U.N. report: Urgent action needed on 'severe' climate change
U.N. report: Urgent action needed on 'severe' climate change
edition.cnn.com/2007/WORLD/europe/11/17/spain.climate/
Story Highlights:
* U.N. delivers final report on science of climate change in Valencia, Spain
* Ban Ki-moon: Some effects of rising greenhouse gas levels may be irreversible
* Panel warns of devastating impact for developing countries, species extinction
* Report's findings will be used in climate change negotiations in Bali next month
(CNN) -- Climate change is "severe and so sweeping that only urgent, global action" can head it off, a United Nations scientific panel said in a report on tackling global warming issued Saturday.
The Intergovernmental Panel on Climate Change was delivering its fourth and final report on the science of climate change and the impact of human-produced greenhouse gases at a conference in Valencia, Spain.
The report produced by the Nobel prize-winning panel warns of the devastating impact for developing countries and the threat of species extinction posed by the climate crisis. U.N. Secretary-General Ban Ki-moon, presenting the report, warned that some of the effects of rising levels of greenhouse gases may already be irreversible.
The U.N. head said the situation was already "so severe and so sweeping that only urgent, global action" could head off the crisis.
He told the panel he was hopeful that the report's findings could help bring about "a real breakthrough" in climate change negotiations in Bali, Indonesia, next month. The Bali talks will set the groundwork for the successor to the Kyoto treaty, which expires in 2012.
They will also guide global climate policy for at least the next decade, and dictate the types of long-term investment decisions made by big industries and utilities.
Written by more than 2,500 top government-appointed scientists, Saturday's report contains a summary for policymakers attending the Bali talks, outlining the scientific evidence for global warming and ways to deal with it.
However, panel member Achim Steiner, Executive Director of United Nations Environment Program, said the report was also meant to serve as a "civilian's guide" to dealing with climate change. He said he hoped individuals could use the information contained in the report to take practical steps to curbing gas emissions. The reports warns that in spite of the protocols adopted by many Western countries after Kyoto, greenhouse gas emissions will continue to rise by between 25 and 90 per cent by 2030.
The report also predicts a rise in global warming of around 0.2 degrees Celsius per decade. The U.N. panel -- the recent recipient of the Nobel Peace Prize with former U.S. Vice President Al Gore -- was asked if goals of reducing emissions could be achieved without the contribution of China and especially the United States, which was one of only a few countries that did not sign up to the Kyoto treaty. Ban Ki-moon said he had "high expectations" that both countries would play a "constructive role" at the upcoming talks. "Both countries I think can and should lead each in its own way," he said. Scientists say up to an 85 percent cut in carbon dioxide emissions is needed to head off potential catastrophic changes that could lead to more floods and famine.
However, the disagreement over how the cuts should be managed may well stall the Bali talks. Some countries are thought to be in favor of mandatory caps on emissions, which could hit the industrial output of major carbon dioxide producers such as the United States. Mandatory caps are also unlikely to be supported by developing countries, who fear they could be a barrier to growth. Opponents of the caps -- thought to include the Bush administration -- favor voluntary restrictions and suggest postponing mandatory caps until the richer world is better able to pay for it, and cleaner energy technologies are more developed. Writing in the International Herald Tribune on Friday, the U.N. head said the world was "on the verge of a catastrophe if we do not act."
However, he insisted that he remained optimistic that international cooperation could still help reverse the damage caused by unchecked temperature rises. "The overarching message: We can beat this. There are real and affordable ways to deal with climate change," he said in the column.
Also read:
- "U.N. Chief Seeks More Climate Change Leadership" from NY Times
The panel’s report is the first to acknowledge that the melting of the Greenland ice sheet, above, from higher temperatures could result in a big sea-level rise over centuries rather than millennia.
VALENCIA, Spain, Nov. 17 — Secretary General Ban Ki-moon, describing climate change as “the defining challenge of our age,” released the final report of a United Nations panel on climate change here on Saturday and called on the United States and China to play “a more constructive role.”....
