Incorporating Greenhouse Gas Emissions Into The Collaborative Decision Making Process

" TRB's second Strategic Highway Research Program (SHRP 2) Report S2-C09-RR-1: Incorporating Greenhouse Gas Emissions into the Collaborative Decision-Making Framework identifies where and how greenhouse gas (GHG) emissions and energy consumption fit into a conceptual decision-making framework, including key decision points.The report presents background information on the role of GHG emissions in the transportation sector, factors influencing the future of emissions, GHG emissions reduction strategies, as well as information on cost effectiveness and feasibility of these reduction strategies. It also presents case studies to illustrate different scales and institutional contexts for GHG analyses. " -- publisher's description

Climate change, driven by increases in human-produced greenhouse gases and particles (collectively referred to as GHGs), is the most serious environmental issue facing society. The need to reduce GHGs has become urgent as heat waves, heavy rain events, and other impacts of climate change have become more frequent and severe. Since the Paris Agreement was adopted in 2015, more than 136 countries, accounting for about 80% of total global GHG emissions, have committed to achieving net-zero emissions by 2050. A growing number of cities, regional governments, and industries have also made pledges to reduce emissions. Providing decision makers with useful, accurate, and trusted GHG emissions information is a crucial part of this effort. This report examines existing and emerging approaches used to generate and evaluate GHG emissions information at global to local scales. The report develops a framework for evaluating GHG emissions information to support and guide policy makers about its use in decision making. The framework identifies six criteria or pillars that can be used to evaluate and improve GHG emissions information: usability and timeliness, information transparency, evaluation and validation, completeness, inclusivity, and communication. The report recommends creating a coordinated repository or clearinghouse to operationalize the six pillars, for example, by providing timely, transparent, traceable information; standardized data formats; and governance mechanisms that are coordinated, trusted, and inclusive of the global community.

The GHG Protocol Corporate Accounting and Reporting Standard helps companies and other organizations to identify, calculate, and report GHG emissions. It is designed to set the standard for accurate, complete, consistent, relevant and transparent accounting and reporting of GHG emissions.

This report from the second Strategic Highway Research Program (SHRP 2), which is administered by the Transportation Research Board of the National Academies, describes a framework—including for long-range planning, corridor planning, project programming, environmental review, and environmental permitting— that supports collaborative business practices for reaching decisions on adding highway capacity when necessary.

Global climate change is one of America's most significant long-term policy challenges. Human activity-especially the use of fossil fuels, industrial processes, livestock production, waste disposal, and land use change-is affecting global average temperatures, snow and ice cover, sea-level, ocean acidity, growing seasons and precipitation patterns, ecosystems, and human health. Climate-related decisions are being carried out by almost every agency of the federal government, as well as many state and local government leaders and agencies, businesses and individual citizens. Decision makers must contend with the availability and quality of information, the efficacy of proposed solutions, the unanticipated consequences resulting from decisions, the challenge of implementing chosen actions, and must consider how to sustain the action over time and respond to new information. Informing an Effective Response to Climate Change, a volume in the America's Climate Choices series, describes and assesses different activities, products, strategies, and tools for informing decision makers about climate change and helping them plan and execute effective, integrated responses. It discusses who is making decisions (on the local, state, and national levels), who should be providing information to make decisions, and how that information should be provided. It covers all levels of decision making, including international, state, and individual decision making. While most existing research has focused on the physical aspect of climate change, Informing an Effective Response to Climate Change employs theory and case study to describe the efforts undertaken so far, and to guide the development of future decision-making resources. Informing an Effective Response to Climate Change offers much-needed guidance to those creating public policy and assists in implementing that policy. The information presented in this book will be invaluable to the research community, especially social scientists studying climate change; practitioners of decision-making assistance, including advocacy organizations, non-profits, and government agencies; and college-level teachers and students.

TRB Special Report 295, The Federal Investment in Highway Research, 2006-2009: Strengths and Weaknesses assesses how well the investments that Congress made in research programs through the Safe, Accountable, Flexible, Efficient Transportation Equity Act: A Legacy for Users comply with the principles articulated in the preface to the act's research title. The book contains findings and recommendations about specific research programs and calls for reliance on competition and merit review in awarding funds through the Federal Highway Administration and in selecting institutions for the University Transportation Centers program of the Research and Innovative Technology Administration.

The 2005 Safe, Accountable, Flexible, Efficient Transportation Equity Act: A Legacy for Users authorized the Dept. of Transportation (DoT) to establish a highway research program to address future challenges facing the U.S. highway system. In 2006, the Second Strategic Highway Research Program was established to conduct research in four areas -- safety, renewal, reliability, and capacity. The legislation also required a review of the program no later than three years after the first research contracts were awarded. This report provides information about the process for selecting the program's projects for funding, the projects' status, and what, if any, research was eliminated because of funding and time constraints. Charts and tables.