Tiempo Climate Newswatch

"The provisional figures for 2006... place the year as the sixth warmest year" worldwide since records began in the 1850s, according to a report from the UK Met Office (UKMO) and the University of East Anglia (UEA) in the United Kingdom. The preliminary figures are based on data for the months January to November. According to the World Meteorological Organization, the early months of 2006 were notable for warmth over North America, the western European Arctic islands, Australia and Brazil. During the summer months, Europe and the United States experienced heat waves and the European warmth continued through autumn.

Climate scientists are predicting that 2007 will be the hottest year on record as a likely El Niño warming event in the Pacific combines with the long-term warming trend. "El Niño makes the world warmer and we already have a warming trend that is increasing global temperatures by one to two tenths of a degree Celsius per decade. Together, they should make 2007 warmer than last year and it may even make the next 12 months the warmest year on record," reported Phil Jones of UEA's Climatic Research Unit. "This new information represents another warning that climate change is happening around the world," said Katie Hopkins of the UKMO.

The European Union (EU) has approved plans to include aviation in its emissions trading scheme. According to the European Commission, "EU emissions from international air transport are increasing faster than from any other sector. This growth threatens to undermine the EU's progress in cutting overall greenhouse gas emissions." The scheme will cover flights within the EU from the year 2011 and will then extend to cover flights into and out of the region the following year. Carriers will be allowed an emissions quota defined by their average 2004-2006 emissions data. It is estimated that the plan will add between 1.80 and 9 euros to a return flight within the EU.

The Air Transport Association of America expressed disappointment at the "misguided decision," arguing that the EU should work through the International Civil Aviation Organization "on appropriate multilateral solutions" to the greenhouse gas issue. A spokesman for the United States embassy strongly objected to the plan, saying that the process "will prove unworkable and will undercut rather than support international efforts to implement system improvement to manage the impact of aviation emissions." It could not be imposed without the consent of non-EU partners, he observed. EU environment commissioner Stavros Dimas is confident that the proposal is in accordance and compatible with international law. "I expect that United States airlines or other airlines will not challenge legally something that they know they are not going to win," he said.

China has released its first national assessment of the climate issue, based on work by six government departments. Warning of damaging effects on the country's environment and economy, the report predicts that "climate change will increase the instability of agricultural production. If no measures are taken, in the latter half of the century, production of wheat, corn and rice in China will drop by as much as 37 per cent." Despite higher levels of precipitation in some areas, evaporation losses will dominate the water balance.

According to the Ministry of Science and Technology, "greenhouse gases released due to human activity are leading to ever more serious problems in terms of climate change," which has an impact on the "nation's ability to develop further." The report does not cover responses to the climate problem. "We're in a period of rapid economic growth, and energy consumption will increase as a result," says Liu Hongbin from the National Climate Center in Beijing. "As a result, China will continue to emit a rather large amount of greenhouse gases."