IPCC Report Says Quick Action Can Avert Worst Climate Impacts

FOR IMMEDIATE RELEASE

Contact:

Keith Gaby, Environmental Defense, 202-572-3336

Tony Kreindler, Environmental Defense, 202-210-5791

(Washington – May 4, 2007) The worst effects of global warming can be avoided with minimal impact on the economy if steps are taken now to rein in greenhouse gas emissions, a panel representing 2,500 international scientists said today.

According to the Intergovernmental Panel on Climate Change, how much we cut emissions in the coming decades will determine whether we will face the most dangerous impacts of climate change.  With quick action, the worst consequences can be avoided with readily available technologies and at a modest cost, the IPCC said.

“We have a window of opportunity, but it won’t stay open forever,” said Steve Cochran, national climate campaign director at Environmental Defense. “Anyone pushing for delay is pushing for higher costs and longer odds.”

The IPCC outlined a broad portfolio of commercially available technologies capable of stabilizing greenhouse gas levels, ranging from more efficient lighting and vehicles to carbon capture and alternative fuels. The report also suggests market-based emissions trading as a way to spur their development and use.

A cap-and-trade system for greenhouse gases would set an enforceable limit on emissions and let the market determine the best technologies. Cap-and-trade is the centerpiece of several climate bills pending in the Senate and the preferred approach of leading companies that have joined the U.S. Climate Action Partnership (USCAP) with Environmental Defense.

Other approaches suggested by the IPCC, such as taxes, subsidies, and inflexible regulations, either fail to guarantee emissions reductions or would not unleash the cash and creativity of the private sector to find and fund solutions to the climate problem.