DOE Funds 22 Projects to Improve Climate Change Predictions

The Department of Energy has invested $14 million in efforts to improve climate change predictions. DOE awarded the funding to 22 three-year projects across 11 U.S. states, the District of Columbia and Canada.

DOE said that having a better understanding of extreme weather and climate patterns is important for meeting President Joe Biden’s climate goals. Work will be done by staff at 18 universities and two research organizations, DOE said Thursday.

Secretary of Energy Jennifer Granholm said DOE needs to provide researchers and lawmakers more tools to address climate change.

“Climate-fueled weather events from drought, to fires, to hurricanes, and polar vortices are becoming more common and more intense and wreaking havoc on our communities,” Granholm added.

The projects’ goals include improving understanding of how aerosols interact with clouds and thunderstorms and how aerosols impact the availability of solar energy in the Arctic and Antarctic regions. 

Some of the awardees are Atmospheric and Environmental Research, the University of California, Howard University, University of Houston, University of California and Canada’s McGill University, according to a list posted on the Office of Biological and Environmental Research’s website.

DOE said that their contributions to climate change predictions will support Biden’s effort to halve U.S.-wide greenhouse gas pollution from 2005 levels by 2030.

The funding was awarded through a funding opportunity under the Atmospheric System Research program, sponsored by BER.