Island Nations Speak Out at UN Conference on Black Carbon, Montreal Protocol

On December 9, panelists at a UN conference side event hosted by the Federated States of Micronesia (FSM) and Sweden stressed that the world is already close to passing the tipping points for abrupt climate change events, and that strong measures must be taken immediately to avoid catastrophic results. The world is already committed to a dangerous 2.4ºC of warming, said Dr. Hermann Held of the Potsdam Institute for Climate Research, due in part to the warming effects of black carbon – a substance that is now considered the second-greatest contributor to climate change after CO2. Up to 1.0ºC of the committed warming is being "unmasked" by reductions of other heat-reflecting aerosols, including SO2. "As we continue to reduce sulfur emissions around the world for health reasons, we are unmasking additional warming that is bringing us closer and closer to tipping points like the meltdown of the Greenland Ice Sheet," said Dr. Held. "In order to avoid a large jump in temperature and in turn avoid the devastating effects of sea level rise, we need to act quickly to reduce black carbon emissions in coordination with sulfur." Because black carbon remains in the atmosphere for days to weeks, reducing it can produce fast cooling. "Black carbon is extremely bad news because it contributes to climate change in two ways: it absorbs heat from above and contributes to warming, but then as it falls on snow and ice it darkens the ground and reduces the albedo, or reflective ability," said Durwood Zaelke, President of the Institute for Governance & Sustainable Development.

FSM's global fast-action climate strategy also urged strengthening the Montreal Protocol ozone treaty, which is seen by many to be more effective than the Kyoto Protocol in mitigating climate emissions. "The lives of our people depend on the success of these two treaties [Montreal and the UNFCCC], and we urgently need to find the political will necessary to move these fast-action strategies forward," said Andrew Yatilman, the delegation head for FSM. "The lives of our people depend upon it."

For additional information see:
http://www.marketwatch.com/news/story/dangerous-sea-level-rise-imminent/story.aspx?guid={4A4237D2-E49F-4E36-BF6F-632232ED133E}&dist=msr_3
http://ca.reuters.com/article/environmentNews/idUSTRE4B16R420081202
http://www.mercurynews.com/breakingnews/ci_11205207
http://unfccc.int/files/kyoto_protocol/application/pdf/micronesiabap0612...

(This article is from EESI's weekly electronic newsletter Climate Change News . To read more from Climate Change News or sign up for a free subscription, please click here .)