UN talks agree guidelines to improve climate data flow
Experts at 150-nation climate talks agreed guidelines on Wednesday to improve a flow of information to help the world cope with heatwaves, sandstorms or rising sea levels likely to be caused by global warming, writes Reuters.
In the 21st century the peoples of the world will be facing multi-faceted challenges of climate variability and climate change, according to a one-page draft summary of three-day talks among 1,500 experts at a World Climate Conference.
The experts, including leading scientists, urged better monitoring of the climate, free and open exchange of data, more research, speedier information for everyone from farmers to governments, and other measures such as more education.
The draft document was due to be endorsed by governments on Thursday as part of a plan to bolster climate services. The Geneva agreement could help implement a separate U.N. climate treaty due to be agreed in Copenhagen in December.
"We're on track," Jane Lubchenco, U.S. Under Secretary of Commerce for Oceans and Atmosphere and head of the U.S. delegation, told Reuters of the Geneva meeting and its goals.
The talks are aimed mainly at helping developing nations adapt to climate change that will affect all parts of society from farming to energy supplies and from health to transport. It would help rich nations too, she said.
"If you are going to invest in wind energy you would want to know where the winds are going to be good in the next 100 years, not the past 100 years," she said.
Martin Visbeck, the chair of the committee of experts in Geneva, said that improved climate information was already paying off. The Red Cross, for instance, appealed for money last year to help southern Africa cope with severe flooding, based on forecasts that heavy rains were coming.
He said it was the first time the Red Cross had appealed for cash before a disaster struck. Despite resistance from some donors, he said the plan paid off. The number of deaths fell to 80 from about 2,000 in past similar floods.
Reuters' full article
Related article:
01 September 2009
UN talks seek to boost global access to climat data
OPTIONS AND HELP
Email to a friend
To email this article to a friend, click:
http://www.energy-enviro.fi/index.php?PAGE=58&ARTICLE_ID=2781&emailSubscribe
To subscribe to our mailing list, visit:
http://www.energy-enviro.fi/index.php?PAGE=59&subscribeUnsubscribe
To unsubscribe mailing list, click:
http://www.energy-enviro.fi/index.php?PAGE=60&unsubscribe
