Tiempo Climate Newswatch

Climate warming means erosion and flooding for Native Alaskan villages. "As the calming hand of the ice on the Arctic Ocean grows more fragile, so does our coastline," warns Barrow Mayor Edith Vorderstrasse during a Senate hearing in Anchorage, Alaska.

Air temperatures in Alaska have risen by one degree Celsius a decade in recent times, many times higher than the global warming rate, as a result of the high sensitivity of polar latitudes. "Whether it's natural or global climate change, our state is having an impact greater than any other part of the United States," says Alaskan Senator Ted Stevens. Arguing that the villagers of Point Hope, who may be forced to re-locate, could not be blamed for living in what is now a vulnerable location, he noted that the village has "been there since before the birth of Christ. You can't quite say the decision to locate their village, when it was made, was right or wrong."

More information

• ENN
• CNN
• Arctic Climate Impact Assessment

In the United States, carbon dioxide emissions related to energy use rose by close to one per cent during 2003. Energy-related emissions account for 82 per cent of the United States total.

The rise was largely due to cold weather and the increase in fuel used for domestic heating, according to the Department of Energy. Industries have also switched from natural gas to coal and petroleum, which release more carbon per unit of energy generated, due to price rises. House building and an improving economy have also contributed.

More information

• ENN
• Energy Information Administration

The Twentieth Session of the Subsidiary Bodies to the UN Framework Convention on Climate Change took place in Bonn, Germany, 16-25th June 2004. Lengthy discussions on good practice guidance for land use, land use change and forestry ended with some commentators suggesting that the result may encourage Russia to ratify the Kyoto Protocol.

At an in-session workshop on impacts, vulnerability and adaptation, southern speakers stressed the need to take account of local knowledge in facilitating adaptation. Anthony Nyong of the University of Jos, Nigeria, said that local stakeholders’ views must be considered if successful adaptation measures are to be developed. Ahsan Ahmed, of the Bangladesh Unnayan Parishad Centre for Water and Environment emphasized the importance of field-level discussions on indigenous solutions.

More information

• Linkages - daily reports
• Earth Negotiations Bulletin - Adaptation Workshop
• Theme sites