Evidence: The State of the Climate

The report, from the UK Met Office's Hadley Centre, shows that the evidence of global warming has continued to grow in the three years since the last IPCC report - and during 2010 in particular.

The National Fish Wildlife Plant Climate Adaptation Strategy was released for public review and comment

The National Fish Wildlife Plant Climate Adaptation Strategy was released for public review and comment. In an unprecedented collaborative effort, federal, state, and tribal partners with input from many other diverse groups from across the nation are working together to develop a common strategy to respond to these challenges. The National Fish, Wildlife, and Plants Climate Adaptation Strategy will provide a unified approach - reflecting shared principles and science-based practices - for reducing the negative impacts of climate change on fish, wildlife, plants, and the natural systems upon which they depend.

See http://www.wildlifeadaptationstrategy.gov/public-review-draft.php to contribute your comments before March 5, 2012.

P. C. Tzedakis, J. E. T. Channell, D. A. Hodell, H. F. Kleiven, and L. C. Skinner, 2012: Determining the natural length of the current interglacial. Nature Geoscience, doi:10.1038/ngeo1358.

No glacial inception is projected to occur at the currentatmospheric CO₂ concentrations of 390 ppmv. Indeed, model experiments suggest that in the current orbital configuration—which is characterized by a weak minimum in summer insolation—glacial inception would require CO₂ concentrations below preindustrial levels of 280 ppmv. However, the precise CO₂ threshold as well as the timing of the hypothetical next glaciation remain unclear. Past interglacials can be used to draw analogies with the present, provided their duration is known. Here we propose that the minimum age of a glacial inception is constrained by the onset of bipolar-seesaw climate variability, which requires ice-sheets large enough to produce iceberg discharges that disrupt the ocean circulation. We identify the bipolar seesaw in ice-core and North Atlantic marine records by the appearance of a distinct phasing of interhemispheric climate and hydrographic changes and ice-rafted debris. The glacial inception during Marine Isotope sub-Stage 19c, a close analogue for the present interglacial, occurred near the summer insolation minimum, suggesting that the interglacial was not prolonged by subdued radiative forcing. Assuming that ice growth mainly responds to insolation and CO₂ forcing, this analogy suggests that the end of the current interglacial would occur within the next 1500 years, if atmospheric CO₂ concentrations did not exceed 240±5 ppmv.

Read More

Schuur, E.A.G., et al., 2011: High risk of permafrost thaw. Nature, 480,32-33 | Dec 20

Arctic temperatures are rising fast, and permafrost is thawing. Carbon released into the atmosphere from permafrost soils will accelerate climate change, but the magnitude of this effect remains highly uncertain. Our collective estimate is that carbon will be released more quickly than models suggest, and at levels that are cause for serious concern.

We calculate that permafrost thaw will release the same order of magnitude of carbon as deforestation if current rates of deforestation continue. But because these emissions include significant quantities of methane, the overall effect on climate could be 2.5 times larger.

Read article in its entirety...

Sea Level Changes in the Southeastern United States

Mitchum G. T., 2011: Sea Level Changes in the Southeastern United States: Past, Present and Future

The report analyzes and describes physics of sea level rise variations and its past occurrence and predictions for the Southeastern United States. The author Dr Mitchum is an expert in sea level physics and was commissioned by the FCI and SECC.

Source: FCI, SECC; Author: Mitchum, G.T.

Some Tropical Fish Proof to Cope With Raising Temperatures | Dec 5

Australian scientists have discovered that some tropical fish have a greater capacity to cope with rising sea temperatures than previously thought – by adjusting over several generations.
The discovery, by researchers at the ARC Centre of Excellence for Coral Reef Studies, James Cook University and CSIRO sheds a ray of hope amid the rising concern over the future of coral reefs and their fish under the levels of global warming expected to occur by the end of the 21st century. ... more

Source: ARC, James Cook University, CSIRO

Florida Climate Change Study Released | Dec 2

Climate change and global warming have now become household phrases, with many people fearing the worst. But scientists from five different institutions from around Florida, including Florida State, just released a study "Climate Scenarios: A Florida-Centric View, A White Paper on Climate Scenarios for Florida" that turns a global topic, into a local one. Vasu Misra, FSU Meteorologist says, "Every so often, La Nina or El Nino affect you probably in the same way that climate change will probably affect you 80 years down the lane." Because of La Nina, North Florida is in the middle of an extreme drought, seeing rainfall more than 25 inches below average since the start of the year.  ... more. Download the study here.

