The research shows that carbon dioxide concentrations in the
atmosphere only slightly higher than today could affect the
stability of the West Antarctic ice sheet.
"The Antarctic has experienced an extremely rapid temperature
rise over the last 50 years caused by manmade climate change," said
Greenpeace Senior Climate Campaigner Simon Boxer.
"Ice levels in Antarctica have not been this low for a
millennium. Combine that with the incredible loss of ice in the
Arctic and you've got some very stark reminders that climate change
is occurring and is worse than originally thought."
Publication of the research follows a climate congress in
Copenhagen last week, where over 2,500 climate scientists and
researchers issued an urgent plea to political leaders to get on
with addressing climate change. Key messages from the Congress
included statements that:
• The worst-case scenarios put forward Intergovernmental
Panel on Climate Change (or even worse) are being realised.
• There is no excuse for inaction.
• The influence of "vested interests that increase emissions"
must be reduced.
• Regardless of how dangerous climate change is defined,
rapid, sustained and effective mitigation is required to avoid
reaching it.
"The science is so stark and ahead of predictions, that
developed countries like New Zealand must now adopt emission
reduction targets of at least 40 per cent below 1990 levels by
2020, if the world is to avoid catastrophic climate change," said
Boxer.
"Yet the National Party refuses to take the problem seriously;
infact the Prime Minister is quoted as saying the sceptics could
one day be proved right (1). We're now at serious risk of becoming
climate pariahs on the world stage and destroying the clean green
brand on which our economy relies."
Greenpeace is calling on the government to adopt a binding
emission reduction target of 40 per cent by 2020 at UN climate
talks in Copenhagen in December.
Other contacts: Simon Boxer – Greenpeace Climate Campaigner – 021 905579
Kathy Cumming – Communications and Media – 021 495 216
Notes: (1) “The important point is that there is flexibility built into the system so that if the science either firms up considerably more, or deteriorates, and the climate sceptics are right, we have the ability to alter the impact on our economy.” –John Key, “Man at the Helm” – page 7, Investigate Magazine, March 2009
Exp. contact date: 2009-11-29 00:00:00