A Symbiosis: Carbon Monitoring and Carbon Management

Abstract:

“We measure what we value and value what we measure.” This old dictum characterizes the usefulness of carbon monitoring in serving society, both in advancing research on carbon cycles and in applying new scientific knowledge to help carbon management. Many attempts to design policy for carbon management have been limited, ineffective, or otherwise unsuccessful in part due to inadequate capacity to observe carbon sources and sinks with sufficient measurement certainty and at appropriate spatial scale. Too often, policy designers fail to understand the complexities of carbon science and carbon researchers fail to align at least a portion of their science goals with policy requirements. The carbon monitoring systems research and applications activities under the auspices of the US National Aeronautics and Space Administration have significantly advanced both science and applications. To further this necessary symbiosis, this paper will synthesize current and prospective spatial and temporal requirements for emerging policy needs, discuss likely requirements for measurement certainty, and draw lessons from experiences in policies designed to monitor and manage other natural resources for which scientific research necessarily influenced policy design and effectiveness.