DPI/NGO Briefing

Climate Change
In Observance of World Environment Day (5 June)
7 June 2007

Summary

The briefing this week looked at the various aspects of Climate Change, including the recently released 4th assessment report published by the Intergovernmental Panel on this subject (IPCC). The IPCC was originally initiated by the United Nations Environmental Programme (UNEP) and the World Meteorological Organization (WMO) in 1988 to enhance current understandings of “human induced climate change” along with its potential impacts, mitigation, and adaptation. Ms. Joan Eamer, Manager, Polar Programme at UNEP/GRID-Arendal in Norway (via videoconference), Mr. Alistair Fernie, Counsellor, Permanent Mission of the United Kingdom to the United Nations, Dr. Alan Robock, Professor II, Department of Environmental Sciences, Rutgers University discussed the IPCC reports along with the launch of a new UNEP publication on the polar and glacier regions---“Global Outlook for Snow and Ice” as well as the recent, unprecedented Security Council session on threats to our environment.

Ms. Joan Eamer commenced the discussion by explaining the UNEP publication Global Ice and Snow, which was the product of five months of peer reviewed work of seventy to eighty contributors, including the leading authors of the IPCC reports. She discussed the contents of the book and outlined the most prevalent issues involving snow and ice from both a regional and global perspective, including their influence on resources, biodiversity, weather patterns, and sea level fluctuations. Ms. Eamer also projected a major reduction in snow and ice, which will cause the earth to absorb more heat from the sun, increase temperatures, and affect seasonality and ecosystems around the globe. According to Ms. Eamer, that process endangered biodiversity and might have devastating effects upon specific species that inhabited cold and icy environments, such as reindeer and caribou in the artic which would experience more difficulty in accessing food through additional layers of ice. Other animals dependent upon the sea such as algae, birds, and polar bears were also in danger as sea ice was disappearing at an inexorable rate of 9 percent per decade, explained Ms. Eamer. She further underlined the adverse effects of climate change and global warming on glaciers, pointing to the Fedchenko Glacier in Tajikistan, which served as a water source for domestic and agricultural uses and had been reduced in height by 50 meters since 1980. Ms. Eamer predicted that the Artic Ocean would be “ice free” by the summer of 2100. Although current damage was irreversible, Ms. Eamer emphasized that it was crucial to adopt more sustainable lifestyles and climate conscious policies, especially emergency response plans and construction designs, in order to prevent future damage and reverse the ongoing process of environmental devastation. In conclusion, Ms. Eamer stressed the need to resolve the current myriad of uncertainties surrounding climate change through models and further research.

Dr. Alan Robock concentrated his presentation on his research published in the IPCC reports, which suggested that human behavior had directly contributed to the climate change phenomenon with 90 percent certainty. He emphasized that the IPCC reports had made great advancements in our understanding of the climate change issue. According to Dr. Robock, global temperatures were reportedly the warmest in 2005 when compared to temperature patterns documented over the past 125 years. He raised three main questions, including how climate change would impact the future, how it would affect human beings, and what we should do about it. While addressing the first two questions, Dr. Robock stated that the planet was undergoing a considerable phase of warming, which would produce winners and losers in the short term but everyone would lose in the long term. However, he identified the third question as the most difficult since it was normative and values-based. From a scientist’s perspective, Dr. Robock called for the adoption of preventative measures to inhibit and mitigate climate change. He identified carbon emissions as a major cause of global warming and weather changes, and projected major transformations in weather and precipitation patterns, stating that “a cold day in 2050 will be much warmer than a cold day now.” According to Dr. Robock, we are rapidly approaching the maximum ceiling of carbon emissions, which he calculated to be 450 ppm. He concluded by revealing the mortality rates already resulting from heat waves in Europe and emphasizing the potential of the Framework Convention on Climate Change.

Mr. Alistair Fernie offered a political perspective on climate change and began by describing it as an issue that required “pessimism of intellect and optimism of will.” He explained that the United Kingdom had always been environmentally aware and remained a major advocate of the UNFCCC, and emphasized that climate change should be addressed in every area of the UN from the Security Council to the General Assembly to the Economic and Social Council. According to Mr. Fernie, the issue of climate change was raised and debated in the Security Council during the UK presidency despite opposition from countries such as China and the United States. He described climate change as being inextricably linked to security and economic issues. Mr. Fernie explained that the UK also placed climate change as one of the two top agenda items alongside Africa during the G8 Summit in Gleneagles in 2005. He emphasized that in order to combat climate change, scientific evidence must be validated and certain as the IPCC reports demonstrated, public opinion must be informed and aware of the environmental issues, and a different set of policymakers and experts needed to be engaged instead of only Environmental ministers and specialists that had been traditionally expected to deal with the issue in the past. Mr. Fernie emphatically repeated Sir Nicholas Stern’s message that the costs of action on climate change outweighed the cost of inaction and cited his statistics that the former would cost only 1 percent of GDP, while the latter would require five to twenty percent. He also highlighted the security impact of climate change, explaining that it threatened international peace by exacerbating risk factors that have the potential of driving conflicts. In conclusion Mr. Fernie underscored the need for international cooperation over this issue and emphasized the influential role that civil society could play in prompting governments to participate in an international convention.

During the question and answer period, Mr. Fernie revealed the potential effectiveness of public-private partnerships and engaging businesses in the fight against climate change alongside government, and stated, “climate change requires both government and private sector solutions”. Dr. Robock also revealed that funding for scientific research was highly dependent upon politics and the current governments’ willingness to confront the evidence produced by such studies.

A special presentation “Cool Globes: Hot Ideas for a Cooler Planet” was delivered by Yvonne Acosta, Chief, Academic Partnerships Unit, Academic Initiative Section, Outreach Division, DPI, from 10:00 a.m. – 10:15 a.m. “Cool Globes: Hot Ideas for a Cooler Planet” is an innovative project that uses the medium of public art to inspire individuals and organizations to take action against global warming. The project is the brainchild of a mother of four, Wendy Abrams, who was concerned about the future of the planet that her children will inherit.

A video of compelling short documentaries on "green" subjects, produced by the United Nations was subsequently screened at 10:15 a.m.

Approximately 150 NGO representatives attended the meeting.

Only to be filled out by NGOs associated with DPI

Accreditation
Form 2007