15 Sep 2008 - Arctic
sea ice may well have reached its lowest
volumes ever, as summer ice coverage of
the Arctic Sea looks set to be close to
last year’s record lows, with thinner ice
overall.
Final figures on minimum
ice coverage for 2008 are expected in a
matter of days, but they are already flirting
with last year’s record low of 1.59 million
square miles, or 4.13 million square kilometres.
“If you take reduced
ice thickness into account, there is probably
less ice overall in the Arctic this year
than in any other year since monitoring
began,” said Martin Sommerkorn, WWF International
Arctic Programme’s Senior Climate Change
Advisor.
“This is also the first
year that the Northwest Passage over the
top of North America, and the Northeast
Passage over the top of Russia are both
free of ice.”
Dr. Sommerkorn said
the continuing loss of older, thicker ice
means that the Arctic ice cover is following
a trend of becoming younger and thinner
each year.
The area of ice that
is at least five years old has decreased
by 56 per cent between 1985 and 2007. The
oldest ice types have essentially disappeared.
Taken together, the
new figures clearly show the Arctic is experiencing
the continuation of an accelerated declining
trend.
“We are expecting confirmation
of 2008 being either the lowest or the second-lowest
year in terms of summer ice coverage,” Dr.
Sommerkorn said.
“This means two years
in a row of record lows since we started
recording Arctic sea ice coverage, and a
continuing catastrophic downward trend.
“There are already signs
that species such as polar bears are experiencing
negative effects as climate change erodes
the ice platform on which they rely.
These changes are also
affecting the peoples of the Arctic whose
traditional livelihoods depend on healthy
ecosystems.”
The trend of melting
Arctic ice is also alarming for the rest
of the world. “The Arctic is a key factor
in stabilising the global climate,” Dr Sommerkorn
said.
“Arctic ice is like
a mirror, reflecting the sun’s heat back
into space. As that ice goes, Arctic waters
absorb more heat, adding to global warming.
“The local warming of
the Arctic will also soon release more greenhouse
gases from the Arctic that were previously
locked in permanently frozen ground.
“This means there will
be two powerful feedbacks from the Arctic
affecting the global environment. This is
not just an Arctic problem, it is a global
problem, and it demands a global response.”
The governments of the
world are currently negotiating a new climate
agreement to come into force from 2013 when
the first phase of the Kyoto Protocol has
ended.
“Governments must speed
up these talks and ensure to agree the new
climate deal at the UN Summit in Copenhagen
in December 2009, just fifteen months from
now, Dr Sommerkorn said.
+ More
Call waiting on EU climate
leadership
09 Sep 2008 - With Europe’s
plans for tackling climate change coming
to the decision-making stage, WWF and other
leading NGOs challenged Members of the European
Parliament (MEPs) to show their leadership.
The Time to Lead campaign,
supported by the Climate Action Network
Europe, Friends of the Earth Europe, Greenpeace
and WWF, follows months of criticism that
Europe has dropped the leadership baton
in the race against climate change.
At the latest round
of UN climate talks in Ghana last month
the WWF climate team reported that a range
of countries including Norway, Switzerland,
Mexico, South Korea and India were wresting
the initiative from the EU.
Telephone messages from
European citizens were broadcast in the
Place du Luxembourg from midday yesterday
near the European Parliament building, challenging
MEPs to “answer the call” and take voting
positions consistent with avoiding the most
catastrophic effects of global warming.
Callers were greeted
with the recorded announcement: “Thank you
for calling the European Union. I'm afraid
no European leaders are available to combat
climate change at the moment. If you are
calling about keeping global warming below
2 degrees please leave a message after the
tone.”
Time to Lead is a high-profile,
on-line public campaign which will keep
citizens up to date with the EU’s discussions,
what they mean for global temperatures and
who in Europe is taking the lead to keep
global warming below 2°C, an objective
already agreed by the European Union.
The EU climate package
is on the agenda of the European Parliament
Environment Committee on 8, 9 and 10 September
2008 in preparation for the vote on 7 October.
On 11 September the Industry Committee will
express its opinion on the package.
A new Time to Lead website,
www.timetolead.eu, provides information
on the steps necessary to keep global warming
below 2°C, widely regarded as the threshold
for unacceptable risk of catastrophic climate
change.
