[Federal Register Volume 80, Number 147 (Friday, July 31, 2015)]
[Notices]
[Pages 45643-45644]
From the Federal Register Online via the Government Publishing Office [www.gpo.gov]
[FR Doc No: 2015-18781]
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DEPARTMENT OF COMMERCE
National Oceanic and Atmospheric Administration
Establishment of the Advisory Committee for the Sustained
National Climate Assessment and Solicitation for Nominations for
Membership
AGENCY: National Oceanic and Atmospheric Administration (NOAA),
Commerce.
ACTION: Notice of establishment of the Advisory Committee for the
Sustained National Climate Assessment and solicitation for nominations
for membership.
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SUMMARY: Notice is hereby given that the Secretary of Commerce has
determined that the establishment of the Advisory Committee for the
Sustained National Climate Assessment (Committee) is necessary and in
the public interest. Accordingly, NOAA has chartered the Advisory
Committee for the Sustained National Climate Assessment. NOAA is also
soliciting nominations for membership on the Committee.
The Committee's mission is to provide advice on sustained National
Climate Assessment activities and products to the Under Secretary of
Commerce for Oceans and Atmosphere (Under Secretary) who will forward
the advice to the Director of the Office of Science and Technology
Policy (OSTP). The Committee's scope is--as requested by the Under
Secretary--to advise on the engagement of stakeholders and on sustained
assessment activities and the quadrennial National Climate Assessment
report.
Points of View: Individuals are sought with expertise in
communications, engagement, and education; risk management and risk
assessment; economics and social sciences; technology, tools, and data
systems; and other disciplines relevant to the sustained National
Climate Assessment process. In addition, individuals are sought with
expertise in climate change and variability, spanning the range from
climate science (physical, biological, chemical) to impacts and
societal responses. Individuals with experience in the private sector,
academia, public sector, non-governmental organizations,
[[Page 45644]]
and others will all be given consideration.
Nominations: Interested persons may nominate themselves or third
parties.
Applications: An application is required to be considered for
membership, regardless of whether a person is nominated by a third
party or self-nominated. The application package must include: (1) The
nominee's full name, title, institutional affiliation, and contact
information; (2) the nominee's area(s) of expertise; (3) a short
description of his/her qualifications relative to the kinds of advice
being solicited by NOAA in this Notice; and (4) a current resume
(maximum length four pages). Information obtained as a result of this
request may be used by the government for program planning on a non-
attribution basis. Do not include any information that might be
considered proprietary or confidential.
If selected, members will be appointed as special government
employees (SGEs) and will be subject to the ethical standards
applicable to SGEs. They will also be asked to certify that they are
not required to register under the Foreign Agents Registration Act, and
that they are not Federally-registered lobbyists.
DATES: Nominations should be submitted via the web address specified
below and must be received by forty-five (45) days after this notice is
published.
ADDRESSES: Applications should be submitted electronically via http://globalchange.gov/notices.
FOR FURTHER INFORMATION CONTACT: Emily Therese Cloyd, NCA Public
Participation and Engagement Coordinator, U.S. Global Change Research
Program Office, Telephone (202) 223-6262, Fax (202) 223-3064, Email
[email protected]. For more information on the NCA process, please
visit http://assessment.globalchange.gov.
SUPPLEMENTARY INFORMATION: The U.S. Global Change Research Program
(USGCRP), the principal program responsible for coordinating and
integrating U.S. federal research on climate change. Under the Global
Change Research Act of 1990, the USGCRP is responsible for producing
the National Climate Assessment, the last iteration of which was
published in May 2014. The USGCRP is now building a process to ensure
all future assessments are responsive to stakeholder needs,
scientifically credible and conducted in an efficient manner,
coordinating the efforts of partners both inside and outside of the
government. It is the goal of the USGCRP to create a sustainable
assessment process that involves networks of participants in regions
and sectors across the country in addition to engaging federal
scientists in multiple agencies. This will enable assessment activities
and products to address national, regional, sectoral, and topical needs
over time and to serve important policy and science objectives.
Establishing an ongoing, consistent, and replicable approach to
assessment of current and projected climate impacts and climate-related
risk will help identify opportunities as well as hazards associated
with changes in climate conditions. It will also support U.S.
contributions to international assessment, adaptation and mitigation
programs. This information can be used to prioritize federal activities
that support adaptation and mitigation decisions in the federal
government as well as within states, regions, and sectors and to
continuously reassess priorities for federal science investments.
The Committee will consist of non-government experts who will
advise on the engagement of stakeholders and on sustained assessment
activities and the quadrennial National Climate Assessment report.
Within the scope of its mission, the Committee's specific objective is
to provide advice on a sustained National Climate Assessment process
that:
1. Integrates, evaluates, and interprets the findings of the U.S.
Global Change Research Program (USGCRP) and discusses the scientific
uncertainties with such findings;
2. Analyzes the effects of current and projected climate change
upon ecosystems and biological diversity, agriculture, energy
production and use, land and water resources, transportation, human
health and welfare, and social systems, including in a regional
context;
3. Analyzes current trends in global change, both human-induced and
natural, and projects major trends for the subsequent 25 to 100 years;
4. Is a continuing, inclusive National process that synthesizes
relevant science and information about changes in the Earth system as
they affect the Nation's climate, and about how such changes relate to
and interact with changes in social, economic, ecological, and
technological systems;
5. Addresses risk-based vulnerabilities for business and industry
as related to the impacts of weather and climate variations and
changes; and
6. Supports climate-related decisions by providing information in
formats that are useful to decision support.
To assure a balanced representation of views among preeminent
scientists, engineers, educators, and other experts reflecting the full
scope of issues addressed in the National Climate Assessment and/or
relevant to the sustained national assessment process, the Committee
will consist of fifteen (15) non-Federal members. The Under Secretary,
in consultation with the Director of OSTP, shall select and appoint
members.
Members will be selected for appointment on a clear and
standardized basis in accordance with Department of Commerce guidance.
Each member shall be appointed for a term of one, two, or three years
and shall serve at the discretion of the Under Secretary. Thereafter,
members may be reappointed for successive terms of two years. To the
extent possible, not more than one-third of the total membership shall
change in any one year. Members will be appointed as special government
employees (SGEs) and will be subject to the ethical standards
applicable to SGEs. Members are reimbursed for actual and reasonable
travel and per diem expenses incurred in performing such duties, but
will not be reimbursed for their time. As a Federal Advisory Committee,
the Committee's membership is required to be balanced in terms of
viewpoints represented and the functions to be performed as well as the
interests of geographic regions of the country and the diverse sectors
of U.S. society.
The Committee is expected to meet in person at least once each
year, plus additional teleconferences or subgroup meetings. Committee
members must be willing to serve as liaisons to Committee subgroups
and/or participate in reviews and activities as requested by the Under
Secretary.
The Advisory Committee for the Sustained National Climate
Assessment will function solely as an advisory body and in compliance
with provisions of the Federal Advisory Committee Act. Copies of the
charter will be filed with the appropriate Committees of the Congress
and with the Library of Congress.
Dated: July 27, 2015.
Christine Blackburn,
Deputy Chief of Staff, National Oceanic and Atmospheric Administration.
[FR Doc. 2015-18781 Filed 7-30-15; 8:45 am]
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