It's all our fault - official
Posted by DavidM in Climate change | 2 February 2007
So climate change is "very likely" to have a human cause according to the latest, biggest environmental review by the Intergovernmental Panel on Climate Change (IPCC). This is a strengthening of the language ("likely") used in a similar report in 2001 and is generally seen as a clear signal that humanity is causing global warming and needs to amend it's ways.
The IPCC sets the likely range of warming at between 1.8C and 4C, but it could be as little as 1.1C or as much as 6.4C. These upper values could leave parts of Southern Europe uninhabitable and have far-reaching effects across the globe.
However, the effects exclude the impact of the ice caps melting. Many scientists view this as the key tipping point. If the Greenland and polar caps melt, the effects could be accelerated and become irreversible and unmanagable. Given that, the impacts outlined in the report should be considered a 'likely' but certainly not worst case estimate.
This is the most authorative of a series of recent reports confirming global warming, the impact of human activity and the potential effects. It's hoped that the gravitas of this report will sway reluctant nations - most notably the US as the most polluting country in the world - to take serious action as well as those enjoying growing development such as India and China.
Encouragingly there has been a growing amount of grass roots activity in the US, from individual and community awareness to a significant number of mayors taking matters into their own hands. And even Arnie "Hummer" Schwarzenegger driving the agenda.
Everything that is done, no matter how small, is a step in the right direction and helps. But we need the US government - along with Australia - to stop stonewalling and commit to significant
emissions reductions.
And I hope the report I heard that Exxon Mobile has offered £10,000 to scientists to highlight any inconsistencies or discrepancies in the IPCC report backfires. If Exxon executives haven't noticed yet that the public mood has changed, then they are out of touch with their customers and should make way for progressive and competent managers.
