Geoscience Reference
In-Depth Information
But a key is likely to be embedding science improvements in value chains: understand-
ing and vitalizing relationships between research, practice, and value for participants.
Among the many aspects of progress are:
• linking research and practice: developing a systematic framework for framing
choices, addressing issues regarding what constitute good decisions in the face
of uncertainties - perhaps using energy supply and demand as a focus area in
this regard within the longer-term NCA structure
• public-private sector partnerships: integrating relevant knowledge from basic
research to commercial operations, again with energy as a focus area for NCA,
related to real technology R&D and use needs
• providing value at multiple scales: international, national, regional, local, even
households, again an opportunity for energy to be a focus area for NCA to
explore connections between scales and ways to communicate iteratively with
all scales
Aside from relationships with the private sector, a sector that merits particular at-
tention in a self-sustaining continuing assessment process is universities. Institutions
of higher learning may be the best prospects to serve as regional hubs for continuing
assessment processes as a part of their institutional “brand” because of its value for
learning, education, and outreach. Clearly, the federal government recognizes a need for
a partnership with universities for climate change assessments and “climate services.”
For example, NOAA puts its RISAs in regional universities, as does DOI for its region -
al science centers. Some people suggest land-grant institutions as the best prospects.
Others suggest regionally-oriented institutions with both teaching and service-oriented
outreach as the best prospects. Still others believe that some of the leading public uni -
versities would step forward, especially those with research relationships with industry.
In any case, universities have the capacity to make a commitment to a long-term role,
assuring appropriate staing and institutional support, with beneits to their core roles
as contributors to knowledge and their linkages with other partners in the nation and
their region.
B. Challenges in Developing Self-Sustaining
Science-Based Assessments
For such a multi-institutional partnership, challenges in improving the science for con -
tinuing assessments include:
• strengthening linkages between climate science and energy impact science and
practice, especially regarding scenarios
• enhancing scientiic capacities for integrated analysis and assessment, including
relationships between energy-climate change risks/impacts and other energy
policy/practice issues, with atention to model interoperability
• increasing the capacity to acquire emerging knowledge from experience as well
as formal published research, including experience from eforts to make infra-
structures and urban systems more climate-resilient