Source: WCTV, SUS

New Report: Florida Water Management and Adaptation in the Face of Climate Change | Nov 30

Florida Water Management and Adaptation in the Face of Climate Change, A White Paper on Climate Change and Florida's Water Resources, prepared for and on behalf of the State University Systems (SUS) - Florida Climate Change Taskforce.
Sea level rise and precipitation changes, together with low lying coastal topography continue to present complex future water management challenges. Higher ground water levels, salinization without flooding and compromised canal systems create challenges and problems for water managers and for coastal urban systems. The paper reviews the current state of the art on these topics, identifies significant knowledge gaps, and outlines research and action priorities for coastal countries, water managers, utilities, and other agencies.  ... download the report here.

Source: SUS

NASA's Grace Helps Monitor U.S. Drought | Nov 30

The record-breaking drought in Texas that has fueled wildfires, decimated crops and forced cattle sales has also reduced groundwater levels in much of the state to the lowest levels in more than 60 years, according to new national maps produced by NASA using data from the NASA/German Aerospace Center Gravity Recovery and Climate Experiment (Grace) mission. The map are distributed by the National Drought Mitigation Center at the University of Nebraska-Lincoln.
The latest groundwater map, released on Nov. 29, shows large patches of maroon over eastern Texas, indicating severely depressed groundwater levels. The maps, publicly available on the Drought Center's website at http://go.unl.edu/mqk , are generated weekly by NASA's Goddard Space Flight Center in Greenbelt, Md., using Grace gravity field data calculated at NASA's Jet Propulsion Laboratory, Pasadena, Calif., and the University of Texas Center for Space Research, Austin. ... more

Source: NASA

Follow the Durban Climate Change Conference | Nov 28

With intensifying climate disasters and global economic turmoil as the backdrop, delegates from 194 nations will gather in Durban, South Africa, starting Monday Nov 28 to try to advance, if only incrementally, the world's response to dangerous climate change. The Conference is scheduled to conclude Dec 6.

Negotiators postponed until Durban the politically freighted question of whether to extend the frayed Kyoto Protocol, the 1997 agreement that requires most wealthy nations to trim their emissions while providing help to developing countries to pursue a cleaner energy path. Also still on the agenda are the structure of, and the sources of financing for, a climate adaptation and technology fund that is supposed to reach $100 billion a year by 2020.

One of the issues that is most contentious and least likely to be resolved involves the future of the Kyoto Protocol, which requires the major industrialized nations to meet targets on emissions reduction but imposes no mandates on developing countries, including emerging economic powers and sources of global greenhouse gas emissions like China, India, Brazil and South Africa. The United States is not a party to the protocol, having refused to even consider ratifying it because of those asymmetrical obligations. Some major countries, including Canada, Japan and Russia, have said they will not agree to an extension of the protocol next year unless the unbalanced requirements of developing and developed countries are changed. That is similar to the United States' position, which is that any successor treaty must apply equally to all major economies.

Follow the conference live web casts, agenda, reports and press here

Source: The New Your Times, UNFCCC

New Book: Who Speaks for the Climate? Making Sense of Media Reporting on Climate Change | Nov 28

Making Sense of Media Reporting on Climate Change. More media coverage of climate change — even supremely fair and accurate portrayals – is not a panacea for driving public engagement and action on the issues, writes Maxwell Boykoff. “In fact, increased media attention to the issue often unearths more questions to be answered.” Those interested in climate change and the role of the media in public opinion and (mis)understanding will find a trove of such insights in Boykoff's Who Speaks for the Climate? It's a story entwined at least as much in the underlying worldwide revolution enveloping the mass media as in the swirling controversies shrouding growing scientific concerns over our steadily warming planet... (Nature Climate Change).  ...more.  To order in US here.

Author: Maxwell T. Boykoff, University of Colorado, CAMBRIDGE UNIV. PRESS: 2011. 240 pp

Climate Sensitivity to CO2 more Limited than Extreme Projections | Nov 24

A new study suggests that the rate of global warming from doubling of atmospheric carbon dioxide may be less than the most dire estimates of some previous studies – and, in fact, may be less severe than projected by the Intergovernmental Panel on Climate Change report in 2007. Authors of the study, which was funded by the National Science Foundation and published online this week in the journal Science, say that global warming is real and that increases in atmospheric CO2 will have multiple serious impacts. However, the most Draconian projections of temperature increases from the doubling of CO2 are unlikely. ... more

Source: Oregon State University; Author: A Smittner

COP17: Over 300 Busienss Leaders Call For Urgent Action in Climate Change | Nov 23

