This message was prepared by Lewis-Burke Associates LLC.
EARTH AND ENVIRONMENTAL SCIENCES POLICY NEWSLETTER
April 4, 2023 | Lewis-Burke Associates LLC

A View from Washington
This newsletter captures significant developments in the U.S. Congress and within the executive branch, as well as new federal funding and engagement opportunities that have been announced over the past month that are relevant to the environmental research and higher education community.  

President Biden’s third budget request was released in stages last month, maintaining commitment to climate and energy programs.  While details for all agencies are not yet available, the Biden Administration is continuing to bring attention to its efforts in addressing climate change, especially focused on clean energy and reducing greenhouse gas emissions.  The budget request also provided additional details on the implementation of one-time funds provided by the Inflation Reduction Act that are dedicated to supporting climate adaptation and clean energy technologies.  With the budget request outlining President Biden’s goals for the next fiscal year, the Administration is also looking to the future, with a new report released this month outlining specific goals for biomanufacturing and biotechnology research and development across the federal government. 

The Intergovernmental Panel on Climate Change (IPCC) released its sixth Synthesis Report, which detailed a grim outlook on climate mitigation progress.  The report, which synthesizes climate data and policy changes that have been made to date to keep global temperatures from reaching 1.5°C above pre-industrial levels, indicated that the efforts made thus far will not yet be sufficient to meet that goal.  The report indicated that total emissions reductions are moving in the right direction, though not quickly enough to sufficiently curb the consequences of climate change.  This gives some indication that recent policies like the Inflation Reduction Act and the Infrastructure Investment and Jobs Act, which will continue to provide substantial investments in clean energy, are in line with necessary global policies to address climate change.

Members of Congress are preparing to draft the 2023 Farm Bill, as they submit their priorities for the upcoming reauthorization and prepare to release new messaging legislation.  With a flurry of hearings featuring the Secretary of Agriculture and the Under Secretary for Research, Education, and Economics and an internal deadline for members to submit their initial priorities, the Agriculture Committees will work to get early frameworks together for the signature legislation.  Both the House and Senate have indicated that they are aiming to have draft bills ready for circulation during the summer.  The two chambers will have to come together on an agreement or an extension before the fiscal year ends on September 30, 2023.


IN THIS ISSUE:  
Congressional Updates Federal Agency and Administration Updates   Funding Opportunities   Engagement Opportunities  Forecasted Funding Opportunities 
Congressional Updates
Road to the 2023 Farm Bill: House Agriculture Research and Extension Subcommittee Highlights AgARDA Strategic Plan
In preparation for the 2023 Farm Bill reauthorization, the House Agriculture Conservation, Research, and Biotechnology Subcommittee held a hearing to discuss the Research Title of the Farm Bill featuring U.S. Department of Agriculture (USDA) Under Secretary of Research, Education, and Economics (REE) Chavonda Jacobs-Young as the sole witness.  Title VII – Research, Extension, and Related Matters, is responsible for authorizing key research and education programs at USDA, including competitive programs through the National Institute of Food and Agriculture (NIFA); extension services at land-grant universities; and other agricultural research provisions.

In her opening statement, Dr. Jacobs-Young referenced a report from USDA’s Economic Research Service (ERS) published in June 2022 which showed that, when adjusting for inflation, U.S. public agriculture research and development (R&D) spending has declined by one-third over the past two decades and is currently substantially lower than investments by other nations.  Dr. Jacobs-Young expressed that the majority of the growth in agricultural output by the U.S. during the 20th century can be attributed to advances in science and innovation, but increased and sustained investments are needed to support USDA’s efforts to train the next generation of the agricultural workforce, bolster nutrition security and climate-smart agriculture, and collaborate with other federal departments and land-grant universities to promote science and innovation across the agency.

Subcommittee Chair Jim Baird (R-IN) praised the efficacy of agriculture research in supporting producers, but criticized USDA’s significantly delayed rollout of a Strategic Plan for the Agriculture Advanced Research and Development Authority (AgARDA), which aims to support high-risk, high-reward agriculture research.  AgARDA was authorized in the 2018 Farm Bill, but its Strategic Plan was only released two days before the hearing.  The highly anticipated report outlines a plan for the currently appropriated dollars, as well as a vision for how the agency could scale if it were to be fully funded at the authorized level of $50 million, taking inspiration from existing Advanced Research Projects Agencies such as the Department of Defense’s Defense Advanced Research Projects Agency (DARPA) and the Department of Energy’s Advanced Research Projects Agency for Energy (ARPA-E).  Most notably, it plans to release a call for topics, then conduct an initial two-year pilot project which will commence in fiscal year (FY) 2024 and, if fully funded, would support projects focused on climate, economic development for rural communities, equitable and competitive markets, food safety, and nutrition.

