World has only 10 years left
Pastor Dale Morgan
World has only 10 years left to act on climate*
From correspondents in London
November 22, 2006 04:32am
Article from: Reuters
THE world has less than a decade to take decisive action in the battle
to beat global warming or risk irreversible change that will tip the
planet towards catastrophe, a leading US climate scientist said today.
And the United States, the world' biggest polluter but major climate
laggard, has a vital role to play in leading that fight, James Hansen,
director of NASA's Goddard Institute for Space Studies, said on a visit
to London.
"The biggest problem is that the United States is not taking an active
leadership role - quite the reverse," he said.
"We have to be on a fundamentally different path within a decade," said
the man who earlier this year caused an outcry when he revealed that
scientific warnings on the climate crisis were being rewritten by White
House officials.
He said reliance on - and growing use of - fossil fuels like coal both
in the United States and in boom economy China had to be stopped and
reversed to avoid the planet's climate tipping into catastrophe with
floods, droughts and famines.
Scientists say that unless action is taken to stop emissions of
greenhouse gases like carbon dioxide from burning fossil fuels for power
and transport, global temperatures will rise by between two and six
degrees Celsius by the end of the century.
But the United States under President George W. Bush has argued
vehemently that such actions would cripple its economy and in 2001
turned its back on the Kyoto Protocol - the only global pact on curbing
carbon emissions.
However, a report last month by former World Bank chief economist
Nicholas Stern said that while actions now to curb carbon emissions
would cost one per cent of world economic output, delay could push the
price up to 20 per cent.
"We need to be at 25 per cent less CO2 emissions by mid-century," Mr
Hansen said. "If we begin now it can be much less painful and have
possible economic, health and developmental gains."
"We need gradual, progressive change starting now not abrupt, drastic
changes in a decade or so," he said.
Mr Hansen was in London to receive the Duke of Edinburgh Conservation
Medal, awarded annually by environmental group WWF for outstanding
services to the environment.
He said there were signs of movement in the United States, particularly
at state level, and rumours of imminent changes from the Bush
administration. But so far these were just rumours.
With Mr Bush having only two more years in office and with his
Republican Party having lost control of both US houses of parliament in
a voter rejection of the war in Iraq, there has been speculation Bush
might make some move on the environment.
"The great danger is that they will take some minimal steps that give
the appearance of doing good but in fact do very little or even some
damage because they fool people into relaxing," Mr Hansen said.
"Cosmetic acts are no solution."
"On the other hand it would be good for Bush's legacy if he did take
constructive action on the environment," he said.