LONDON: More than 325 business leaders' signatures have been collected in The Climate Group supported 2°C Challenge Communiqué, which calls for national governments to break the current deadlock in international climate negotiations and drive the global Clean Revolution forward.
The 327 signatories represent business leaders from 37 countries, covering a wide variety of sectors including energy, finance and manufacturing, and who make up the Corporate Leaders Network for Climate Action.
Members of The Climate Group, Alstom, BT, Cisco, CLP Holdings, Coca-Cola, HP, Philips, Standard Chartered, Swire Pacific and Swiss Re endorse the 2˚C Challenge Communiqué, which demands a ‘robust, equitable and effective agreement’ on climate change at next week’s COP17 in Durban. .. more

Source: The Climate Group

New McKinsey Report: Resource Revolution: Meeting the World's Energy, Materials, Food, and Water Needs | Nov 22

A complete rethink of resource management--a resource revolution--will be needed to keep pace with soaring demand for energy, water, food, and basic materials as up to three billion new consumers are added to the middle classes over the next 20 years, according to new research by the McKinsey Global Institute (MGI), McKinsey & Company's business and economics research arm, and McKinsey's Sustainability & Resource Productivity (SRP) Practice.

The report examines how the world's growing demand for natural resources can be met. It also looks at how policy makers and companies need to change their approach to resource management to avoid the risk that we enter a period of resource price spikes. By increasing supply and driving productivity, the world's immediate resource needs can be met. But more targeted action is needed to reach climate change and energy-access objectives.
Read the executive summary or download the full report at www.mckinsey.com/mgi and www.mckinsey.com/en/Client_Service/Sustainability.aspx

Source: McKinsey

Pre-Durban Negotiations: US Plans To Participate In Green Climate Fund | Nov 22

The U.S. plans to be part of a proposed Green Climate Fund which will be discussed at the upcoming United Nations sponsored talks in Durban next week, the U.S. special envoy for climate change said Tuesday. However, the U.S. said it has some concerns about how the fund is currently envisioned, which it will address in the talks held later this month. ...more
Source; DowJones Newswire

WMO Bulletin: Greenhouse Gas Concentrations Continue Climbing | Nov 21

Greenhouse gases in the atmosphere reached record levels in 2010, according to the United Nations' climate agency. The World Meteorological Organisation (WMO) also warned that levels of the gases that warm the planet were rising more quickly than in the past.
In a new report the WMO said carbon dioxide, the main greenhouse gas, had increased by 39 per cent since the beginning of the industrial era in 1750 to a new high of 389 parts per million (ppm) last year, largely due to burning fossil fuels, changes in land use and deforestation. ... more

Source: WMO

Yale Report: Public Support for Climate & Energy Policies in November 2011 | Nov 21

Public Support for Climate & Energy Policies in November 2011 reports results from a national survey fielded from October 20 to November 16, 2011 with 1,000 adults, using the online research panel of Knowledge Networks. The report includes measures of public support for national and local climate change and energy policies, desire for action by corporate and government leaders, and how these have changed since June 2010, January 2010, and November 2008. ... more

Source: Yale University, Yale Project on Climate Change Communication

New Projection Shows Global Food Demand Doubling by 2050 Increasing Environmental Pressure| Nov 21

Agriculture's greenhouse gas emissions could double by 2050 if current trends in global food production continue. This would be a major problem, since global agriculture already accounts for a third of all greenhouse gas emissions. ... more

Source: University of Minnesota, NSF 

Insurers Expect Rising Costs From Extreme Weather, Climate Change | Nov 20

"The insurance sector is heavily exposed to climate change due to severe losses from extreme-weather events," Mark Way, a senior vice president at reinsurance firm Swiss Re AG (SREN.VX) said during a conference call with reporters. ... more

Source: Reuters

Congress Kills Request for National Climate Service | Nov 20

The National Oceanic and Atmospheric Administration wanted to reshuffle its offices to establish a National Climate Service akin to the agency’s National Weather Service. It asked for no new funding to do so. But in a political climate where talk of the earthly kind of climate can be radioactive, the answer in last week’s budget deal was “no.” Congress barred NOAA from launching what the agency bills as a “one-stop shop” for climate information.... more

Source: Washington Post

Climate Change Begins to Affect South Florida | Nov 19

The debate over global warming tends to focus on future perils — scary maps of flooded suburbs, the northward creep of tropical diseases, rich farmland turning into desert. But some of the effects of global warming have already arrived in South Florida, as coastal cities flood more frequently and overheated corals turn white and die. The region's temperatures have not gone up, however, and many scientists say climate change has had little effect on hurricanes. ... more

