Stephen Leahy at IPS: The roof of our house is on fire while the leaders of our family sit comfortably in the living room below preoccupied with "political realities" -- that was essentially the message from 1,000 scientists from around the world along with northern indigenous leaders gathered in Quebec City for the International Arctic Change conference that concluded last weekend. "Climate change and its impacts are accelerating at unexpected rates with global consequences," delegates warned in a statement.
Presenting data from hundreds of studies and research projects detailing the Arctic region's rapid meltdown and cascading ecological impacts, participants urged governments to take "immediate measures to reduce greenhouse gas emissions".
By happy coincidence, 190 governments were meeting at the same time in Poznan, Poland to do just that: reach an agreement on how much to reduce emissions from the burning of fossil fuels. Except that they decided to do nothing. They couldn't even agree to help poorer nations survive the ever-worsening climate crisis by providing funds to strengthen infrastructure, build flood defences and improve agriculture.
In chance hallway encounters in Quebec City, scientists -- strictly off the record for fear of losing funding -- said climate change is happening far faster and is having much larger impacts than they ever imagined. "Climate change will be an overwhelming global tragedy without major reductions now," said one Canadian expert.
….While governments fail to get it, atmospheric concentrations of CO2 stand at 383 parts per million (ppm) and are climbing at two to three ppm per year. Pre-industrial CO2 levels averaged 270 ppm and some climate experts are calling for the need to return to below 350 ppm to truly stabilise the planet.
June 2010 – I served as a consulting editor to a the New York City Panel on Climate Change final report, published as Climate Change Adaptation in New York City: Building a Risk Management Response through the New York Academy of Sciences. You've seen this report in the news in the aftermath of Hurricane Sandy.June 2009 – At the studios of Cleanskies TV, I was interviewed about the costs of climate change, and discussed adaptation efforts underway in the US and around the world.
May 2009 – I helped draft the scenarios for Rising Waters, a multistakeholder scenarios effort focused on climate change adaptation in the Hudson Valley. The final report is now completed and available here.
November 19, 2008 – Cut carbon emissions and still save money right away?It can be done if you know where to start, as I explain in a Climate Biz column. July 31, 2008 – Check out this wide-ranging interview about climate justice, resilience, disasters and more on Cleanskies.tv.
May 2008 – I reviewed two books on climate and energy in the New Leader magazine: James Gustave Speth's The Bridge at the Edge of the World: Capitalism, the Environment and Crossing from Crisis to Sustainability, plus Robert Bryce's Gusher of Lies: The Dangerous Delusions of Energy Independence.
January 2008 – A very local paper covers a very global issue.... The Litchfield County Times in northwestern Connectictut ran an article in January 2008 about Carbon-Based.
Now available: Climate Change Adaptation in 2011
A selection of my writings from 2011, plus some of my posts, as well as links... all focusing on the risks of climate change
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