Overall, Subcommittee members commended the research community and discussed how greater investments in science and innovation can help tackle the challenges facing the agricultural sector.  This is in line with full Committee Chairman G.T. Thompson’s (R-PA) emphasis on innovation in the Farm Bill, and indicates that the Research Title will remain relatively uncontroversial during the upcoming reauthorization. 


House Science Committee Passes Legislation Calling for DOE and NOAA Collaboration on Weather Model Computing
On March 29, the House Science, Space, and Technology Committee unanimously approved legislation directing the Department of Energy (DOE) and the National Oceanic and Atmospheric Administration (NOAA) to develop a memorandum of understanding and collaborative programming to advance high-performance computing and artificial intelligence for climate models and weather prediction.  The Advanced Weather Model Computing Development Act would encourage the agencies to conduct research for modernizing climate and weather models as well as data assimilation and analytics.  The legislation would also call on the agencies to conduct a comparative study of the existing National Weather Service (NWS) models and processes to develop them against operational models developed using supercomputing capabilities.  Because most of NWS weather modeling scientific operations are kept internal and then distributed for public use, there is little room for university or external stakeholders, however, external input and computing capabilities may be sought for the comparative study.  


Federal Agency and Administration Updates 
Biden Administration Releases FY 2024 President’s Budget Request
Last month, the Biden Administration released details of the fiscal year (FY) 2024 President’s budget request, detailing proposed funding levels and new programming across all federal agencies.  Among other continued areas of emphasis, the Administration has again requested significant funding increases for climate and clean energy programs across the federal government, and placed a strong focus on use-inspired research, translation, and technology development and deployment.  The release of the budget request kicks off the FY 2024 appropriations process, which will be complicated by divided government and dramatically different budget priorities among the President, Senate, and House, the latter of which is less likely to advance any substantial climate- or environment-focused legislation.  Final appropriations are unlikely to feature the major growth sought by the President, and may result in a stalemate or year-long continuing resolution.  While the budget request is merely a recommendation to Congress, it does provide insight into federal agencies’ priorities and future directions.  Highlights of environmental provisions across major agencies are provided below, and the complete Lewis-Burke analysis of the FY 2024 President’s budget request is available here. 
  • Environmental Protection Agency (EPA): The EPA Science and Technology (S&T) Account, which funds research to support EPA’s mission, would receive $967.8 million, a $165.6 million or 20.6 percent increase over the FY 2023 enacted level.  For the first time, the FY 2024 budget request is structured to reflect the cross-agency strategies and goals included in the FY 2022 – 2026 EPA Strategic Plan, which frames many of EPA’s programs to address pollution as a part of the government-wide Cancer Moonshot initiative.  The budget request would also provide $375 million, a $267 million increase above the FY 2023 enacted level, for the Environmental Justice Program. 
  • National Oceanic and Atmospheric Administration (NOAA): The budget proposes a total of $6.8 billion for NOAA, a $450 million increase over the FY 2023 enacted level.  The request included $231 million for climate research programs through the Office of Oceanic and Atmospheric Research (OAR), a modest $7 million increase. 
  • National Science Foundation (NSF): NSF would be funded at $11.3 billion in FY 2024, an 18.6 percent or $1.8 billion increase above the FY 2023 base level and 14.6 percent above NSF’s total FY 2023 funding including all supplemental funds.  The budget request proposes to establish a new NSF-wide Build a Resilient Planet initiative, which aims to “create broad new understanding and innovations that will increase energy resilience, enhance sustainability, mitigate climate change, and lead to other societal benefits.”
  • Department of Energy (DOE): The budget would provide $8.8 billion to the DOE Office of Science, a $700 million increase above the FY 2023 enacted level.  The budget request proposes an additional $75 million for the Energy Earthshot Research Initiative, for a total of $175 million, of which $50 million would support up to 16 additional Energy Earthshot Research Centers on both new and existing topic areas.  It would also provide a $47 million increase for the Reaching a New Energy Sciences Workforce (RENEW) program.  The Advanced Research Projects Agency-Energy (ARPA-E) would be funded at $650 million to support new programs in climate change adaptation, mitigation, and resilience, as well as the five priority areas in the Net Zero Game Changers Initiative. 
  • U.S. Department of Agriculture (USDA): The National Institute of Food and Agriculture (NIFA) would receive $1.9 billion, a $167 million increase above the FY 2023 enacted level.  Within NIFA, the Agriculture and Food Research Initiative (AFRI) would receive $550 million, a $95 million increase, and would be directed to focus investments in climate-related areas, largely concerning greenhouse gas emissions monitoring and reduction from the agriculture sector.  Sustainable Agriculture Research Education and Extension (SARE) would increase by $10 million, a 20 percent increase over the FY 2023 enacted level.  The Agriculture Advanced Research and Development Authority (AGARDA), which was supported at $2 million in FY 2023, would not receive funding. 
  • U.S. Geological Survey (USGS): The budget request includes $1.8 billion in discretionary funding for USGS, which would be an increase of $288.3 million, or 19.3 percent, compared to the FY 2023 enacted level.  The National and Regional Climate Adaptation Science Centers (CASCs) would receive $87.3 million, a substantial increase of $24.2 million or 38.4 percent.  It would also provide a $1 million increase to USGS and the Department of the Interior for data and information management in support of the National Nature Assessment (NNA) underway across the federal government for a total of $1.4 million. 
  • Department of Health and Human Services (HHS): The Administration continues to support the National Institutes of Health’s (NIH) Climate Change and Health Initiative, proposing an increase of $25 million above FY 2023 enacted levels to boost this research at the National Institute of Environmental Health Sciences (NIEHS), comprising the entirety of the proposed increase to NIEHS. 
  • Department of Defense (DOD): The FY 2024 budget would invest in energy efficiency and resilience measures to address climate change and improve operational readiness in increasingly challenging environments.  However, it would also reduce funding for the Strategic Environmental Research and Development Program and Environmental Security Technical Certification Program (SERDP & ESTCP) by nearly $50 million for a total of $402.9 million. 
White House Releases Report Outlining “Bold Goals” for Biotechnology and Biomanufacturing 
As part of its continued efforts to advance the U.S. bioeconomy, the Biden Administration released a new report titled “Bold Goals for U.S. Biotechnology and Biomanufacturing: Harnessing Research and Development to Further Societal Goals.”  The report follows several recent biotechnology-focused actions, including a September 2022 Executive Order and a December 2022 Request for Information.  The report is divided into five sections: (1) climate change solutions, (2) food and agriculture innovation, (3) supply chain resilience, (4) human health, and (5) cross-cutting initiatives.  Each section includes a series of ambitious goals for research and development relevant to biotechnology and biomanufacturing.  Most relevant to the environmental community, the climate section outlines goals focused on developing sustainable transportation and stationary fuels, low-carbon-intensity chemicals and materials, climate-focused agricultural systems and plans, and technologies for carbon removal.  The Administration will next develop a strategy and implementation plan to address the research goals laid out in this report.

