Enter content here Search Results for 'climate change' SEARCH GOTO FOR CLIMATE CHANGE Environmental Sustainability Index Are economic growth and environmental sustainability incompatible?
From: 2001 Environmental Sustainability Index
pp. 15-17
An Initiative of the Global Leaders for
Tomorrow Environment Task Force,
World Economic Forum January, 2001
The precise relationship between economic growth and environmental sustainability deserves more detailed attention because of the significant debate centered on the degree to which environmental and economic values are
in conflict.
The World Economic Forums
Current Competitiveness Index
report and associated materials
may be accessed at:
http://www.ciesin.columbia.edu/indicators/ESI/ 21st Session of the UNEP Governing Council UNEP Press Release received from
ENVIRONMENTAL JOURNALISTS GROUP
cpinfo@unep.org
Explorers in Antarctica Find Fresh Evidence of Global Warming
Nairobi, February 8 2001 - The important links between science, public awareness
and political action were made clear today as government ministers at the United
Nations Environment Programme's (UNEP) headquarters in Nairobi, Kenya, spoke
with yachtsman and adventurer Sir Peter Blake in Antarctica.
At anchor among icebergs and sheltering from gale-force katabatic winds, Sir
Peter reported anecdotal evidence of much reduced sea ice cover in the Antarctic
Peninsula at latitude 69 degrees 15 mins South.
"We are in an area that normally is solid ice at this time of year. Now it has
many bergs in it, but is essentially a free waterway, an almost unheard of
occurrence," Sir Peter said by satellite phone.
"The captain of a cruise ship that has been coming to the Antarctic Peninsula
every year since the mid-1970s told us he has never seen the area so free of
ice, and that the average temperature in that time has increased by about 1.4
degrees Celsius."
UNEP Executive Director Klaus Toepfer told the adventurer that the most recent
assessment of the Intergovernmental Panel of Climate Change (IPCC) showed that
global warming over the next century is likely to be between 1.4 to 5.8 degrees
Celsius.
He said that recent IPCC reports had confirmed a spectacular retreat and
collapse of ice shelves in the Antarctic Peninsula, which is related to a
southerly migration of the January zero degrees Celsius isotherm.
Projected warming is likely to break up ice shelves further south on the
Antarctic Peninsula, exposing more bare ground and triggering biological changes
in the terrestrial and marine environments.
Mr Toepfer also told Sir Peter and the crew of his expedition yacht Seamaster
that analysis of whaling records and modeling studies indicate that Antarctic
sea ice retreated south by 2.8 degrees of latitude between the mid 1950s and
early 1970s, as atmospheric carbon dioxide levels from industrial emissions
rose.
"Climate change in polar regions is expected to be among the greatest of any
region on the Earth and will cause major physical, ecological, sociological and
economic impacts," Mr Toepfer said.
David Anderson, President of the 21st session of UNEP's Governing Council taking
place in Nairobi, Kenya, and Canada's environment Minister, echoed Mr Toepfer's
remarks. "As a circumpolar country, we in Canada are acutely aware of the impact
of climate change. In Canada's north, we are seeing dramatic changes that
effect permafrost and sea ice, the latter of which has major implications for
species on which the traditional Inuit life depends, such as polar bears and
seals. This, in turn, has an impact on the traditional lifestyles of our
Northern peoples. For Canada, this underscores the urgent need to take action
on climate change. We are taking action domestically, but we need awareness and
movement on the international front as well."
Sir Peter said they had sailed through areas that would not have been
navigable in the era of early explorers like Sir Ernest Shackleton, whose
leadership of difficult geographical and scientific expeditions provides Sir
Peter with inspiration.
"Today we went to see what has happened to the King George VI ice shelf that
normally fills the channel between Alexander Island and the mainland at the base
of the Antarctic Peninsula. Indications are that it has receded dramatically,
especially over the past 8 to 10 years. We weren't able to make it to the face
of the ice shelf, because it is dropping so much old ice into the sea as it
recedes. The channel is full of it," Sir Peter said.
Sir Peter has won the Whitbread Round the World yacht race, held the record time
for circumnavigating the world non-stop under sail (in the 1994 Trophee Jules
Verne race), and headed the Team New Zealand syndicate, which won - then
successfully defended - the Americas Cup, the premier trophy in world yachting.