Source: SunSentinel

IPCC: Released Report on Managing Risks of Extreme Events and Disaster in Advance Climate Change Adaptation | Nov 18

The Summary for Policymakers of the Special Report on Managing the Risks of Extreme Events and Disasters to Advance Climate Change Adaptation (SREX) was approved today by member governments of the Intergovernmental Panel on Climate Change (IPCC), which is co-sponsored by WMO.
Rajendra Pachauri, Chair of the IPCC, said: "This summary for policymakers provides insights into how disaster risk management and adaptation may assist vulnerable communities to better cope with a changing climate in a world of inequalities".
"It also underlines the complexity and the diversity of factors that are shaping human vulnerability to extremes--why for some communities and countries these can become disasters whereas for others they can be less severe," he added. The report said there is “high confidence that both maximum and minimum daily temperatures have increased on a global scale due to the increase of greenhouse gases.” ... Full sumary report

Source: IPCC

Experts Discuss Climate Change Impacts on Florida | Nov 14

Some of the best and the brightest minds gathered at UF Nov 14/15 to tackle the issue of climate change. The University of Florida hosted the Florida Climate Institute Annual Event. The two day conference about how climate change may affect our state ... more

Source: ABC

Rising Air Pollution Worsens Drought, Flooding UMD-Led Study Shows | Nov 13

Increases in air pollution and other particulate matter in the atmosphere can strongly affect cloud development in ways that reduce precipitation in dry regions or seasons, while increasing rain, snowfall and the intensity of severe storms in wet regions or seasons, says a new study by a University of Maryland-led team of researchers. ... more

Source: University of Marylands

Oceanography Expert Allan Clarke Honoured with National Award for El Niño Research | Nov 11

Florida State University oceanography professor Allan Clarke grew up in a coastal town in southern Australia where he loved the ocean, the beach and the warmth of the sun. Little did he know that his fondness for that beautiful coastline would one day lead him to become an international expert on physical oceanography, climate dynamics and El Niño. In a symbol of the professional esteem with with he is regarded by his peers, Clarke has been named the winner the American Meteorological Society's 2012 Sverdrup Gold Medal Award, granted each year to a researcher who makes outstanding contributions to the scientific knowledge of interactions between the oceans and the atmosphere. In winning the award, he was cited for "fundamental contributions to the dynamics of ocean currents and air-sea interaction with particular emphasis on El Niño/Southern Oscillation." ... more

Source: FSU 

Is Our Energy System Locked In to Climate Change? | Nov 10

The International Energy Agency released its annual World Energy Outlook Nov 9, and it made for depressing reading if you care about the future of the planet. Barring a change in policy, energy demand—led by the still rapidly growing developing world—will continue to skyrocket, and with it, carbon emissions. Oil prices could easily be $150 a barrel in the near-term—barring an unlikely uptick in supply from the increasingly unstable Middle East—and the use of heavily polluting coal could increase 65% by 2035. In short, unless we do something about it, energy will get more and more expensive—and we'll be dealing with more pollution, and more warming ...more

Source: Times

G-20 Clean Energy, and Energy Efficiency Deployment and Policy Progress | Nov 10

G-20 Clean Energy, and Energy Efficiency Deployment and Policy Progress, a report prepared by the International Energy Agency (IEA) in collaboration with the G-20 Clean Energy and Energy Efficiency Working Group, provides an overview of clean energy and energy efficiency technology deployment and summarises support policies in place across G-20 countries. The report highlights that while clean energy technology deployment has made steady progress and energy efficiency improvements have been made, continued reliance on fossil fuels to meet growth in global energy demand presents a significant challenge. Scaling-up the deployment of renewable energy, in addition to improving end-use efficiency, enhancing the efficiency of fossil fuel based power generation, and supporting the widespread deployment of CCS will, therefore, also be crucial aspects of the transition to a cleaner energy future.

