Since I have just started working on communication and climate change (again), I have decided to start a blog on the activities leading up to the December 2009 conference that will take place in Copenhagen. The 15th Conference of the Parties of the United Nations' Framework Convention on Climate Change is gearing up internationally and in trade publications within the Washington Beltway. A UN report on the realities of sea level rise was supported yesterday by a new study published in the journal Nature Geoscience. According to the study, sea levels could rise 7-82 cms, depending on the range of warming that takes place, with a base range of warming between 1.1-6.4 C (1.98-11.52 F). In a 2007 report, the UN's Intergovernmental Panel on Climate Change (IPCC) predicted oceans would rise by 18-59 centimetres (7.2 and 23.6 inches) by 2100. The goal set at the millenium economic forum earlier this month is to keep the earth from warming more than 2 degrees Celsius.
This week, the Senate will hold two more hearings related to the next attempt at a climate bill. On Thursday, Environment and Public Works committee chair Barbara Boxer (D-CA) will discuss the implications climate change will have on national security. Boxer's committee will hear from recently retired Senator John Warner, who was a coauthor of last year's Climate Security Act. According to Environment & Energy Daily (subscription required), Boxer plans to unveil a new climate bill on Sept. 8, immediately upon the return of Congress from the summer recess. EPW is expected to spend September holding legislative hearings on the proposal, culminating with a markup before Majority Leader Harry Reid's (D-Nev.) Sept. 28 deadline for action there and in five other committees, according to the article.
Also on Thursday, the Senate Commerce Committee will discuss the development of climate models and forecasts to help U.S. communities and businesses adapt to climate change.
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