Geoscience Policy Monthly Review
november 2016

The Monthly Review is part of a continuing effort to improve communications about the role of geoscience in policy.
Current and archived monthly reviews are available online.

Subscribe to receive the Monthly Review directly.

environment

BOEM Mid-Atlantic Regional Planning Body submits Ocean Action Plan

November 3, 2016

The Bureau of Ocean Energy Management’s (BOEM) Mid-Atlantic Regional Planning Body (MidA RPB) submitted its Mid-Atlantic Regional Ocean Action Plan to the National Ocean Council for certification on November 3. The MidA RPB Action Plan is part of an ongoing effort to fulfill the National Ocean Policy Implementation Plan established by the Obama Administration in 2010.

The plan addresses key ocean challenges and establishes nine regional planning bodies, including the MidA RPB. Objectives set forth by the MidA RPB Action Plan include continued protection of ocean ecosystems off the coasts of Delaware, Maryland, New Jersey, New York, Pennsylvania, and Virginia. The plan includes engagement with stakeholders for undersea critical infrastructure interests, such as submarine cables and pipelines, and acts to enhance support for ocean research and monitoring. The plan promotes sustainable fishing practices through enhanced collaboration between federal, state, and tribal entities as well as various fishery management councils.

The National Ocean Council will decide whether or not to certify the plan as soon as December 3, 2016.

Sources: Bureau of Ocean Energy Management, Federal Register, the White House Office of the Press Secretary

USGS announces grant program to support National Groundwater Monitoring Network

November 10, 2016

The U.S. Geological Survey (USGS) has announced a new grant program that will award up to $2 million in cooperative agreements for new state and local water resource agencies participating in the National Groundwater Monitoring Network (NGWMN). The funds will be used to provide groundwater data to the NGWMN, a cooperative network between the USGS and the Federal Advisory Committee on Water Information’s (ACWI) Subcommittee on Ground Water (SOGW) that helps manage and monitor national groundwater.

Under the agreements, new data providers are required to identify and classify groundwater sites that are currently being monitored, and to establish web services that will connect these new data sources to the existing NGWMN portal. The awardees are then required to draft a summary of how they implemented the connection process .

Agencies interested in applying for a grant under the cooperative agreements must submit their applications before December 14, 2016. The NGWMN will sponsor a meeting during the National Ground Water Association’s Groundwater Week (December 6-8, 2016) in Las Vegas to update the SOGW and data providers on the status of the NGWMN.

Sources: Advisory Committee on Water Information, National Ground Water Association, United States Geological Survey

EESI holds briefing on future environmental actions to be taken in China

November 17, 2016

The Environmental and Energy Study Institute (EESI) held a briefing to address the actions China plans to be taken to achieve its goals under the Paris Climate Agreement.

The speakers highlighted external pressures, such as the high carbon cap expectations of other ratifying nations, and internal pressures, such as China’s increasing air pollution, as reasons the Chinese government ultimately decided to enact new climate change policies.

Jiansheng Qu, Director of the Scientific Information Center for Resources and Environment at the Chinese Academy of Sciences, provided a comprehensive overview of China’s Household Carbon Emissions (HCEs) and outlined China’s primary environmental targets for the next five years. China aims to reduce its emissions per its gross domestic product (GDP) to 40-45 percent of the 2015 value by 2020 and to 60-65 percent of the 2005 value by 2030. China plans to increase the ratio of non-fossil fuel energy to other energy sources by 15 percent by 2020 and 20 percent by 2030 and to commence the operation of a national carbon trading system by 2017.

Linling Mu, Secretary General at the Tianjin Green Supply Chain Association, discussed the complexities of a national emissions trading system. Mu outlined China’s Green Supply Chain policy pilot program. This pilot program led to the establishment of governmental regulations to promote environmentally friendly carbon trading activities within Tianjin. Mu detailed the Tianjin Province’s Climate Exchange, a domestic carbon cap-and-trade program, which encourages companies to reduce their carbon footprint for financial gain by pricing carbon and placing limits on carbon emissions.

Sources: China Council for International Cooperation on Environment and Development, Environmental and Energy Study Institute (EESI), United Nations Framework Convention on Climate Change, White House Office of the Press Secretary