Geoengineering the climate: science, governance and uncertainty

Geoengineering, or the deliberate large-scale manipulation of the planetary environment to counteract anthropogenic climate change, has been suggested as a new potential tool for addressing climate change. Efforts to address climate change have primarily focused on mitigation, the reduction of greenhouse gas emissions, and more recently on addressing the impacts of climate change—adaptation. However, international political consensus on the need to reduce emissions has been very slow in coming, and there is as yet no agreement on the emissions reductions needed beyond 2012. As a result global emissions have continued to increase by about 3% per year (Raupach et al. 2007), a faster rate than that projected by the Intergovernmental Panel on Climate Change (IPCC) (IPCC 2001)7 even under its most fossil fuel intensive scenario (A1FI8) in which an increase in global mean temperature of about 4°C (2.4 to 6.4°C) by 2100 is projected (Rahmstorf et al. 2007). The scientifi c community is now becoming increasingly concerned that emissions will not be reduced at the rate and magnitude required to keep the increase in global average temperature below 2°C (above pre-industrial levels) by 2100. Concerns with the lack of progress of the political processes have led to increasing interest in geoengineering approaches. This Royal Society report presents an independent scientifi c review of the range of methods proposed with the aim of providing an objective view on whether geoengineering could, and should, play a role in addressing climate change, and under what conditions

Climate Change and the CGIAR: Report of the Inter Center Working Group on Climate Change and Recommendation for a Challenge Program

Report by the CGIAR Inter Center Working Group on Climate Change (ICWG-CC) presented by Working Group Chair Dennis Garrity at the stakeholders' meeting of the 2001 CGIAR Annual General Meeting. The report related the findings of the Working Group's Third Assessment Report confirming the reality of global climate change as a result of human activity, and noting the vulnerability of developing countries to climate change. It ends with a proposal for a CGIAR Challenge Program on Climate Change

Report of the Inter Center Working Group on Climate Change

Progress report on climate change presented at CGIAR International Centers Week 1999 by Pedro Sanchez on behalf of the Inter Center Working Group on Climate Change (ICWG-CC) started in response to presentations by the FAO and World Bank at MTM 1998. The purposes of the group were to evaluate the impact of CGIAR activities on the climate, and develop a strategy to incorporate climate change in the CGIAR research agenda. Funding was provided by USAID.Impact was assessed on the basis of case studies by several centers, and a detailed appraisal of the impact of the Green Revolution in Asia. Given the projected impact of climate change on developing country agriculture, the working group concluded that the CGIAR should play a role in research on adaptation to climate change, and mitigation of its impact, in collaboration with the International Geosphere-Biosphere Program (IGBP). Three areas of adaptation research and three areas of mitigation research were identified. Plans for implementation and partnerships were being made. The working group proposed a joint meeting with TAC, and planned to make reports at TAC 78 and MTM 2000

Third Biennial Report of the Climate Neutral Working Group

In accordance with the directives outlined in Executive Order #14-03, this Third Biennial Report of the Climate Neutral Working Group (CNWG) provides an update regarding: The state of the science of responding to climate change; Efforts to meet the goals of the Executive Order; Future planned steps and their anticipated impacts, expected challenges, and opportunities; Opportunities to initiate a statewide voluntary greenhouse gas emissions registry; The feasibility of a carbon emissions cap and trading program. Also summarized within this report are a number of related ongoing efforts within state government that will facilitate an expanded and coordinated campaign to reduce greenhouse gas (GHG) emissions. Recommended actions for continued GHG emissions reductions are presented in this report to be considered for implementation during 2009 – 2010 by Vermont State Government

Second Biennial Report of the Climate Neutral Working Group

This second biennial report of the Climate Neutral Working Group (CNWG) is intended to provide a concise update regarding the science of climate change, catalog the ongoing work of the CNWG and synergistic parallel initiatives, and indicate progress made towards attaining the goals of Executive Order #14-03. Since April 2005, Vermont State Government has implemented a number of strategies and initiatives that will enable it to make progress toward attaining its emission reduction goals. In addition to initiatives that reduce emissions, Vermont State Government has also begun implementing strategies that will improve its ability to quantify and document such emissions reductions in the future

