Tiempo Climate Newswatch

British Prime Minister Tony Blair has called on the Group of Eight (G8) nations to adopt a common position to deal with the climate problem. "There's no doubt in my mind that the time to act is now," he said.

Tony Blair has three goals in mind for the G8:

• agreement on the basic science of climate change and the threat it poses;
• agreement on a process to speed up the science, technology and other measures needed to meet the threat; and,
• engagement with countries such as India and China on how to meet their growing energy needs sustainably and on adaptive measures.

The rich nations must "lead the way," he concluded. The next G8 summit will be held in Britain in July 2005.

More information

• BBC
• Terra Daily
• Text of speech

Tropical Storm Jeanne has killed over 1,100 people in Haiti. It struck over the weekend of September 18/19th. Over 1,000 people remain missing. Flooding and landslides were responsible for the majority of the deaths, with the town of Gonaives hardest hit. Disease threatens and it is proving difficult to get aid and assistance into the region. Over the previous days, seven people lost their lives in the neighbouring Dominican Republic and three in Puerto Rico as Jeanne passed over these countries.

Thirty eight people died as Hurricane Ivan struck the Gulf Coast of the United States over the previous weekend, with winds at 130 mph, then moved inland. The damage was less than expected over much of the region, but Florida's Panhandle was hard-hit. Hurricane Ivan had previously killed 70 people in the Caribbean, passing over Grenada, Jamaica and the Cayman Islands before grazing Cuba.

More information

• Jeanne, Terra Daily
• Jeanne, BBC
• Jeanne, ABC

• Ivan, Terra Daily
• Ivan, CBS
• Ivan, BBC

Climate change could reduce China's yield of rice, wheat and maize by up to 37 per cent over the next 20 to 80 years, according to a recent report sponsored by the Chinese and British governments. Cotton yields might increase by 40 per cent over the same period.

Britain's environment minister Elliot Morley concluded that "unless greenhouse gas emissions are reduced, climate change could seriously affect agricultural production in China." The study was conducted by the Chinese Ministry of Science and Technology and Britain's Department for the Environment, Food and Rural Affairs. It was based on a set of emissions scenarios, which drove climate and agricultural models. A second collaborative phase will begin in 2005.

More information

• SciDevNet
• Download the summary report