U.N. climate report will shock the world

NTERVIEW-U.N. climate report will shock the world -chairman

25 Jan 2007 12:03:22 GMT

Source: Reuters

By Nita Bhalla NEW DELHI, Jan 25 (Reuters) - A forthcoming U.N. report on climate change will provide the most credible evidence yet of a human link to global warming and hopefully shock the world into taking more action, the panel's chairman said on Thursday.

"There are a lot of signs and evidence in this report which clearly establish not only the fact that climate change is taking place, but also that it really is human activity that is influencing that change," R.K. Pachauri, the IPCC chairman, told Reuters.The report by the Intergovernmental Panel on Climate Change (IPCC), due for release on Feb. 2 in Paris, draws on research by 2,500 scientists from more than 130 countries and has taken six years to compile.

"I hope this report will shock people, governments into taking more serious action as you really can't get a more authentic and a more credible piece of scientific work. So I hope this will be taken for what it's worth." The IPCC will say it is at least 90 percent sure than human activities, led by the burning of fossil fuels, are to blame for global warming over the past 50 years, sources say.

The new report is likely to foresee a rise in temperatures of 2 to 4.5 Celcius (3.6-8.1 Fahrenheit) this century, with about 3 Celcius (5.4F) most likely. FREAK WEATHER Pachauri told Reuters in an interview the findings of the report, which is the fourth of its kind, will be "far more serious and much more a matter of concern" than previous reports.There is more evidence around the world that greenhouse emissions are causing temperature increases, sea level rises, the melting of glaciers, freak weather phenomena and the problems of water availability, said Pachauri.

"For example, the Arctic is clearly melting at faster rates than other regions of the world," he said. "The figures are in the report and it is much faster than what was anticipated." "The impacts are clearly very serious for some vulnerable parts of the world. Small island states are clearly very vulnerable and parts of South Asia are vulnerable in respect of droughts and floods and also the melting of the glaciers."

Pachauri, also director of India's top environment centre, the Energy and Research Institute, said there was more awareness of climate change around the world today than ever before and applauded Europe and Japan for their efforts. He said scepticism about the linkages between human activities and climate change was dwindling as more evidence came to light. "I think the sceptics on climate change will continue, but the good news is that their numbers and their effectiveness is on the decline," Pachauri said.

"The gaps in knowledge will always be there in science but you use your judgement and that's what good policy is all about ... If you take action, the benefit is that you might actually be minimising the harmful impacts of global warming."

Evangelical, Scientific Leaders Unite

'Unprecedented:' Evangelical, scientific leaders unite to respond to climate change problems and defend 'life on earth'

Ron Brynaert
Published: Wednesday January 17, 2007

A unique partnership was introduced at a Washington news conference today, as a dozen evangelical and scientific leaders announced a new joint effort to protect the environment and defend "life on earth," according to a press release received by RAW STORY.

The coalition's leaders "shared concerns about human-caused threats to Creation -- including climate change, habitat destruction, pollution, species extinction, the spread of human infectious diseases, and other dangers to the well-being of societies."

An "Urgent Call to Action" statement signed by twenty-eight members of the coalition was sent off to President George W. Bush, House Speaker Nancy Pelosi, congressional leaders from both parties, and national evangelical and scientific organizations, urging "fundamental change in values, lifestyles, and public policies required to address these worsening problems before it is too late."

"Business as usual cannot continue yet one more day," the statement declares.

Pledging to "work together toward a responsible care for Creation and call with one voice," the group is appealing "to the religious, scientific, business, political and educational arenas to join them in this historic initiative."

"There is no such thing as a Republican or Democrat, a liberal or conservative, a religious or secular environment," Nobel laureate Dr. Eric Chivian, Director of the Center for Health and the Global Environment at Harvard Medical School, said in the statement. "We all breathe the same air and drink the same water. Scientists and evangelicals share a deep moral commitment to preserve this precious gift we have all been given."

Rev. Richard Cizik, Vice President for Governmental Affairs of the National Association of Evangelicals, added, "Great scientists are people of imagination. So are people of great faith. We dare to imagine a world in which science and religion cooperate, minimizing our differences about how Creation got started, to work together to reverse its degradation. We will not allow it to be progressively destroyed by human folly."

The coalition hopes to meet with bipartisan Congressional leaders "to inform them of this unprecedented effort and encourage their attention to environmental issues." A "Summit on the Creation" is also planned, as well as "outreach tools, such as a Creation Care Bible study guide and environmental curricula."

"Love of God, love of neighbor, and the demands of stewardship are more than enough reason for evangelical Christians to respond to the climate change problem with moral passion and concrete action," the group states.

National Public Radio has a pdf of the evangelical "Call to Action" which can be accessed at this link.

EU plans 'industrial revolution'

The European Commission has urged its members to sign up to an unprecedented common energy policy, unveiling a plan to diversify the bloc's energy sources.

The EU wants a radical shift towards renewable energy

Commission chief Jose Manuel Barroso said it was time for a "post-industrial revolution" which would see Europe slash greenhouse gases by 20% by 2020.

But political as well as environmental concerns should spur change, he noted.

EU vulnerability as an oil importer was thrown into sharp relief this week when Russia's row with Belarus hit supplies.

Binding targets

This is the first step towards a common energy policy, says the BBC's Europe editor Mark Mardell.

There are three central pillars to the proposed integrated EU energy policy.

• A true internal energy market
• Accelerating the shift to low-carbon energy
• Energy efficiency through the 20% target by 2020

EU - emissions and energy

In addition to the 20% of all EU energy that should come from renewable power by 2020, 10% of vehicle fuel should come from biofuels, said EU energy chief Andris Piebalgs.

The EU wants to make these targets to be binding for the first time, he said.

It also wants to make sure all new power stations are carbon neutral in 13 years - they should be built in such a way that carbon can be captured and buried - as well as ensuring there is a big increase in renewable power like wind and wave energy.

"We need new policies to face a new reality - policies which maintain Europe's competitiveness, protect our environment and make our energy supplies more secure," said Mr Barroso.

"Europe must lead the world into a new, or maybe one should say post-industrial revolution - the development of a low-carbon economy."

Without such investment and energy efficiency measures, the EU report predicts that EU energy imports will rise from 50% of consumption to 65% by 2030, requiring increased reliance on potentially unpredictable sources.

Internal market

Although energy has been a driving factor of the EU, which was born as the European Coal and Steel Community in 1951, policy has on the whole remained a national issue.

The EU wants to fully open up the existing energy market to enable half a billion citizens to get their electricity or gas from anywhere else in Europe.

Mr Barroso proposed stopping power generation and power supply being owned by the same company, which is very controversial in France and Germany.

"We have two points of disagreement with the commission, which are the possible eventual abolition of controlled prices and the question of separating asset ownership by integrated operators," AFP cited an official source at the French industry ministry as saying.

Meanwhile the commission's proposal to reduce emissions was lambasted by one environmental pressure group.

"If the EU is serious about tackling climate change it must make far greater cuts in its carbon dioxide emissions. The proposed 20% cut does not demonstrate any intention to stay below the two degree limit," Catherine Pearce, the group's international climate co-ordinator, said.

The package of measures will have to be approved by European governments before it can come into force.

EU leaders will debate the commission's proposals at a summit in March.