Global Effects and Global Consequences

In what’s being called “the most comprehensive report ever on climate change,” the National Academy of Sciences urged aggressive action to curb global warming, including a cap-and-trade program and taxes on carbon emissions.

The national academy is an elite independent organization chartered to give the federal government advice on science and technical matters. Being elected as an academy member is considered a major honor for a scientist.

Bold actions are necessary because “climate change is occurring, the Earth is warming … concentrations of carbon dioxide are increasing, and there are very clear fingerprints that link [those effects] to humans,” said Pamela A. Matson of Stanford University, who chaired one of five panels organized by the academy.

In a series of three reports, the panel tried to illustrate the challenge ahead by describing tons of polluting gases as money in a budget. America is on an escalating trajectory to blow its budget. The budget allows for the use of 170 to 200 billion tons between now and 2050. In 2008, America spewed 7 billion tons of greenhouse gas.

“That’s a very challenging task,” scientist Robert W. Fri told the Times. “At the current rate of 7 billion tons per year, we would use up the allotment well before 2050. Even if all available and emerging technologies could be deployed to their fullest technical potential, it is clear we will still need new and additional emission reduction options.”

The report also pushed for an emissions trading program known as cap-and-trade, which would set a limit on the amount of greenhouse gases a company could release. Companies that go over their limits could buy credits from firms with lower emissions. The Obama administration supports cap-and-trade and Congress is expected to renew debate on the issue this summer.

The America’s Climate Choices suite of studies will include two additional reports that will be released later this year: Informing Effective Decisions and Actions Related to Climate Change will examine how to best provide decision makers information on climate change, and a final overarching report, America’s Climate Choices, will build on each of the previous reports to offer a scientific framework for shaping the policy choices underlying the nation’s efforts to confront climate change.

Filed Under: Environment