In a panel discussion celebrating the release of the report, White House Office of Science and Technology Policy (OSTP) Senior Advisor for Biotechnology and Biomanufacturing, Georgia Lagoudas, said that OSTP welcomes feedback on the report.  She noted that OSTP is especially interested in hearing which goals resonate with the research community and what work is currently underway to achieve these goals.  Lewis-Burke’s full analysis of these reports is available here. 

White House Publishes Ocean Climate Action Plan
The White House Office of Science and Technology Policy (OSTP) Ocean Policy Committee released an Ocean Climate Action Plan (OCAP) last month that outlines federal climate mitigation and adaptation activities focused on oceans, including recommendations for ocean science policy to address the impacts of climate change.  This report intends to support a broad variety of the Biden Administration’s goals in climate and clean energy, including Net-Zero 2050, Justice40, and the America the Beautiful Initiative, through which the Administration hopes to conserve 30 percent of lands and waters in the U.S. by 2030.  The OCAP describes three broad goals: “(1) create a carbon-neutral future by reducing pollution that causes climate change and other actions; (2) accelerate nature-based solutions that store greenhouse gases and protect communities and ecosystems against the unavoidable changes; and (3) enhance community resilience to ocean change by helping coastal communities and the many components of the sustainable ocean economy adapt to climate impacts.”  

The OCAP additionally details cross-cutting priorities to be addressed by multiple federal agencies in partnership with external stakeholders, including academia.  As part of these initiatives, the Ocean Policy Committee plans to release an Ocean Justice Strategy this year that will seek to identify barriers to participation and incorporate environmental justice principles into federal ocean activities, including by engaging with Tribal Nations.  The Committee also plans to develop a dedicated mechanism to collaborate with non-federal partners in their activities, with the support of existing bodies such as the National Oceanographic Partnership Program.  The Ocean Policy Committee additionally notes that they will compile recommendations for federal ocean research priorities that will support the goals of the OCAP and drive engagement with academia and the private sector.  