He now heads "blakexpeditions" and, in the 36-metre polar sea exploration yacht
Seamaster, is embarked on a five-year schedule of expeditions to areas of the
world that are key to the Earth's ecosystem. His aim is to build public
awareness of the threats facing the environment, particularly water, because of
human activity.
"Earth is a water planet on which the quality of water defines quality of life,"
Sir Peter explains. "Good water, good life. Poor water, poor life. No water, no
life."
"Our objective is to help protect the waters of the world and, so, life in, on
and around those waters."
UNEP partnered with "blakexpeditions" before the Seamaster set sail from New
Zealand last November, providing advice and its authoritative Global Environment
Outlook reports as a basis for expedition planning and educational activity.
Mr Toepfer said: "I am delighted that we have been able to play a role in such
an innovative public awareness initiative. UNEP has many responsibilities but
providing thorough scientific assessments, and transferring this knowledge the
public and to the policy makers is one of its most important. "
Joining Mr Toepfer in the conference call, held during the 21st session of
UNEP's Governing Council, were the New Zealand environment minister Marian
Hobbs, and Dutch Environment Minster Jan Pronk, who chaired the last climate
change convention meeting - COP-6 - in November in The Hague. The Conference of
Parties is due to resume later this year, having failed to reach agreement at
The Hague on how to reduce greenhouse gas emissions.
On the agenda during UNEP's 21st governing council meeting are a range of
pressing issues ranging from how to protect vulnerable populations against the
impact of climate related natural disasters, the need to strengthen
environmental laws in emerging economies, to the impact of globalisation on
native, indigenous, cultures.
UNEP's work programme and its need for better financing to help it meet the
environmental challenges of the new millennium are also taking centre stage.
From her current location Seamaster will spend further time exploring before
heading back to South America in April to prepare for an expedition tracing the
Amazon River from the Atlantic Ocean to its source in the Andes Mountains.
Further information and daily logs can be obtained from the "blakexpeditions"
web site at www.blakexpeditions.com.
The IPCC is due to finalise the second volume of it Third Assessment Report,
detailing the impacts of climate change on the regions of the world, at a
meeting in Geneva from February 13-19. The "Climate Change 2001: Impacts,
Adaptation and Vulnerability" report's Summary for Policy Makers will be posted
on the internet at www.ipcc.ch at 10am GMT on February 19.
UNEP and the World Meteorological Organisation established the IPCC in 1988. Its
role is to provide objective scientific and technical assessments that can help
policy makers and political leaders take informed decisions about climate
change.
For more information contact:
UNEP: Tore J. Brevik, UNEP Spokesman and Director of Communications and Public
Information, on Tel: 254 2 623292, tore.brevik@unep.org, Robert Bisset on Tel:
254 2 623084 or Mobile, 072 520231 Robert.Bisset@unep.org; or Tim Higham, UNEP's
Asia-Pacific Information Officer, on Tel +662 2882127, higham.unescap@un.org.
Blakexpeditions: Alan Sefton on Tel +64-9-5289735, alansefton@xtra.co.nz
Please mention UNEP in any articles published. Cuttings should be faxed to UNEP
at 254 2 623692 or cpinfo@unep.org
Documentation and press information about the 21st session of the Governing
Council can be seen on UNEP's web site at: www.unep.org/GC_21st/
UNEP News Release 01/19
Explorers in Antarctica Find Fresh Evidence of Global Warming
Nairobi, February 8 2001 -
The important links between science, public awareness
and political action were made clear today as government ministers at the United Nations Environment Programme's (UNEP) headquarters in Nairobi, Kenya, spoke with yachtsman and adventurer Sir Peter Blake in Antarctica.
At anchor among icebergs and sheltering from gale-force katabatic winds, Sir
Peter reported anecdotal evidence of much reduced sea ice cover in the Antarctic Peninsula at latitude 69 degrees 15 mins South.
"We are in an area that normally is solid ice at this time of year. Now it has
many bergs in it, but is essentially a free waterway, an almost unheard of
occurrence," Sir Peter said .
"The captain of a cruise ship that has been coming to the Antarctic Peninsula
every year since the mid-1970s told us he has never seen the area so free of
ice, and that the average temperature in that time has increased by about 1.4
degrees Celsius."
UNEP Executive Director Klaus Toepfer told the adventurer that the most recent assessment of the Intergovernmental Panel of Climate Change (IPCC) showed that global warming over the next century is likely to be between 1.4 to 5.8 degrees Celsius.
