Slash Climate Emissions Now, Urges U.S. Government Report

Commissioned in 2007 during the Bush administration and completed this spring, the science-based report by 13 government agencies, major universities and research institutes expresses a consensus spanning two Presidential administrations and transcends political leanings or biases.

"This report stresses that climate change has immediate and local impacts – it literally affects people in their backyards," said Jane Lubchenco, administrator of the National Oceanic and Atmospheric Administration, NOAA, lead agency on the study.

A North Dakota farmstead flooded by the Red River. Oxbow, ND, March 28, 2009. (Photo by Andrea Booher courtesy FEMA)

"In keeping with our goals, the information in it is accessible and useful to everyone from city planners and national legislators to citizens who want to better understand what climate change means to them. This is an issue that clearly affects everyone," said Lubchenco.

The study finds that Americans are already being affected by climate change through extreme weather, drought and wildfire trends and details how the nation's transportation, agriculture, health, water and energy sectors will be affected in the future.

The study also finds that the current trend in the emission of greenhouse gas pollution is significantly above the worst-case scenario that this and other reports have considered.

The report confirms previous evidence that global temperature increases in recent decades have been primarily human-induced. It incorporates the latest information on rising temperatures and sea levels; increases in extreme weather events; and other climate-related phenomena.

It is the first such report in almost a decade to break out those impacts by U.S. region and economic sector, and the first to do so in such great detail.

The report urges quick action to reduce emissions of the greenhouse gas carbon dioxide, produced by burning fossil fuels to generate power and for transportation.

"Implementing sizable and sustained reductions in carbon dioxide emissions as soon as possible would significantly reduce the pace and the overall amount of climate change," the report states, "and would be more effective than reductions of the same size initiated later."

Wildfire on Mt. San Miguel above San Diego, California. October 23, 2007. (Photo by slworking2)

The report, "Global Climate Change Impacts in the United States," compiles years of scientific research and takes into account new data not available during the preparation of previous large national and global assessments.

"This new report integrates the most up-to-date scientific findings into a comprehensive picture of the ongoing as well as expected future impacts of heat-trapping pollution on the climate experienced by Americans, region by region and sector by sector," said John Holdren, director of the White House Office of Science and Technology Policy.

"It tells us why remedial action is needed sooner rather than later, as well as showing why that action must include both global emissions reductions to reduce the extent of climate change and local adaptation measures to reduce the damage from the changes that are no longer avoidable," Holdren said.

The report is not intended to direct policy makers to take any one approach over another to mitigate climate change or adapt to it. But it emphasizes that the choices we make now will determine the severity of climate change impacts in the future.

Among the main findings are:

• Heat waves will become more frequent and intense, increasing threats to human health and quality of life. Extreme heat will also affect transportation and energy systems, and crop and livestock production.


• Increased heavy downpours will lead to more flooding, waterborne diseases, negative effects on agriculture, and disruptions to energy, water, and transportation systems.


• Reduced summer runoff and increasing water demands will create greater competition for water supplies in some regions, especially in the West.


• Rising water temperatures and ocean acidification threaten coral reefs and the rich ecosystems they support. These and other climate-related impacts on coastal and marine ecosystems will have major implications for tourism and fisheries.


• Insect infestations and wildfires are already increasing and are projected to increase further in a warming climate.


• Local sea-level rise of over three feet on top of storm surges will increasingly threaten homes and other coastal infrastructure. Coastal flooding will become more frequent and severe, and coastal land will increasingly be lost to the rising seas.

At the nonprofit Natural Resources Defense Council, Director of Programs Wesley Warren said, "We're fortunate this report was released when there are leaders who are willing to take bold action needed to avoid the worst impacts of climate change. In President Obama we have a leader who is taking America in a new direction on energy, supported by leaders in Congress, business, labor and others who are increasingly aware of the opportunity presented by a clean energy economy."

"As we head toward international climate negotiations in Copenhagen later this year," Warren said, "we need to quickly move forward with strong legislation that will create jobs, protect the planet, and restore America's leadership on this issue."

Copyright Environment News Service (ENS) 2009. All rights reserved.