DOE Publishes Report on Bioenergy and Soil Carbon Storage
The Department of Energy (DOE) released a summary report “Bioenergy’s Role in Soil Carbon Storage.”  Information for this report was collected during a virtual workshop hosted by DOE’s Bioenergy Technologies Office (BETO).  The majority of the workshop conversation focused on “the nexus between climate-smart production practices, soil carbon levels, and biofuel production,” during which energy and agricultural experts expressed the scientific need for both fields to advance soil health, carbon sequestration, and energy regeneration potential.  The six sessions held were: 
  1. “Mechanisms of Soil Carbon Storage; 
  2. Management Strategies to Optimize; Soil Carbon Storage; 
  3. Agricultural Management Practices to Optimize Soil Carbon Storage; 
  4. Forest Management Practice to Optimize Soil Carbon Storage; 
  5. Research and Development Needed to Support Policy for Soil Carbon Storage in Bioenergy; and 
  6. Tools for Decision Making in Bioenergy and Soil Carbon Storage.” 
Input from the workshop and the summary report will assist BETO to identify areas in research and development that need to be emphasized in order to improve critical areas in soil decarbonization.  

IPCC Releases AR6 Report, Emphasizes Need for Continued Investment in Low-Carbon Technologies
The Intergovernmental Panel on Climate Change (IPCC), a group of leading scientists assembled under the United Nations system to assess the state of global science related to climate change, released its Synthesis Report of the Sixth Assessment Report (AR6).  While the report itself is a compiled analysis of various previously released scientific publications, it will inform negotiations under the UN Framework Convention on Climate Change, with the next major conference taking place in the United Arab Emirates this November.  Several U.S. federal agencies will also reference the report in informing continued approaches to address climate change mitigation and adaptation.  AR6 emphasizes that current and projected actions to address climate change are likely insufficient to prevent the mean global temperature from increasing by 1.5°C above pre-industrial levels, and will make it harder to limit warming below 2°C.  The report indicates that if there are efforts to make “deep, rapid, and sustained” reductions in greenhouse gas emissions and transition away from fossil fuels through investments in renewable energy and other low-carbon technologies, the most severe impacts may still be averted.  However, the report now estimates that greenhouse gas emissions will have to be reduced by a substantially higher amount than previously projected.  In addition, the report also expresses that nations should pay particular attention to climate inequality in their efforts to address climate change.  The AR6 report and other related documents are available here. 


Funding Opportunities
DOE Releases Call for Energy Earthshot Research Foundations
The Department of Energy (DOE) Office of Science released a $150 million solicitation to support small teams from research universities and national labs to advance key fundamental research challenges facing the six Energy Earthshots.  This solicitation is focused on bringing together small groups of faculty and researchers, primarily at research universities, to address fundamental science challenges, and complements the $200 million solicitation for Energy Earthshot Research Centers, which was released in January 2023.  Pre-applications must be submitted by April 25, 2023.  This will be a limited submission with only three lead pre-proposals per institution. 
  
NCI Seeking to Fund Research on Impacts of Climate Change on Cancer
The National Cancer Institute (NCI) recently released two companion solicitations focused on the impact of climate change on the cancer control continuum.  Through these funding opportunities, NCI is seeking to better understand how climate-related environmental changes impact cancer risks, control, and health behaviors, and how to mitigate the impacts of cancer care deliver interruptions due to climate change.  NCI is especially interested in multidisciplinary proposals that account for cancer health disparities, and proposals must include collaboration with a researcher with climate change expertise.  Depending on the scale and scope of their proposed work, researchers can pursue funding through the R01 research project mechanism or the R21 exploratory/developmental grant mechanism.  The first upcoming deadline for both solicitations is in June 2023, and the funding opportunities expire in February 2026. 

NSF BIO Releases Solicitation for Synthesis Center for Understanding Organismal Resilience
The National Science Foundation (NSF) Directorate for Biological Sciences (BIO) has released a new solicitation to establish a Synthesis Center for Understanding Organismal Resilience, supported by the BIO Division of Integrative Organismal Systems (IOS).  This new Center aims to support research to “advance our ability to explain and predict organismal resiliency and plasticity in response to complex and dynamic environmental circumstances encountered over a lifespan.”  The Synthesis Center intends to utilize principles of open science, team science, data sharing, and inclusive collaborations among researchers to allow for innovative analysis of biological and other relevant data on organismal resilience and plasticity.  Preliminary proposals are required and must be submitted by January 12, 2024.  Full proposals must be submitted by July 15, 2024.  NSF will award one Synthesis Center of $20 million as a cooperative agreement with an initial five-year term and the possibility of a five-year renewal.

