Tiempo Climate Newswatch

The Amazonian forest cannot withstand more than two consecutive years of drought, according to research conducted by the Woods Hole Research Center, Falmouth, United States. The project was led by Dan Nepstad, who is based in Belém, Brazil. "We started thinking about simulated drought experiments back in 1994, when the Amazon was coming out of a major drought caused by a severe El Niño, and the forest almost completely ran out of water," he explains. There is now increasing concern that global warming could lead to longer and/or more severe droughts in the Amazonian Basin.

The research involved covering an area of forest the size of a football pitch with plastic to simulate prolonged drought. Nepstad reports that the trees survived two years of drought, by sinking their roots deeper to locate remaining moisture. "That’s one of the most fascinating things about the Amazon," he says. "The east and southeastern parts of the forest actually go months each year with little or no rain. The trees survive by tapping soil moisture as far down as 20 metres." But, in year three of the experiment, the trees began to die, releasing stored carbon into the atmosphere and accelerating global warming.

More information

• New Zealand Herald
• Earth Observatory, NASA
• New Zealand Herald

• Audio interview with Dan Nepstad about the 2005 Amazonian drought ( text), Living on Earth

Participants at the World Meteorological Organization (WMO) conference, Living with Climate Variability and Change, held in Espoo, Finland during July 2006, have called for "efforts to assemble disparate knowledge, to identify good practice, and to assess the value of and give visibility to climate-related risk management." They are concerned that there is a "lack of awareness of climate-related risk management opportunities among numerous communities that would benefit."

Opening the meeting, Michel Jarraud, WMO Secretary-General, drew attention to the particular needs of the developing nations, where the "concept of climate risk might not even be considered." "In the developing and the Least-Developed Countries," he continued, "there is often no established or an insufficient mechanism for data collection and reporting and, accordingly, insufficient reliable data on which to base a rational attempt at risk assessment." The conference was cosponsored by the Finnish Meteorological Institute and the International Research Institute for Climate and Society.

More information

• Press release (1.7Mb download), WMO

• Espoo Statement

The British government may cap each citizen's carbon emissions and permit individuals to trade carbon credits gained by reducing their emissions below the personal limit. "Imagine a country where carbon becomes a new currency," said Environment Secretary David Miliband introducing a study of the proposal. "We carry bank cards that store both pounds and carbon points. When we buy electricity, gas and fuel, we use our carbon points, as well as pounds."

The scheme would cover energy use through electricity, gas, petrol and air travel. "People on low incomes are likely to benefit as they will be able to sell their excess allowances," Miliband said. "People on higher incomes tend to have higher carbon emissions due to higher car ownership and usage, air travel and tourism, and larger homes." The personal allowance is one of a number of schemes the government is considering to involve the public in carbon reduction.

More information

• Guardian
• Times Online
• Ottawa Recorder

• Domestic Tradable Quotas (0.7Mb download), Tyndall Centre for Climate Change Research
• Blog entry, David Miliband