Britain Says Climate Change Real, Cause For Prompt Action
British Prime Minister Tony Blair asserts that global warming has put us "on the edge of calamity." He was responding to a report by government economist Sir Nicholas Stern calling for immediate action. Stern estimates an investment of only 1 percent of global gross domestic product (GDP) would be required to start tackling this problem today.
One of the proposals is a international carbon-trading plan, where clean technologies would be rewarded. The European Union already has such a market. The Australian elaborates: "Sir Nicholas bbrands climate change a 'market failure' (so far property rights do not extend to the atmosphere), while still calling for market-based solutions to fix the problem." This market-talk is "refreshing," according to the op-ed.
According to Business Day, this is " the most powerful establishment study yet on climate change." And "climate change is now a political reality that must be acknowledged by officials facing calls for action from voters," insists The Australian, but cautions: "An urgent rush to solve a problem whose complicated processes science is still coming to grips with may cause more damage in the long run."
On this side of the Atlantic, response was "cool" from the White House but predictable attack-mode from a US energy spokesperson, according to the Telegraph. And The Guardian says more:
After initially expressing doubts, the Bush administration now accepts that industrial emissions are contributing to climate change, but it remains opposed to mandatory caps on greenhouse gas emissions and the sort of carbon trading scheme outlined in the Stern report.
This is not the first time that Europe has been ahead of the US on this issue: in 2005, the Association of British Insurers published Financial Risks of Climate Change:
Current scientific evidence suggests that global warming could increase the severity of tropical storms, with limited evidence that the number of major storms could change in some regions.
USA Today notes that:
In 2001, an international science panel concluded levels of so-called greenhouse gases, such as carbon dioxide produced by burning coal and gasoline, likely would raise average global temperatures about 2 to 10 degrees by 2100. Letting them rise without levying financial penalties for the environmental impact would be a colossal failure, says economist Alex Bowen, a member of the Stern team.
But don't expect to hear much about this on the campaign trail the next seven days. It's too gloomy.
The Telegraph summarizes part of the report:
There is now "overwhelming" evidence that shows "climate change is a serious and urgent issue" and has been created by man's actions. It now "threatens the basic elements of life for people around the world – access to water, food production, health and use of land and the environment".
Temperatures are expected to rise by between 2 C and 5 C — an increase on the same scale as the last Ice Age — though the increase could be as high as 10 C by 2100 if greenhouse gas emissions continue at current levels.
Globally the most visible political effort to reduce greenhouse gases is the Kyoto Protocol, which calls for industrialized nations to reduce greenhouse gas emmisions by "5.2% compared to the year 1990 (but note that, compared to the emissions levels that would be expected by 2010 without the Protocol, this target represents a 29% cut)."
The US and Australia are the only industrialized nations to shun the agreement. The US is the largest producer of greenhouse gas on the planet.
Related:
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- Kyoto Protocol
- Climate Change, Katrina and Muzzled Scientists
- Top 10 Things You Can Do to Reduce Global Warming
- Most Americans Believe Global Warming is a Threat
- Senators Seek Investigation of Bush Attempts to Silence Scientists on Global Warming
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