IPCC Climate Change Report

This week, the Intergovernmental Panel on Climate Change issued its latest report. This report was from Working Group 2 of the IPCC, which focusses on "Impacts, Adaptation and Vulnerability", or how humans and the natural systems are likely to be affected by climate change, and how we can try to adapt to it. Two of the Canadian contributors to the Working Group 2 report are Dr Debra Davidson, a professor of Environmental Sociology at the University of Alberta, and Dr. Stewart Cohen, a Senior Researcher with the Climate Research Division of Environment Canada in Vancouver. Last week, they were both in Japan, helping to draft the important "Summary for Policymakers" that digests the conclusions of the report for politicians and governments. The key points, they say, are that we are definitely already seeing the impacts of climate change, and while we've started to prepare for the more serious issues to come - including extreme weather, drought, floods, potential crop failures, and wildfires - there is still much to do.

Related Links

• IPCC WG2 Report
• CBC News story
• Bob's Blog
• New York Times story
• Globe and Mail article
• National Geographic article