A Human health perspective on climate change: a report outlining the research needs on the human health effects of climate change

"...an ad hoc Interagency Working Group on Climate Change and Health (IWGCCH) assembled to develop a white paper on relevant federal research and science needs, including research on mitigation and adaptation strategies. Examples of mitigation and adaptation research needs are identified, but a comprehensive discussion of these issues is not included. These research and science needs broadly include basic and applied science, technological innovations and capacities, public health infrastructure, and communication and education. Consideration is also given to the potential structure of a federal climate change and health research agenda and the use of scientific research results for applications and decision making. The purpose of this paper is to identify research critical for understanding the impact of climate change on human health so that we can both mitigate and adapt to the environmental effects of climate change in the healthiest and most efficient ways. Although the group recognizes the global nature of climate change's impacts on human health, the primary focus of this paper is on the situation in the United States." - p. vWorking Group -- Executive summary -- Introduction -- Crosscutting issues for climate change and health -- Asthma, respiratory allergies, and airway diseases -- Cancer -- Cardiovascular disease and stroke -- Foodborne diseases and nutrition -- Heat-related morbidity and mortality -- Human developmental effects -- Mental health and stress-related disorders -- Neurological diseases and disorders -- Vectorborne and zoonotic diseases -- Waterborne diseases -- Weather-related morbidity and mortality -- Synthesis and recommendations -- Summary statementthe Interagency Working Group on Climate Change and Health (IWGCCH)."The Interagency Working Group on Climate Change and Health (iWGCCH) is an ad hoc group formed by participating federal agencies and organizations at the invitation of the National institute of Environmental Health Sciences (NIEHS), National Oceanic and Atmospheric Administration (NOAA), Centers for Disease Control and Prevention (CDC), and Environmental Protection Agency (EPA) following the January 2009 'Workshop on a Research Agenda for Managing the Health Risks of Climate Change,' sponsored by the Institute of Medicine Roundtable on Environmental Health Sciences, research, and medicine. This report identifies gaps in knowledge of the consequences for human health of climate change, and suggests research to address them. The content, views, and perspectives presented in this report are solely those of the authors, and do not reflect the official views, policies, or implied endorsement of any of the individual participating federal agencies or organizations." - t.p.Published by Environmental Health Perspectives and the National Institute of Environmental Health Sciences.Title from PDF t.p. (viewed April 23, 2010).Mode of access: Internet.Includes bibliographical references (p. 66-70)

A Report to the Minnesota Legislature

Final report of the Minnesota Climate Change Advisory Group providing information gathered in relation to their charge, which included analysis of existing and proposed actions to reduce greenhouse gas emissions, review of historic and forecast emissions as a baseline for progress, and an overview of costs and benefits of recommended options

Alaska Climate Change Strategy's Mitigation Advisory Group Final Report

This report describes potential mitigation measures to include in a strategy to reduce greenhouse gas emissions in Alaska. The report states that each of the measures requires further study

On the suitability of North Brazil Current transport estimates for monitoring basin-scale AMOC changes

The North Brazil Current (NBC) constitutes a bottleneck for the mean northward return flow of the Atlantic Meridional Overturning Circulation (AMOC) in the tropical South Atlantic. Previous studies suggested a link between interannual to multidecadal NBC and AMOC transport variability and proposed to use NBC observations as an index for the AMOC. Here we use a set of hindcast, sensitivity, and perturbation experiments performed within a hierarchy of ocean general circulation models to show that decadal to multidecadal buoyancy-forced changes in the basin-scale AMOC transport indeed manifest themselves in the NBC. The relation is, however, masked by a strong interannual to decadal wind-driven gyre variability of the NBC. While questioning the NBC transport as a direct index for the AMOC, the results support its potential merit for an AMOC monitoring system, provided that the wind-driven circulation variability is properly accounted for