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Subject: did you even READ the article? | |
Author: sci guy |
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Date Posted: 17:29:27 05/06/07 Sun In reply to: Duncan7 's message, "Re: hmm Kyoto isn't going to kill the economy." on 14:05:50 05/06/07 Sun No... I guess you didn't... >That's because we're not doing it. > >> >>href="http://news.sympatico.msn.cbc.ca/ScienceandTech/ >C >>ontentPosting.aspx?feedname=CBC-TECH-SCIENCE&newsitemi >d >>=climate-report&showbyline=True">http://news.sympatico >. >>msn.cbc.ca/ScienceandTech/ContentPosting.aspx?feedname >= >>CBC-TECH-SCIENCE&newsitemid=climate-report&showbyline= >T >>rue >> >>Fighting global warming won't ruin economy, climate >>panel says >>04/05/2007 10:56:07 AM >> >>------------------------------------------------------ >- >>------------------------- >> >> >>A UN-led climate change report released Friday says >>keeping greenhouse gas emissions near current levels >>would cost only a tiny fraction of world economic >>output, but that more drastic reductions are needed by >>2050 in order to keep global warming in check. >> >> >> >>A Skytrain moves along elevated tracks Friday in >>Bangkok, Thailand, where delegates to a conference >>hailed a policy statement as a key advance toward >>battling global warming. >>(Sakchai Lalit/Associated Press) >> >>The summary of the Intergovernmental Panel on Climate >>Change's third report this year said keeping >>greenhouse gas emissions between 445 and 710 parts per >>million by 2030 would cost three per cent of global >>GDP - or 0.12 per cent annually - or less. >> >>Greenhouse gas concentrations are now at about 430 >>ppm, but the report warns that, if current trends >>continue, emissions are expected to rise between 45 >>and 110 per cent by 2030. >> >>Two earlier reports this year said the continued rise >>in greenhouse gas emissions could be disastrous for >>the planet's health, saying that rising temperatures >>and sea levels could lead to extinction of species, >>coastal flooding and water shortages in arid regions. >> >>"If we continue doing what we are doing now, we are in >>deep trouble," cautioned Ogunlade Davidson, the chair >>of one of the working groups at the weeklong >>conference in Bangkok, Thailand, where the report was >>unveiled. >> >>The report suggests a number of strategies for >>reducing emissions, including: >> >>- Improving energy efficiency in buildings. >> >>- Switching from coal to sources of renewable energy >>like solar power. >> >>- Increasing fuel efficiency in vehicles. >> >>- Improving crop and land management. >> >>- Introducing economic measures, such as energy >>incentives or carbon trading initiatives. >> >>University of Toronto climate change expert Danny >>Harvey, one of the lead authors of the report the >>summary was based on, said the findings are a wake-up >>call for those who think climate change policies are >>economically unachievable. >> >>"There are a lot of people who say that if you start >>reducing emissions you'll ruin the economy," Harvey >>told CBC News Online. "But these are just scare >>tactics." >> >>But to keep global temperatures from rising more than >>two degrees Celsius above pre-industrial levels, >>emissions would have to stabilize by 2015 and be >>reduced by between 50 to 85 per cent by 2050, the >>report said. >> >>Must reduce fossil fuel dependence >> >>Achieving these drastic reductions may be difficult to >>manage given our current reliance on fossil fuels, >>said Bob Evans, the director of the University of >>British Columbia's Clean Energy Research Centre. >> >>"Worldwide we depend on fossil fuels for 80 per cent >>of our total energy consumption so it will take a long >>time to completely eliminate our use of fossil fuels," >>he told CBC News. >> >>But while the task seems daunting, Evans said the only >>way to deal with the problem is quickly. >> >>"We need to start working on things now to get to as >>good a position as possible by mid-century, I think," >>he said. >> >>Contributors to the report were pleasantly surprised >>by how much of it stayed in Friday's document after >>delegates from over 120 countries spent a week of >>wrangling over the wording. >> >>Almost no changes were made, said John Drexhage, the >>director of the International Institute for >>Sustainable Development's climate change and energy >>program, and one of the lead authors of the report. >> >>"It unexpectedly went the way I expected," Drexhage >>told CBC News Online. >> >>Drexhage said now that the scientists have spoken it's >>time for the politicians to establish the regulatory >>framework needed to make these goals achievable. >> >>The report is the third of four to be produced by the >>Intergovernmental Panel on Climate Change this year. >>The first report laid down the scientific foundations >>for the next three, stating that global warming was >>"unequivocal" and very likely caused by man-made >>greenhouse gases produced from the burning of fossil >>fuels. >> >>The second report - which so far has only come out as >>a summary for policy-makers - looked at the >>consequences of global warming, predicting widespread >>extinction of species and water shortages in the >>developing world if temperatures were to rise by even >>two degrees. >> >>A fourth report, summarizing the finding of the >>previous three, is expected in the fall. >> >>With files from the Associated Press [ Next Thread | Previous Thread | Next Message | Previous Message ] |