What’s At Stake At Next Week’s Bangkok Climate Summit

Source: WikipediaWhat’s At Stake At Next Week’s Bangkok Climate Summit
Excerpt:
"A climate change summit is taking place March 31st-April 4 in Bangkok. Representatives of over 170 countries are meeting to get a draft accord in place for a successor to the Kyoto Protocol which expires in 2012. The deadline to reach a new protocol has been set for a December 2009 meeting in Denmark.

An interim summit held in Japan mid March convened representatives of the world’s top 20 greenhouse gas emitting countries responsible for 80% of the world’s pollution. It appeared that little progress was made. But all countries including the US agreed in Bali that they’d participate in the negotiations to the Kyoto’s successor and that promise was upheld two weeks ago. What was termed a “principle of common but differentiated responsibility” was accepted as a framework for negotiations. In other words, the new pact will bind all countries to various actions."

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California under climate microscope

See also: Steal Us, It's Free!

California under climate microscope
Excerpt:
"Experts expect changes with snow, water, drought and coastlines"
http://www.msnbc.msn.com/id/22440946/wid/18298287/

Forbes - Climate Change's $75 Billion Bill

Forbes - Climate Change's $75 Billion Bill

Excerpt:
"Natural disasters wrought by climate change have a staggering price tag, and it's growing.

Total economic losses from natural catastrophes in 2007 rose to $75 billion from $50 billion the year before as extreme weather conditions driven by climate change wreaked havoc across the world, according to Munich Re (other-otc: MURGF - news - people ), the world's second-largest reinsurer on Thursday. The economic losses include those not covered by insurance such as disruption to power supplies or transportation links."
http://www.forbes.com/markets/economy/2007/12/27/disasters-munich-re-markets-equity-cx_vr_1227markets08.html

Climatic Chain Reaction Caused Runaway Greenhouse Effect 55 Million Years Ago

Climatic Chain Reaction Caused Runaway Greenhouse Effect 55 Million Years Ago

Excerpt:
"Analogous to the Earth's current situation, greenhouse warming 55 million years ago was caused by a relatively rapid increase of CO2 concentrations in the atmosphere. This phase, known as the Paleocene-Eocene thermal maximum (PETM), was studied using sediments that accumulated 55 million years ago on the ocean floor in what is now New Jersey."
http://www.sciencedaily.com/releases/2007/12/071221222544.htm

Earth Observation in China

Chinese Academy of Science (CAS) has decided to build an observation station that will monitor the development of glacier on the North-West region of the Tibetan Plateau.

According to the People's Daily Online, Qin Xiang, a senior researcher at the CAS Institute of Cold and Arid Regions Environment and Engineering who was recently named to head the proposed station, said the west section of the Qilianshan Mountains was an ideal place to observe ecological and environmental systems of the glaciers.

China's State Bureau for Surveying and Mapping monitor glaciers on the Tibetan Plateau with GPS and reports that there are some glaciers that increase as well.

A continuous and more detailed monitoring of the glaciers on the Tibetan Plateau, which is a substantial part of the Himalayas, is important both for better understanding of climate change as well as for the management of fresh water resources for around 40 % of the planets population.

I will continue to monitor the Chinese development of Earth observation in later posts.

China - More High-Tech Than We Think

China has to consider all aspects connected to global warming. In China's official acknowledgment of the Bali roadmap they urge again the developed countries to take the major responsibility for the global development of climate change.

But do China take measures in their own country? I take a closer look at the transport sector, in particular the recent development of fast railways in mainland China.

It turns out that the Chinese knows more high-tech than we in the West like to think they do. Read more in China's high-speed development.

Sea level rise - more

The IPCC reports do not include melting of ice caps. A new study from a group of scientists from the UK, USA and Germany indicates that the sea level rise due to global warming is a lot higher than estimated by the IPCC.

An extract of these results can be found in Nature Geoscience and is discussed in the article Rising seas 'to beat predictions'.

In my opinion we need to pay more attention to what actually happens to the Earth system. Due to the concentrated populations along our coasts, understanding sea level rise is particularly important. Even the results above will not provide us with sufficient information for appropriate coastal management. Ocean monitoring is still bigger than football in my book and improving Earth observation needs to be high on our agendas.

After Bali - Tough negotiations expected

The European Union are generally positive to the outcome of the Bali negotiation, but due to the vague language of the agreement expect tough negotiations the next two years.

China will soon become the largest emitter of climate gases, some say they already passed the US as the largest emitter of CO2.

Solving the conflict of interest between the developed, developing countries and emerging economies will be the key issue before the Copenhagen meeting in 2009.

