‘No Regrets’ Climate Change Policy Needed

‘No Regrets’ Climate Change Policy Needed

World leaders must focus on delivering real benefits to people and the environment, not politically correct, but useless, greenhouse gas restrictions

COPENHAGEN, Dec. 16, 2009 / - The International Climate Science Coalition (ICSC) today called on world leaders to announce a common sense approach to climate change instead of yielding to popular, but misguided demands to restrict greenhouse gas (GHG) emissions to ‘stop climate change’.

“The only constant about climate is change; it changes continually, “ said Dr. Tim Patterson, ICSC Chair and Professor of Earth Sciences at Carleton University (Ottawa, Canada). "We certainly have no chance of stopping this natural phenomenon. World leaders speaking in Copenhagen on Friday must have the courage to say what is real, not just politically convenient."

”Restricting human GHG emissions will have little impact on global climate but will damage economies throughout the world, mostly hurting the poor,” explained Dr. Tim Ball, ICSC science advisor and former climatology professor at the University of Winnipeg (Canada). “Instead of wasting untold billions of dollars on reducing the beneficial gas carbon dioxide and other GHGs, we need a ‘no-regrets’ approach – reducing real pollution, conserving energy and continuing scientific research to allow us to better forecast, and so better prepare for, whatever nature throws at us next.”

IPCC Expert Reviewer (AR4), former Environment Canada Research Scientist and ICSC science advisor, Dr. Madhav Khandekar of Unionville, Canada, adds, “As their populations grow and resources dwindle, developing nations clearly need significant financial assistance to help their most vulnerable citizens successfully adapt to current and future climate change. It does no good to help them convert to low GHG emitting technologies when the climatic impact of these emissions is so small.” Like Dr. Ball, Dr. Khandekar also believes that we need “improved seasonal forecasting capabilities so as to minimize the impact of extreme weather, events that, while often severe and damaging, are not on the rise and are entirely natural.”

“U.S. climate envoy Todd Stern justifiably contests the idea that the industrialized world have a ‘climate debt’ to developing countries,” said ICSC Executive Vice-Chairman, Terry Dunleavy of New Zealand. “But his reason, namely that we did not know we were causing this change, is nonsense. The truth is, we still don’t know the degree to which GHG from human activities influence climate and until we do, no one should pay anyone anything, except in the form of well-monitored foreign aid to help our fellow human beings in need.”

The ICSC is an association of scientists, economists and energy and policy experts working to promote better public understanding of climate change. ICSC provides an analysis of climate science and policy issues which, being independent of lobby groups and vested political interests, is an alternative to advice from the IPCC. ICSC thereby fosters rational, evidence-based, open discussion about all climate, and climate-related, issues.

To review some of the many climate experts who agree with ICSC’s general approach, see the Copenhagen Climate Challenge at: http://www.copenhagenclimatechallenge.org/

ENDS

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