On the eve of the release of the Intergovernmental Panel on Climate Change report, The Guardian revealed that the American Enterprise Institute was offering $10,000 to scientists to publish studies critical of the panel's findings. This is curious, because as The Guardian reported AEI receives large donations from energy companies who would rather you remain skeptical about the human causes of climate change.
Much ink has already been spilled chronicling the intellectual decline of the American Enterprise Institute. Today, the Washington Post adds to the chorus with a story that includes a precious quote from a self-respecting climate change researcher who would not be paid to play with AEI.
Following the release of the IPCC report on global warming, top UN officials called for international action to reverse environmental damage.
Secretary-General Ban Ki-moon said, "Protecting the global environment is largely beyond the capacity of individual countries...This assault on the global environment risks undermining the many advances human society has made in recent decades. It is undercutting our fight against poverty. It could even come to jeopardize international peace and security."
General Assembly President Sheikha Haya Rashed Al Khalifa also noted, "We need clear objectives and strong ecological governance at the global level, a concept that continues to elude us...Without radical change, we will all ultimately find ourselves in a situation of generalized precariousness." More
As mentioned earlier on this blog, the Intergovernmental Panel on Climate Change - a body composed of hundreds of scientists from around the world - released its much awaited report on the causes and consequences of global warming.
Today's report is the group's fourth report on global warming since the United Nations established the IPCC in 1988. However, the newest report is the first assessment in which the group has stated with near full confidence (they say "90% certainty") that human activities are the main cause of global warming. From now on, when one hears the term "overwhelming scientific evidence" in a discussion about human activities and global warming, this report will be the point of reference.
Of course, the idea that humans cause global warming should be of little surprise to most people. But there are still some outfits that would like you to believe otherwise. Politically, the report is groundbreaking precisely because it should put to rest, once and for all, unhelpful debates over whether or not humans cause global warming. (Think: Galileo's scientific confirmation of Copernicus' theories about the earth and the sun.)
On the United Nations Foundation website, Richard Moss, director of the Climate Change program at the United Nations Foundation, discusses the significance of the just-released IPCC report. From 2000-2006, Moss directed the interagency US Climate Change Science Program Office, which was established to coordinate President Bush's Climate Change Research Initiative. Earlier in his career, Moss worked with the IPCC, editing and authoring several reports. He is, briefly stated, one of the country's foremost experts on climate change and public policy. You can listen to his podcast below.
Podcast:
Climate expert Richard Moss on the new UN IPCC Report
The much anticipated report of the Intergovernmental Panel on Climate Change is now available. Click here for the report's 20 page summary for policy-makers.
Secretary-General Ban Ki-moon visited the United Nations war crimes court in The Hague yesterday, calling for action by Security Council members to bring Bosnian Serb fugitives to trial.
"I know that there is a sense of frustration for not being able to complete what they are mandated to do because of non-cooperation, non-availability of those people indicted...I take this opportunity to urge again to those responsible perpetrators...to appear before the court for trial, for the interest and the benefit for themselves as well as for the benefit of international peace and security." More
Secretary-General Ban Ki-moon and Kenyan President Mwai Kibaki met in Nairobi this week; their conversation focused on the conflict in Sudan and problems involving Somali refugees.
"Mr. Ban and Mr. Kibaki also discussed the partnership between the UN and Kenya, which is home to one of the Organization's larger duty stations, during their morning meeting, UN spokesperson Michele Montas told reporters in New York." More
To draw attention to the highly anticipated report of the Inter-Governmental Panel on Climate Change, on-going in Paris, the French government announced that it will turn off the 336 projectors that illuminate the Eiffel Tower at night. The lights will be off for a full five minutes tomorrow evening in advance of the report's release on Friday.
For an excellent insiders' account of the Panel's race to finish the report by Friday's deadline, read this dispatch by AP science writer Seth Borenstein.