February 4, 2005
Source: CORDIS News
A detailed timetable of the
effects that climate change is likely to have on the planet was
unveiled on 2 February by a scientist from Germany's
Potsdam Institute for
Climate Impact Research, the country's leading global
warming research institute.
At a conference in Exeter in the UK, Bill Hare outlined the
global risks of rising temperatures for species, ecosystems,
agriculture, water and socio-economic conditions. Produced
through a synthesis of recent and wide ranging academic studies,
Dr Hare's timetable shows that the impacts of climate change are
predicted to increase rapidly as the average global temperate
increases.
According to Dr Hare, the dangers to civilisations are immense
with environmental refugees moving across borders due to lack of
food and water. This is particularly true for developing
countries, he added.
At present, world temperatures are already 0.7 degrees Celsius
(C) above the pre-industrial level. Within the next 25 years, as
this temperature difference rises to 1 C, some ecosystems such
as the tropical highland forests in Queensland, Australia, will
start to suffer.
A 1 to 2 C rise would increase fires and insect pests around the
Mediterranean. In the US, rivers may become too warm for trout
and salmons, and in the Artic, thinning ice would threaten polar
bear and walrus populations.
Above a 3 C rise, expected by 2070, the effects will be
catastrophic, with more than 3.3 billion people, half the
world's population, living in countries expected to experience
severe crop losses. GDP losses in many countries will be
significant and there will be massive ecological damage,
predicts Dr Hare.
The two-day conference 'Avoiding dangerous climate change' was
called for personally by UK Prime Minister Tony Blair as part of
the UK's attempt to move the climate change issue up the agenda
during the country's presidency of the G8 and the EU. The aim of
the conference is to advance scientific understanding on the
long-term implications of climate change, the relevance of
stabilisation goals and options to reach such goals. It also
aimed to encourage research and international scientific debate
on these issues.
For further
information, please visit:
http://www.stabilisation2005.com |