May 2006

Climate change refers to the variation in the Earth's global climate or regional climates over time. It describes changes in the variability or average state of the atmosphere - or average weather - over time scales ranging from decades to millions of years. These changes may come from internal processes, be driven by external forces or, most recently, be caused by human activities

Policy review for Climate Change

Mitigation of global warming involves taking actions aimed at reducing the extent include development of new technologies, wind power, nuclear power, renewable energy, biodiesel, electric or hybrid automobiles, fuel cells, and energy conservation, carbon taxes and carbon sequestration schemes. Financial and technological strategies can have a major impact on reaching a particular target atmospheric carbon dioxide (CO2) concentration.

Currently, the problems with mitigation efforts in the U.S. are:

• Insufficient mitigation measures

• Slow deployment of clean technology

Some procedures being proposed are:

• Carbon tax

• Emissions cap-and-trade

• Hybrid systems of permits and user fees (e.g. the Brookings McKibbin-Wilcoxen Blueprint)

• Regulation

• Nuclear power

Adaptation to global warming involves taking action to take advantage of the postive effects of global warming while preventing or minimizing the negative effects of global warming.

Effect on sustainable development:

The combined effects of global warming may impact particularly harshly on people and countries without the resources to mitigate those effects. This may slow economic development and poverty reduction, and make it harder to achieve the Millennium Development Goals.

In October 2004, the Working Group on Climate Change and Development, a coalition of development and environment NGOs, issued a report on the effects of climate change on development. This report, and the July 2005 report “Africa - Up in Smoke?” predicted increased hunger and disease due to decreased rainfall and severe weather events, particularly in Africa. These are likely to have severe impacts on development for those affected.

Case Study 1:

However, youth and local and State governments are taking the lead in building a sustainable energy future in the United States. We are working together to address the carbon footprints of our communities and college campuses. Energy Action, a coalition of more than 30 organizations, has put together the Campus Climate Challenge, a long-term project aimed at making campuses energy independent and dramatically cutting their global warming pollution. As of March 2006, there are at least 109 US campuses (5-6 are high schools) that purchase or produce on site over 531,000 MWh/year of renewable energy. This is an empowering starting point for youth led efforts, and governments and businesses need to follow suit.

Case Study 2:

College of the Atlantic is implementing an Environmental Management System that will improve every aspect of campus operations, including electricity, efficiency, liquid transportation fuels and ongoing education. COA will use 100% renewable energy for a 20 year period. COA’s green tag procurement from NativeEnergy, for instance, supports construction of the first Native American wind farm. For more information, contact Millary Dority at millard [at coa.edu].

Resources for further research:

http://www.campaigncc.org/

• http://www.stopclimatechaos.org/splash.asp

http://www.unep.org/