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Submission to the House of Commons Standing Committee on Finance 2002 Pre-Budget Consultation Presented by the Canadian Foundation for Climate and Atmospheric Sciences The Environment is at the top of Canadians’ minds. At the recent World Summit on Sustainable Development, the Prime Minister announced Canada’s intention to put ratification of the Kyoto accord on climate change to a parliamentary vote by the end of the year. This act recognized that we are already feeling the effects of a changing climate and need to start dealing with it now. The Protocol will move us in the right direction, but slowing the juggernaut of climate change will require a higher level of scientific understanding than we currently have. More knowledge is essential to sound decisions on reducing greenhouse gases; mitigating the effects of the extreme weather events that so affect our safety and security; and making the business case for better emissions controls and ‘green’ development. The Federal Innovation Agenda recognizes the need for a resilient and informed society. Skilled climate and oceanographic scientists provide knowledge and tools on which to base sound policy for the safety and security of Canadians and their economy. The Canadian Foundation for Climate and Atmospheric Sciences is contributing to this capacity development and with your help will continue to do so. A ‘green’ agenda means making smart choices. · Air quality concerns us all: the Foundation is funding a major element of ‘Pacific 2001’, a national research program studying smog in the Fraser Valley. · Human activity has contributed to a striking increase in carbon dioxide and other greenhouse gases over the last century, and exacerbated global warming. Climate is intimately related to the global carbon cycle, but we don’t really know how. The Foundation is funding a nationwide, cross-sectoral study on carbon cycling, aimed at getting a better handle on the role of forests and peatlands in absorbing or generating carbon dioxide. · The world’s oceans buffer our climate through their huge capacity to store and transport heat. Canada borders on three oceans. Thanks to support from the Foundation, Canadians have taken a world lead in the international ‘Surface Ocean Lower Atmosphere Study’. Results from experiments off the coast of B.C. this summer have shown how global climate and ocean biogeochemistry are linked. · Weather has a major impact on economic activity. Research funded by the Foundation is feeding integrated information on conditions at the earth’s surface, from the atmosphere and the oceans, into a Canadian climate model that is improving weather prediction at home and abroad. Economic factors Climate change has accelerated the occurrence of severe weather events. This summer has seen an alarming number of events, including floods in Europe and drought on the prairies, and their devastating effects. Not only are weather, air quality and climate issues of primary importance to the health and well being of Canadians, but our national economy is dominated by weather-dependent industries. It is estimated that $150 billion in economic activity is directly or indirectly affected by weather. Indeed weather derivatives are a growing element in financial markets. Anything that affects the 85% of Canada’s exports that go to the United States will have economic repercussions, whether related to water and energy demands, smog, or the effects of new forest pests. Weather disasters cause tremendous anguish, but also impact heavily on the insurance industry. Weather damages paid by governments around the world have doubled every 5 to 7 years since the 1960s. Consider for example three of Canada’s most costly weather events, all of which have occurred since 1996: the Ice Storm, the Red River Flood and the Saquenay Flood: what will this year’s Alberta drought ultimately cost? Role of the Foundation The Canadian Foundation for Climate and Atmospheric Sciences is the only Canadian agency dedicated to advancing knowledge and training in the university community in climate modelling, weather forecasting, atmospheric chemistry, high impact weather and marine environmental prediction. Established in 2000 for a six year period, it has already invested $35 M: over half its total ($60 million) budget, to support top research networks and projects of high scientific calibre, to meet national needs and underpin public policy. It uses competitive granting principles and procedures and over 500 experts from Canada and abroad, to ensure only the best initiatives get funded. Partnerships CFCAS funding is targeted to university-based research, however, the critical mass and the facilities required to meet current and future needs far surpass the capabilities of any one group or sector. Currently 270 researchers from 22 universities conduct CFCAS-sponsored research, in partnership with collaborators in 28 public and 11 private organizations in all regions of the country, and 9 international partners. In the 11 CFCAS networks, 114 academics collaborate with 74 scientists from other sectors[1], 53 of whom have adjunct status at Canadian universities. Students also benefit from exposure to career scientists from Fisheries and Oceans, the Meteorological Service of Canada, Natural Resources Canada, National Research Council, provincial and industrial research centres: the very people they will succeed as the older scientists retire. The Foundation encourages, but does not require matching contributions. Research leaders can thus focus on the value-added activities of knowledge creation, innovation and training, rather than lobbying, negotiation or conformity to commercial or short term interests; nonetheless, the strategic investment of $17 million that the Foundation has made in 11 research networks has been more than matched by contributions of cash, equipment, researcher time, computing facilitates, ship time, research aircraft, and technical support, from outside the university sector. During 2001-2002, three CFCAS research networks attracted over $10.4 million in shared funding from the Natural Sciences and Engineering Research Council alone. Major research programs can last ten years or more. With a six-year mandate the Foundation has had to limit itself to 3-year awards and has been unable to match the 5-year commitments made by some funding partners. This could result in withdrawal of some grant instalments by the partner agencies. This situation is not consistent with the innovation environment the Federal Government wishes to foster. The Foundation is at its halfway point: the duration of grants will soon get even shorter, exacerbating the