General Climate News MEPs to debate melting Arctic ice heating up international tension As the ice melts and the native Inuit people and polar bears retreat, more and more ships and commercial explorers are Arctic bound. With the dream of the Northwest passage opening up for sailors, an uncertain international legal status and vast oil and gas reserves the future could be bleak for the Arctic. European Parlaiment, March 10, 2010 -
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Carbon emissions 'outsourced' to developing countries A new study by scientists at the Carnegie Institution finds that over a third of carbon dioxide emissions associated with consumption of goods and services in many developed countries are actually emitted outside their borders. ScienceDaily.com, March 08, 2010 -
Sea level rose 2m per century 8500 years ago Research shows that between 8500 and 8300 years ago the sea level around the Netherlands rose by 2m per century. The scientists calculated the sea level at that time by dating the deep-lying submerged layers of peat in the Rotterdam area. The study, published in the scientific journal Geology this month, has important implications in light of the rapid rate of sea level rise expected in coming centuries. Utrecht University, March 03, 2010 New "Low Carbon World website" to Accelerate Transition to Green Economy This new website, a joint project between Low Carbon Economy.com and the United Nation's Climate Neutral Network (CN NET) aims to facilitate the move to global low carbon economies, a necessary imperative if we are to combat dangerous and escalating climate change.
UNEP, February 25, 2010 New Zealand leads on forest carbon While cap-and-trade legislation stalls in the US and Australia, Copenhagen's limited progress holds back REDD, and the inflexibilities of the Kyoto Protocol's CDM keeps a lid on reforestation activity, New Zealand is in many ways leading the world in the use of forestry for compliance-based carbon markets. CarbonPositive, February 25, 2010 Warmer planet temperatures could cause longer-lasting weather patterns Whether it's never-ending heat waves or winter storms, atmospheric blocking can have a significant impact on local agriculture, business and the environment. Although these stagnant weather patterns are often difficult to predict, researchers are now studying whether increasing planet temperatures and carbon dioxide levels could lead to atmospheric blocking and when this blocking might occur, leading to more accurate forecasts. ScienceDaily.com, February 24, 2010 Impacts of climate change on tropical cyclones If twenty-first century warming occurs as projected, the maximum wind speed of tropical cyclones will likely, on average worldwide, increase 2 to 11 per cent, while rainfall rates will increase approximately 20 per cent within 100 kilometres of a storm centre, according to the WMO Expert Team on Climate Change Impacts on Tropical Cyclones. World Meteorological Organization, February 23, 2010
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