DOE to Fund Research on How Climate Change Affects Urban Environments

The Department of Energy said it will provide $84 million in funding for new observational, modeling and simulation studies to improve the accuracy of community-scale climate research and facilitate the development of solutions to minimize adverse impacts caused by climate change. The funding opportunity, which is being issued by the Office of Biological and Environmental Research, will be awarded competitively, the Energy Department said.

The agency seeks research that focuses on three related scientific topics: atmospheric and environmental observations, modeling of climate change and impacts across urban regions, and simulating the climate benefits of deploying climate solutions and technologies in historically underserved American communities.

Geraldine Richmond, the undersecretary for science and innovation at the DOE, said the effort seeks to better understand the factors that contribute to urban climate impacts and to develop equitable adaptation solutions informed by science. She warned that urban regions are expected to face adverse climate change effects.

Competitive awards will be decided on the basis of peer review and are expected to be in the form of five-year deals. An initial $17 million is expected to be made available for the program in fiscal year 2022.

The effort is part of DOE’s Biological and Environmental Research program, which supports scientific research and facilities to achieve a predictive understanding of complex biological, earth and environmental systems with the aim of advancing the nation’s energy and infrastructure security.