A Transportation Research Program for Mitigating and Adapting to Climate Change and Conserving Energy Special Report 299 (2009) / Chapter Skim
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5 Estimated Research Program Cost and Criteria for Effective Management
5 Estimated Research Program Cost and Criteria for Effective Management
Pages 79-92
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From page 79... ...
The legislation does not set transportation-specific requirements, but it requires EPA to set transportation GHG emission reduction targets that states and MPOs should meet. In addition, it outlines a variety of transportation mitigation efforts that states and MPOs could analyze and that regions could implement in pursuing their own GHG emission reduction goals.
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From page 80... ...
RESEARCH PROGRAM COST The committee believes that the urgency of responding to energy and climate change goals requires initiation of the research identified in previous chapters in short order. The technical information to inform policy decisions and practice could be significantly enhanced over the course of the next surface transportation authorization cycle, although at least two such cycles would likely be required to complete the envisioned fundamental and applied research.
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From page 81... ...
Nevertheless, transportation research programs are typically authorized for periods of 5 or 6 years, and progress in addressing climate change and energy conservation needs to commence as soon as possible. Therefore, the committee has expressed its judgment with regard to the appropriate scale at which to start these activities in the upcoming authorization.
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From page 82... ...
A fundamental research program is recommended that would be modeled on the way basic research is organized and conducted by the National Science Foundation (NSF)
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From page 83... ...
The committee believes that $30 million per year is an appropriate scale of investment for fundamental mitigation research at the outset, but it recognizes that this level of investment needs to be reevaluated toward the end of the first authorization to determine the appropriate level in subsequent years. Adaptation An adaptation research program is needed that would (a)
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From page 84... ...
The recommended program may appear substantial but would represent only about 9 percent of all the surface transportation research programs of the U.S. Department of Transportation (USDOT)
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From page 85... ...
Individuals at different levels of government, in indus try, and in nongovernmental organizations have different kinds of responsibilities, and some of the measures to be studied are potentially controversial. Stakeholder involvement in the research programs needs to be broad and deep to ensure relevance to this diversity of interests.
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From page 86... ...
3. Need for credible, objective research: Because of the controversial nature of some of the topics and the differences in perspective of some of the stakeholders, the research program needs to be as credible and objec tive as possible.
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From page 87... ...
Included in this area are fundamental research projects on adaptation that could be organized along the lines of the fundamental mitigation research described above. The planning for the applied adaptation research program should be based on extensive interaction with practitioners and experts in the relevant fields, who would help develop a detailed research plan, participate in merit review, oversee research projects as they are conducted, and help evaluate the research as it nears completion.
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From page 88... ...
An R&D program is needed that would inform the design and operation of a series of mileage charging demonstration programs. The research would give policy makers information about how issues such as privacy, efficiency, public acceptance, and equity affect the design and implemen
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From page 89... ...
SUMMARY Transportation mitigation and adaptation research programs would cost $40 million to $45 million annually for the upcoming authorization. The investment would be worthwhile given the risks posed by climate change and energy dependence and the link between transportation, the economy, and the lifestyles of hundreds of millions of people.
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From page 90... ...
The recommended research programs would begin to fill this gap but would not be completed within a single authorization period. The committee recommends that this research be given high priority and hopes that new funds can be found to fund this research as a single, unified program.
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From page 91... ...
Adapting the transportation system to climate change will be necessary, and the high costs and levels of uncertainty imply difficult choices for policy makers. Furthermore, mitigating transportation's impacts and adapting to a changing climate will be ongoing challenges for decades to come.
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From page 92... ...
2009. Adaptation Research Programs and Funding.
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