses include, but are not limited to products and services that accomplish the following objectives:
● Support the development of comprehensive knowledge of greenhouse gasses and other climate forcing agents, including within emerging areas (e.g. hydrogen energy and other alternative energy choices)
● Improved climate observing and monitoring systems
● Advances in climate modeling that lead to improved scientific understanding and a new generation of climate predictions and projections on global to regional scales
● Facilitate the identification of potential climate impacts and vulnerabilities and inform the development of useful climate services
● Advance greenhouse gas observation and modeling capabilities to reliably track changes in natural and human-made emissions and sinks over time and at local, regional, continental, and global scales
● Models, tools, and products for decision makers to determine the feasibility of achieving climate mitigation targets, quantify key emission sources, identify mitigation opportunities, and evaluate the broader climate implications of various mitigation measures
● Support decision-makers by providing improved scientific information to evaluate the performance, effectiveness, benefits, and risks of certain mitigation strategies at multiple scales, including climate interventions