10 reasons why Al Gore needs the geoid

Al Gore visited my home country Norway this week. He received the Nobel Peace Prize together with the UN Intergovernmental Panel on Climate Change. You can read Al Gore's laureate speech here.

This week the Bali conference on climate change will end. Al Gore went from Oslo to Bali, where he now urges the parties to agree even if the USA choose not to join.

Even if Al Gore is awarded a number of prizes and is celebrated all around the world for his efforts related to climate change, there are groups of people doubting both the very existence of the problem and the facts that Al Gore present to us.

Al Gore needs all the help he can get. Sites like RealClimate and New Scientist have assisted him in defending An Inconvenient Truth against the UK High Court ruling that there are 9 errors in his presentations of the climate change problems. There is however one scientific field that can support his work even further and give him additional arguments when he negotiate on behalf of our climate.

Geodesy is the science of determining the Earth's shape, kinematics, rotation and gravity field. In particular the changes of these parameters are interesting for climate change research and mitigation measures. The geoid is one of the most important geodetic products and Al Gore will find it very useful.

Find out more about geodesy and the geoid in 10 reasons why Al Gore needs the geoid.

Gore Calls for Urgent Action in Nobel Speech - New York Times

Gore Calls for Urgent Action in Nobel Speech - New York Times

Excerpt:
"He has said it over and over again, in increasingly somber and urgent terms, to anyone who would listen. But former Vice President Al Gore used the occasion of his Nobel Peace Prize lecture here today to proclaim it to the world: climate change is a “planetary emergency,” he said — a “real, rising, imminent and universal” threat to Earth’s very survival."

http://www.nytimes.com/2007/12/11/world/11nobel.html?ref=world

In Iceland, Unintended Witnesses to Climate Change

In Iceland, Unintended Witnesses to Climate Change

Excerpt:
"Iceland is famous for its volcanoes — and its ice. About 10 percent of the land is covered in glaciers, and they stir passions. For decades, members of a society dedicated to measuring glaciers have trekked out to central Iceland to measure one in particular, called Hofsjokull."

http://www.npr.org/templates/story/story.php?storyId=16859927&ft=1&f=1025

More Big Business Calls for Climate Action

More Big Business Calls for Climate Action

Excerpt:
"Yet another round of global business executives has called for action on climate change. This time, about 150 global firms agreed that they want mandatory emissions cuts."

http://sustainablog.org/2007/12/04/more-big-business-calls-for-climate-action/

Monitoring the ocean

Monitoring the ocean is pivotal to human kind. Last week, Ministers from more than 70 countries met in Cape Town, South Africa, to discuss how we can build a global earth observing system, including ocean monitoring. This is a technical follow-up of the earlier global climate change meetings like the one taking place in Bali right now.

More than two third of our planet Earth is covered by oceans. A group called Ocean United has put together an information package explaining in more detail why the ocean is so important. You can learn more about ocean monitoring, in particular about sea level measurements in this article at Lilja - A bouquet of stories about the Earth.

A Democracy at Work: Australia Votes on Climate Change*

A Democracy at Work: Australia Votes on Climate Change*

Excerpt:
"Australia has a new government. This Saturday past, the country elected the Labor Party and its leader, Kevin Rudd, (“I am determined to make Australia part of the global climate change solution, not just part of the global climate change problem”) to serve for the next three years. One of their first priorities is to sign the Kyoto protocol on greenhouse gas emissions."

http://www.treehugger.com/files/2007/11/a_democracy_at.php

African environment ministers discuss climate change

African environment ministers discuss climate change

Energy Consumption Fueling Catastrophic Climate Change, Report Warns -

Energy Consumption Fueling Catastrophic Climate Change, Report Warns -

5 Lesser Known Industry Costs of Climate Change

5 Lesser Known Industry Costs of Climate Change

"An outsider in popular science" on climate change

"An outsider in popular science" on climate change

Reading Past Climates From Ice Cores

Reading Past Climates From Ice Cores

Paris Commits to Major Greenhouse Gas Reductions

Paris Commits to Major Greenhouse Gas Reductions

Excerpt:
"As Paris prepares to host an environmental summit of the nation's big business, trade unions, government and environmental groups, it's also joined cities across the world in pledging to act fast to curb climate disruption. The city has adopted a plan to energy use and dramatically lower the city's greenhouse gas emissions, according to Agency France-Presse: city authorities have committed to slashing energy consumption and GHG emissions of public buildings and services by 30 percent by 2020, and hope to reduce emissions from transit by around 25 percent. Equally exciting: the plan is supported by the heads of all 20 Paris districts, on both the right and the left."

http://www.worldchanging.com/archives/007373.html