Tiempo Climate Newswatch

Russian policy makers need to prepare for a greater frequency of hazardous events as global warming generates more forest fires, droughts and floods, warns a new report from the Federal Service for Hydrometeorology and Environmental Monitoring. Over the past 100 years, air temperatures in Russia have increased at a greater rate than the global average. In recent decades, winter snow cover has decreased in Siberia and Chukotka, the volume of water flowing through the major Siberian rivers has increased and the Arctic ice cover has declined steadily.

The report assesses both positive and negative consequences of future trends for a range of economic sectors. Feed and corn crops, for example, could benefit from more favourable temperatures in certain regions, but yields may drop in areas of increased aridity. Scientist Vladimir Kutsov reckons it is impossible to say for certain whether or not Russia will benefit overall from global warming. "Not everything can be measured with money," he said. "Like, say, polar bears. You can't measure the loss of polar bears compared with the possible expansion of the Arctic shelf. It's a very complex question."

The United Nations has urged the leaders of the G20 nations, who meet in London in April, to kick-start a Green New Deal aimed at combating climate change and reviving the global economy on a sustainable basis. "We face the unprecedented reality that climate change may very well be the more important economic development than what happens on Wall Street or the financial markets, or in our industries," said UNEP executive director Achim Steiner as environment ministers met in Nairobi. "The question truly is, can the environment afford to be put on the waiting line, or is it indeed part of the solution?"

"Reviving the world economy is essential, but measures that focus solely on this objective will not achieve lasting success," concludes a new report from the United Nations Environment Programme (UNEP) that defines the Global Green New Deal. "Unless new policy initiatives also address other global challenges - reducing carbon dependency, protecting ecosystems and water resources, alleviating poverty - their impact on averting future crises will be short-lived."

Al Gore, addressing the annual meeting of the American Association for the Advancement of Science (AAAS), has called on scientists to become more active politically on the climate issue. "Scientists can no longer in good conscience accept this division between the work you do and the civilisation in which you live," he said. "I believe in my heart that we do have the capacity to make this generation one of those generations that changes the course of humankind. The stakes have never been higher."

Gore urged the audience to "become a part of the struggle," a sentiment echoed by AAAS president James McCarthy. "Obama's science team is without equal," said AAAS president McCarthy said, "but these people will need all of our support as this new administration moves aggressively to solve the economic and energy security problems our nation faces, and at the same time assume a new role as an international leader in global efforts to curb anthropogenic climate change."