- "Emissions Growth Must End in 7 Years, U.N. Warns"
Report Lays Out Stark Choices to Avoid the Deaths of Species
- Special report - A 2-part CNN Worldwide Investigation by Anderson Cooper, Animal Planet's Jeff Corwin and Dr. Sanjay Gupta (really worth seeing!!): "Planet in Peril"
edition.cnn.com/SPECIALS/2007/planet.in.peril/index.html
- "Map shows top CO2 producers in the world"
......Australians produce 11 tons of CO2 for each of its people from their power plants -- the highest anywhere -- compared to 9 tons per person in the United States and 2 tons per person in China. But the United States has the most CO2 emissions (2.79 billion tons), followed by China (2.66 billion tons). China, which soon is expected to pass the United States, is home to three of the world's five most CO2-polluting utilities.....
edition.cnn.com/2007/TECH/science/11/15/carbon.map.ap/index.html
- "U.N. chief sees Antarctic meltdown"
edition.cnn.com/2007/TECH/science/11/10/bankimoon.antarctic.ap/index.html?iref=newssearch
- (Reuters) - The U.N. climate panel agreed a guide for policymakers on Friday about the rising risks of climate change and a need for quick action to axe greenhouse gas emissions.
www.reuters.com/article/topNews/idUSGOR68185720071117
- Nov. 17 (Bloomberg) -- Climate change may continue for centuries, and governments will have to spend billions of dollars annually to slow warming and adapt to its effects, a United Nations panel said.
http://www.bloomberg.com/apps/news?pid=20601085
edition.cnn.com/2007/WORLD/europe/11/17/spain.climate/
Story Highlights:
* U.N. delivers final report on science of climate change in Valencia, Spain
* Ban Ki-moon: Some effects of rising greenhouse gas levels may be irreversible
* Panel warns of devastating impact for developing countries, species extinction
* Report's findings will be used in climate change negotiations in Bali next month
(CNN) -- Climate change is "severe and so sweeping that only urgent, global action" can head it off, a United Nations scientific panel said in a report on tackling global warming issued Saturday.
The Intergovernmental Panel on Climate Change was delivering its fourth and final report on the science of climate change and the impact of human-produced greenhouse gases at a conference in Valencia, Spain.
The report produced by the Nobel prize-winning panel warns of the devastating impact for developing countries and the threat of species extinction posed by the climate crisis. U.N. Secretary-General Ban Ki-moon, presenting the report, warned that some of the effects of rising levels of greenhouse gases may already be irreversible.
The U.N. head said the situation was already "so severe and so sweeping that only urgent, global action" could head off the crisis.
He told the panel he was hopeful that the report's findings could help bring about "a real breakthrough" in climate change negotiations in Bali, Indonesia, next month. The Bali talks will set the groundwork for the successor to the Kyoto treaty, which expires in 2012.
They will also guide global climate policy for at least the next decade, and dictate the types of long-term investment decisions made by big industries and utilities.
Written by more than 2,500 top government-appointed scientists, Saturday's report contains a summary for policymakers attending the Bali talks, outlining the scientific evidence for global warming and ways to deal with it.
However, panel member Achim Steiner, Executive Director of United Nations Environment Program, said the report was also meant to serve as a "civilian's guide" to dealing with climate change. He said he hoped individuals could use the information contained in the report to take practical steps to curbing gas emissions. The reports warns that in spite of the protocols adopted by many Western countries after Kyoto, greenhouse gas emissions will continue to rise by between 25 and 90 per cent by 2030.
The report also predicts a rise in global warming of around 0.2 degrees Celsius per decade. The U.N. panel -- the recent recipient of the Nobel Peace Prize with former U.S. Vice President Al Gore -- was asked if goals of reducing emissions could be achieved without the contribution of China and especially the United States, which was one of only a few countries that did not sign up to the Kyoto treaty. Ban Ki-moon said he had "high expectations" that both countries would play a "constructive role" at the upcoming talks. "Both countries I think can and should lead each in its own way," he said. Scientists say up to an 85 percent cut in carbon dioxide emissions is needed to head off potential catastrophic changes that could lead to more floods and famine.