situation. We recommend extension of the CFCAS mandate to 2015. Building Canadian Expertise Governments around the world need access to a pool of experts who can develop solutions to environmental problems. Canada’s future prosperity depends heavily on the next generation of researchers, but it is facing a shortfall in several areas. The Canadian Meteorological Service, which provides weather and climate services to citizens, the aviation and transportation industries, the Coast Guard, weather networks and others, has identified staff aging and job succession as urgent concerns[2]. Private weather services also report recruitment difficulties. Over half of CFCAS grant funds go to graduate student training, or provide postdoctoral fellows with research experience. (Undergraduates are also involved in many CFCAS-sponsored research initiatives). This represents $22 million of the total $35 million in project and network awards. CFCAS indirectly supports the training of 196 graduate students and 92 postdoctoral fellows. These individuals will play a critical role in providing the non-partisan, scientific know-how that is central to sound, informed, public policy development, and that will enable Canada to make and meet international environmental commitments. Students want and need experience on modern scientific and computer tools, and exposure to the best climate scientists in the world. This is a mobile talent pool: without appropriate jobs and proper tools, Canada’s young scientists will drift to other fields or follow the job market abroad. Consistent with Canada’s Innovation Strategy, the Foundation recommends a substantial further investment to stimulate capacity development in climate and atmospheric sciences. It also recommends financial incentives to reduce debt burden and encourage retention of graduates. These could include partial conversion of student loans to grants. Research needs Canada lags other countries in coordinated weather networks and in application of climate models to risk analysis, such as drought and flood risk, or conditions related to aircraft icing, sea surges or winter highway safety. Society is increasingly urbanized, but expertise in urban meteorology has not kept up. Vital infrastructure has been allowed to erode. We already lean on the U.S. for data on weather over the Great Lakes and for some analytical facilities. Our ability to measure Arctic ozone depletion has been halved by the recent closure of the Eureka ozone monitoring station on Ellesmere Island, a decision that has perplexed our international partners. Sound scientific information will help us adapt to our changing climate, make necessary strategic decisions, understand critical issues surrounding global environmental change, the carbon cycle, greenhouse gas sources and sinks, and our own northern climate: sometimes referred to as the ‘canary’ in Canada’s global change warning system. Atmospheric and oceanic sciences are undergoing fundamental changes as a result of emerging or new technologies for the acquisition, integration and interpretation of increasingly precise and comprehensive observations. The sowing of the world’s oceans with Argo floats, which feed temperature, salinity, ocean current and other key data to monitoring stations via satellite, provides a unique opportunity to assimilate this information with data from other sources, for long-term marine forecasts. Canada can readily apply this knowledge to its needs. CFCAS requests additional funds to enable the academic community to contribute in these and other new areas. It proposes the establishment of an interdisciplinary drought research network and a network on Arctic Climate. It also proposes support for fuller participation of Canadians in international climate change programmes. Infrastructure A major problem facing atmospheric scientists is the declining capacity of government laboratories to provide infrastructure to ‘enable’ university research. University scientists depend heavily on facilities in federal laboratories and like their federal counterparts are affected by slow replacement, obsolescence and the limited investment in new tools. We recommend that the Government’s program for replacement and refurbishment of federal scientific equipment and facilities be accelerated and reinforced. Unlike federal granting councils, CFCAS is not currently permitted to fund most research equipment or infrastructure, even when essential to work in an area of national need. We applaud the establishment of the Canada Foundation for Innovation and its support to major infrastructure: but gaps remain, particularly in infrastructure below critical levels or spanning the jurisdictions of several provinces and universities. Furthermore, university researchers need support from CFCAS or other bodies to use CFI-funded facilities. We recommend that CFCAS be empowered to support essential minor equipment when not readily available from other foundations, councils or departments, and that it be provided with a budget of $10M over the next three years, to do so. CFCAS or some other appropriate agency could also be given responsibility for enhancing communication and coordination in climate sciences between scientists and policymakers. Conclusion Canada’s scientists are ready to seize new research opportunities in climate and ocean sciences. These hold the promise of major contributions to the safety and well being of Canadians, to the knowledge required for efficient economic development, to enhanced national prestige and international profile as an advanced nation. The CFCAS structure provides the flexibility, responsiveness and focus to support this objective, by enhancing university research and training in atmospheric and oceanographic sciences. Its rigorous assessment of proposals ensures scientific excellence, national importance, relevance of results, and demonstrated collaboration. Its data management policy requires that grant recipients make their data available to the scientific and professional community in a timely and open manner. The Foundation is nurturing a critical mass of Canadian skills and knowledge to meet current and ‘over the horizon’ needs. To do so in a sustained effective manner, CFCAS requires extension of its mandate beyond 2007, supplementary funding to further promote and coordinate academic contributions to Canada’s environmental needs, and flexibility to address key infrastructure needs that are not satisfied through other federal or provincial programs. Specifically, CFCAS requests extension of the its life to 2015 as well as an injection of $40M to its budget over the next three years:
6/9/02 |
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