NIH Announces Exploratory Grants for Climate Change and Health Research Center Development, Administrative Supplements for Climate Change and Health   
The National Institutes of Health (NIH) has released a solicitation for planning grants for Climate Change and Health Research Centers (CCHRCs).  These awards, which will be issued using the P20 exploratory grants mechanism, represent the first major new opportunity through NIH’s Climate Change and Health Initiative (CCHI), which received $40 million in new funding through the FY 2023 omnibus appropriations bill.  The CCHRCs will serve as transdisciplinary research environments for the advancement of specific thematic topics within the broader scope of climate change and human health.  Each Center should focus on developing “action-oriented” public health strategies as well as building resilient community, national, and global partnerships.  NIH intends to commit $30 million in FY 2023 and FY 2024 to fund up to 17 awards.  The maximum project period is 3 years and application budgets are limited to $850,000 in direct costs per year. There are two deadlines available for this program: May 1, 2023 and November 7, 2023. 

Additionally, NIH released a Notice of Special Interest (NOSI) announcing available administrative supplements for proposals to several Institutes and Centers (ICs), specified in the NOSI, for proposals relevant to the CCHI.  These funds are intended to support active NIH awards to conduct new activities in climate change and health (CCH) research and training, or for grants seeking to incorporate a focus on CCH in their projects.  Applicants can request no more than $375,000 in direct costs under this NOSI.  Applications are due May 8, 2023. 

Belmont Forum Releases 2023 Funding Call Focused on Climate, Environment, and Health
The Belmont Forum, an international partnership of science organizations supporting environmental research, is seeking consortium proposals in response to its latest funding call on climate, environment, and health.  U.S.-based institutions participating in research consortiums are eligible for up to $550,000 towards this call provided by the National Science Foundation (NSF).  The Department of State, the Department of the Interior, and the National Oceanic and Atmospheric Administration have also expressed an interest to partner on Belmont Forum proposals, with specific interests also provided in respective annexes available on the Belmont Forum page here.  The call includes three themes: (1) Decision-science of Environmental Behavior and Implementation; (2) Food, Environment, and Biological Security; and (3) Climate Risks to Ecosystems and Populations.  Each consortium must include individuals from at least three countries and include natural scientists, social scientists, and stakeholders.  NSF anticipates supporting between 10-15 consortiums.  Before submitting proposals to the Forum, institutions from the U.S. should review the U.S. NSF annex, and contact the NSF focal point.  Pre-proposals are required and must be submitted by July 15, 2023.  Full proposals must be submitted by January 2024.


Engagement Opportunities
USGCRP Requests Input to Update its Climate Literacy Guide
The U.S. Global Change Research Program (USGCRP) is seeking public input to guide its update of the 2009 “Climate Literacy: Essential Principles of Climate Science.”  In particular, the USGCRP is interested in obtaining responses to specific questions around the scope, structure, and utility of the document to ensure that the guide, which will be released in late 2023, will effectively guide climate decision-making.  Input is requested via the USGCRP comment system by no later than May 31, 2023.  More information is available here.


Forecasted Funding Opportunities
  • The Environmental Protection Agency (EPA) has posted five notices of intent to release requests for applications.  Opportunities are anticipated to support research in the following areas: (1) resilience of coastal ecosystems; (2) sustainable green chemistry; (3) evaluation of antimicrobial resistance in wastewater and sewage/sludge treatment and its environmental impact; (4) air quality information; and (5) cumulative impact assessment.  Opportunities will be posted here as they are released.
  • The Department of Homeland Security (DHS), in partnership with the Federal Emergency Management Agency (FEMA), anticipates releasing its next prize challenge in April, to coincide with Earth Day.  While the topic has not yet been released, DHS has indicated that the topic will be relevant to the environment.  Information about last year’s challenge is available here.
  • The National Science Foundation (NSF) has released three new topics for the 2023 Convergence Accelerator solicitation.  The new topics for this year’s competition are: Equitable Water Solutions (Track K), Real-World Chemical Sensing Applications (Track L), and Bio-Inspired Design Innovations (Track M).  The full solicitation will be released in the coming months. 
  • The U.S. Department of Agriculture (USDA) competes its signature Agriculture and Food Research Initiative (AFRI) programs every spring.  The first two AFRI solicitations were released in February, and the third, Education and Workforce Development, is expected to be posted this month. 
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