However, the disagreement over how the cuts should be managed may well stall the Bali talks. Some countries are thought to be in favor of mandatory caps on emissions, which could hit the industrial output of major carbon dioxide producers such as the United States. Mandatory caps are also unlikely to be supported by developing countries, who fear they could be a barrier to growth. Opponents of the caps -- thought to include the Bush administration -- favor voluntary restrictions and suggest postponing mandatory caps until the richer world is better able to pay for it, and cleaner energy technologies are more developed. Writing in the International Herald Tribune on Friday, the U.N. head said the world was "on the verge of a catastrophe if we do not act."
However, he insisted that he remained optimistic that international cooperation could still help reverse the damage caused by unchecked temperature rises. "The overarching message: We can beat this. There are real and affordable ways to deal with climate change," he said in the column.
Also read:
- "U.N. Chief Seeks More Climate Change Leadership" from NY Times
The panel’s report is the first to acknowledge that the melting of the Greenland ice sheet, above, from higher temperatures could result in a big sea-level rise over centuries rather than millennia.
VALENCIA, Spain, Nov. 17 — Secretary General Ban Ki-moon, describing climate change as “the defining challenge of our age,” released the final report of a United Nations panel on climate change here on Saturday and called on the United States and China to play “a more constructive role.”....
- "Emissions Growth Must End in 7 Years, U.N. Warns"
Report Lays Out Stark Choices to Avoid the Deaths of Species
By Doug Struck Washington Post Staff Writer Sunday, November 18, 2007; Page A10
The world will have to end its growth of carbon emissions within seven years and become mostly free of carbon-emitting technologies in about four decades to avoid killing as many as a quarter of the planet's species from global warming, according to top United Nations' scientists.
The stark choices laid out yesterday by the agency's Intergovernmental Panel on Climate Change (IPCC) describe the daunting task if the world is to avoid the consequences of a planet heated up by more than 3.6 degrees Fahrenheit (2 degrees Celsius) since 2000.
- Special report - A 2-part CNN Worldwide Investigation by Anderson Cooper, Animal Planet's Jeff Corwin and Dr. Sanjay Gupta (really worth seeing!!): "Planet in Peril"
edition.cnn.com/SPECIALS/2007/planet.in.peril/index.html
- "Map shows top CO2 producers in the world"
......Australians produce 11 tons of CO2 for each of its people from their power plants -- the highest anywhere -- compared to 9 tons per person in the United States and 2 tons per person in China. But the United States has the most CO2 emissions (2.79 billion tons), followed by China (2.66 billion tons). China, which soon is expected to pass the United States, is home to three of the world's five most CO2-polluting utilities.....
edition.cnn.com/2007/TECH/science/11/15/carbon.map.ap/index.html
- "U.N. chief sees Antarctic meltdown"
edition.cnn.com/2007/TECH/science/11/10/bankimoon.antarctic.ap/index.html?iref=newssearch
- (Reuters) - The U.N. climate panel agreed a guide for policymakers on Friday about the rising risks of climate change and a need for quick action to axe greenhouse gas emissions.
www.reuters.com/article/topNews/idUSGOR68185720071117
- Nov. 17 (Bloomberg) -- Climate change may continue for centuries, and governments will have to spend billions of dollars annually to slow warming and adapt to its effects, a United Nations panel said.
Warming is ``unequivocal,'' and is causing Arctic ice to melt, rain to decline in parts of Africa and the Mediterranean, and sea levels to rise, the Intergovernmental Panel on Climate Change (IPCC) said today in its fourth report of the year. Clean technologies are available to cut emissions of greenhouse gases and more political action is needed to achieve this, it said....
http://www.bloomberg.com/apps/news?pid=20601085
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