Major report warns climate change could raise temperatures by 10 degrees
01/11/13
- A major draft federal report concludes that climate change is
already affecting U.S. residents through heat waves, droughts and
other changes, and warns that temperatures could increase as much as
10 degrees Fahrenheit if global carbon emissions keep soaring. The third
National Climate Assessment, released Friday, said
there’s “unambiguous evidence” that earth is warming, and that
climate change over the past 50 years is driven primarily by human
activity, especially from burning fossil fuels. It also tallies regional effects of climate change in the U.S. Environmentalists quickly seized on the report, which follows a separate federal announcement that 2012 was the hottest year on record in the lower 48 states, to call for more aggressive steps to drive down emissions. “This could help restart a national conversation about climate change,” said Todd Sanford, a scientist with the Union of Concerned Scientists. “It gives us a road map for climate change. And the road is much bumpier if we continue along a higher emissions pathway.” Carol Browner, President Obama’s former climate czar, said the U.S. has made progress in reducing emissions but more action is needed immediately. “We can start with strict carbon pollution standards for power plants and we must significantly expand investments in community resiliency to protect people and the economy from the gathering storms — and floods, droughts, wildfires, and heat waves,” said Browner, who is now a senior fellow with the liberal Center for American Progress. The report finds that U.S. temperatures will continue rising 2 degrees F to 4 degrees F in most areas in the coming decades, and calls for effort to increase resilience to changes that cannot be avoided. But it’s unclear how high temperatures will climb. The report provides a range of 3 degrees F to 5 degrees F by century's end if global emissions are reduced sharply after 2050, and up to 10 degrees F if they’re not. Average U.S. temperatures have risen roughly 1.5 degrees F since 1895, and more than 80 percent of that increase has occurred since 1980, the report concludes. The report is just the latest broad study or statement by a scientific body to conclude there’s overwhelming evidence that global warming is under way and that human activities are a major cause. For instance, the National Research Council, in a 2011 report, noted that climate change is “very likely caused primarily” by human-induced greenhouse gas emissions. However, a substantial number of Republicans dispute the
conclusion that human activities are the primary driver of climate
change. The National Research Council will review the draft, which is
also open for public comment.
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