Air Resources Board, CCST Launch Online Climate Change Research Database

The California Air Resources Board (ARB) and the California Council on Science and Technology (CCST) have unveiled a public database of climate change research projects and programs taking place in California, focusing on projects or programs receiving federal funding. The California Climate Change Research Database includes research in a wide range of fields, including air quality, alternative energy sources, energy efficiency, climate change over time, and the impact of climate change on the ecosystem and biodiversity.

The database of nearly 200 projects primarily focuses on those funded by numerous federal sources, including the DOE, NSF, EPA, ARPA, NIH, NASA, and AFRI, along with a variety of state funded projects, at public and private universities, federal funded laboratories, and industry. The result is a unique, state-level cross-agency, cross-institutional catalogue, offering an insight into the many research programs being funded in California. The website allows users to search the database using a number of filters, including active and completed projects, funding sources, keywords, and more.

“This website will be very useful to anyone who is trying to understand what the future will bring for weather, water and sea level rise in our state,” said Jane Long, Fellow at the Center for Global Security Research and Principal Associate Director at Large Lawrence Livermore National Laboratory.

This project was initiated in December 2009 through ARB Contract 08-313. A survey instrument was developed in consultation with an advisory committee of experts formed through CCST. The survey was emailed to researchers, department heads, and other suitable contacts identified by CARB, consultation with the advisory committee, internet searches, and data provided by researchers contributing to the CCST California’s Energy Futures project.

California’s Air Resources Board has been a world leader in air pollution control and public health protection for more than 40 years. The Climate Change Research Database is part of ARB’s response to the Global Warming Solutions Act of 2006, which charged ARB with implementation of a comprehensive approach to address climate change. CCST is a nonpartisan, nonprofit organization that draws upon the greatest scientific minds in the state to provide expert and unbiased scientific advice to the state government and to recommend solutions to science and technology-related public policy issues.

Data on these programs have been gathered with the generous assistance of researchers throughout the state, who voluntarily provided information on their respective research programs. ARB maintains a separate database of state-funded research projects.

***

(As of 2018, this database is no longer online. The California Climate Change web portal has information about climate change research in California.)