Because the G-20 group of countries represent close to 80% of energy-related CO₂emissions, by developing and deploying energy efficiency and clean energy technologies, they are presented with a unique opportunity to make collective progress in transitioning the global energy system. IEA Deputy Executive Director Richard Jones emphasised the importance of G-20 efforts, saying, "The IEA welcomes this important collaboration with the G-20. Enhanced deployment of clean energy technologies and of energy efficiency improvements offers energy security and environmental benefits. It will also enable cost savings over the medium and long term – an aspect that is particularly relevant at a time of economic uncertainty. We believe that enhanced policy assessment and analysis, building on this initial report, will enable governments to take more cost effective and efficient policy decisions.”   ...more

Source: IEA

NOAA Greenhouse Gas Index Continues Climbing | Nov 9

NOAA’s updated Annual Greenhouse Gas Index (AGGI), which measures the direct climate influence of many greenhouse gases such as carbon dioxide and methane, shows a continued steady upward trend that began with the Industrial Revolution of the 1880s.  ... more

Source: NOAA

World Energy Outlook 2011 - Just Released | Nov 9

The 2011 edition of the World Energy Outlookwas released on 9 November and brings together the latest data, policy developments, and the experience of another year to provide robust analysis and insight into global energy markets, today and for the next 25 years. This edition of the IEA’s flagship WEO publication gives the latest energy demand and supply projections for different future scenarios, broken down by country, fuel and sector.

Climate Change: Man-Made Cyclones | Nov 3

A recent surge in the intensity of tropical cyclones in the Arabian Sea has brought unprecedented damage and loss of life. Anthropogenic air pollution might be increasing the destructiveness of these storms. .... more

Source: Journal Nature; Author: RL Sriver

FWC Action Plan Incorporates Climate Change Adaptation | Nov 3

Florida’s State Wildlife Action Plan (formerly known as the Comprehensive Wildlife Conservation Strategy) is a strat­egy for conserving Florida’s wildlife and natural areas for future generations. Recognising the importance of Climate Change for Florida's Conservation Strategies the FWC recently revised the Action Plan and incorporated strategies addressing Adaptaion to Climate Change.
The FWC partnered with Defenders of Wildlife and the Massachusetts Institute of Technol­ogy (MIT) to evaluate selected species using the NatureServe Climate Change Vulnerability Index (CCVI) and spatial simulation modeling. These assessments provided the FWC and partners with information on how the species may be affected by climate change and how much of their habitat they may lose to predicted sea-level rise. That information was then used to begin identifying management options that could help reduce climate change impacts on Florida’s wildlife.
This chapter can be found on the FWC Web site here.

For more information contact the Action Plan Coordinator Brian Branciforte at Brian.Branciforte@MyFWC.com.

Source: FWC

Climate Change Escape Routes - by Sea and by Land are Similar | Nov 3

Results of a study published this week in the journal Science show how fast animal and plant populations would need to move to keep up with recent climate change effects in the ocean and on land. ... more

Source: Journal Science; Author: Mike Burrows

$20 million Invested into Improved Forest Management Strategies to Increase Carbon Sequestration in the Southeast US | Nov 2

Southeastern U.S. forests have the potential to play an important role in greenhouse gas mitigation. Because they occupy 60% of the land area and are highly productive, southern forests are a significant portion of the U.S. carbon budget, containing 36% of the stored forest carbon in the continental U.S. Forests in the region annually sequester carbon equivalent to 13% of regional greenhouse gas emissions, and have the potential to sequester more through reforestation, afforestation, and improved forest management. A team of SE US forest scientists and climatologists recently received a 5-year, $20 million grant to create, synthesize, and disseminate the knowledge necessary to better manage forests to (1) increase their ability to remove carbon dioxide from the atmosphere; and (2) adapt forest management approaches and the planting of improved tree varieties to decrease risks from climate change. This project, dubbed “PINEMAP” (Pine Integrated Network: Education, Mitigation, and Adaptation Project) is one of three Coordinated Agriculture Projects (CAP) recently awarded by the USDA National Institute of Food and Agriculture (NIFA) to encourage agriculture and forestry producers to increase carbon sequestration and adapt practices to reduce the impact of climate variation and climate change. The Florida Climate Institute played a critical role in the conceptualization and eventual funding of this project.

Contact: Tim Martin, This e-mail address is being protected from spambots. You need JavaScript enabled to view it.

EPA Announces Winner of the 2011 Energy Star National Building Competition - the University of Central Florida | Nov 2

The U.S. Environmental Protection Agency (EPA) today announced that the University of Central Florida (UCF) is the winner of EPA’s 2011 Energy Star National Building Competition: Battle of the Buildings. In its second year, the competition featured teams from 245 buildings across the country in a head-to-head battle to save energy, reduce costs, and protect people's health and the environment. UCF’s winning building was a parking garage on the university’s main campus where energy use was decreased by 63.2 percent. Together, competitors cut their energy costs by $5.2 million. ... more

Source: EPA