He said that recent IPCC reports had confirmed a spectacular retreat and
collapse of ice shelves in the Antarctic Peninsula, which is related to a
southerly migration of the January zero degrees Celsius isotherm.
Projected warming is likely to break up ice shelves further south on the
Antarctic Peninsula, exposing more bare ground and triggering biological changes in the terrestrial and marine environments.
Mr Toepfer also told Sir Peter and the crew of his expedition yacht Seamaster
that analysis of whaling records and modeling studies indicate that Antarctic
sea ice retreated south by 2.8 degrees of latitude between the mid 1950s and
early 1970s, as atmospheric carbon dioxide levels from industrial emissions
rose.
"Climate change in polar regions is expected to be among the greatest of any
region on the Earth and will cause major physical, ecological, sociological and
economic impacts," Mr Toepfer said.
David Anderson, President of the 21st session of UNEP's Governing Council taking place in Nairobi, Kenya, and Canada's environment Minister, echoed Mr Toepfer's remarks. "As a circumpolar country, we in Canada are acutely aware of the impact of climate change. In Canada's north, we are seeing dramatic changes that effect permafrost and sea ice, the latter of which has major implications for species on which the traditional Inuit life depends, such as polar bears and seals. This, in turn, has an impact on the traditional lifestyles of our Northern peoples. For Canada, this underscores the urgent need to take action on climate change. We are taking action domestically, but we need awareness and movement on the international front as well."
Sir Peter said they had sailed through areas that would not have been
navigable in the era of early explorers like Sir Ernest Shackleton.
"Today we went to see what has happened to the King George VI ice shelf that normally fills the channel between Alexander Island and the mainland at the base of the Antarctic Peninsula. Indications are that it has receded dramatically, especially over the past 8 to 10 years. We weren't able to make it to the face of the ice shelf, because it is dropping so much old ice into the sea as it recedes. The channel is full of it," Sir Peter said.
Sir Peter now heads "Blakexpeditions" and, in the 36-metre polar sea exploration yacht Seamaster, is embarked on a five-year schedule of expeditions to areas of the world that are key to the Earth's ecosystem. His aim is to build public awareness of the threats facing the environment, particularly water, because of human activity.
"Earth is a water planet on which the quality of water defines quality of life,"
Sir Peter explains. "Good water, good life. Poor water, poor life. No water, no
life."
"Our objective is to help protect the waters of the world and, so, life in, on
and around those waters."
UNEP partnered with "Blakexpeditions" before the Seamaster set sail from New Zealand last November, providing advice and its authoritative Global Environment Outlook reports as a basis for expedition planning and educational activity.
Joining Mr Toepfer in the conference call, held during the 21st session of
UNEP's Governing Council, were the New Zealand environment minister Marian Hobbs, and Dutch Environment Minster Jan Pronk, who chaired the last climate change convention meeting - COP-6 - in November in The Hague. The Conference of Parties is due to resume later this year, having failed to reach agreement at The Hague on how to reduce greenhouse gas emissions.
On the agenda during UNEP's 21st governing council meeting are a range of
pressing issues ranging from how to protect vulnerable populations against the impact of climate related natural disasters, the need to strengthen
environmental laws in emerging economies, to the impact of globalisation on
native, indigenous, cultures. UNEP's work programme and its need for better financing to help it meet the environmental challenges of the new millennium are also taking centre stage.
Further information and daily logs from Blakeexpeditions can be obtained by clicking the link on this page.
The IPCC is due to finalise the second volume of it Third Assessment Report,
detailing the impacts of climate change on the regions of the world, at a
meeting in Geneva from February 13-19. The "Climate Change 2001: Impacts,Adaptation and Vulnerability" report's Summary for Policy Makers will be posted on the internet at http:// www.ipcc.ch
UNEP and the World Meteorological Organisation established the IPCC in 1988. Its role is to provide objective scientific and technical assessments that can help policy makers and political leaders take informed decisions about climate change.
For more information contact:
UNEP Spokesman and Director of Communications and Public Information, tore.brevik@unep.org,
Robert.Bisset@unep.org;
or Tim Higham, UNEP's
Asia-Pacific Information Officer,
higham.unescap@un.org.
Blakexpeditions: Alan Sefton
alansefton@xtra.co.nz
Documentation and press information
about the 21st session of the Governing
Council can be seen on UNEP's web site
at: www.unep.org/GC_
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