KidsGCCI

Barack Obama is to invite China to join the United States in an effort by the world's two biggest polluters to stop global warming running out of control.

The report, which U.S. Energy Secretary Steven Chu co-chaired before his selection, outlines several bold, sweeping changes to reduce both countries' emissions.

Project Co-Chair Steven Chu Director, Lawrence Berkeley National Laboratory; Professor of Physics and Molecular and Cellular Biology, University of California, Berkeley*

Simply put, if the oceans crash, we crash, and the signs of impending collapse are everywhere. On the other hand, it's becoming clearer that new solutions and policies may actually give us the capacity to understand and prevent that crash, if we have the will.

Scientists have been warning for years that climate change will bring higher temperatures and lower rainfall to Australia, increasing the likelihood of deadly wildfires. Some questioned whether Saturday's fire was a sign of things to come. "It's a sobering reminder of the need for this nation and the whole world to act and put at a priority our need to tackle climate change," said Bob Brown, the leader of Australia's minor Greens Party.

WILKINS ICE SHELF - A huge Antarctic ice shelf is on the brink of collapse with just a sliver of ice holding it in place, the latest victim of global warming that is altering maps of the frozen continent. "We've come to the Wilkins Ice Shelf to see its final death throes," David Vaughan, a glaciologist at the British Antarctic Survey (BAS), told Reuters after the first - and probably last - plane landed near the narrowest part of the ice.

The Supreme Court two years ago directed the EPA to decide whether greenhouse gases, especially carbon dioxide from burning fossil fuels, pose a threat to public health and welfare because they are warming the Earth. If such a finding is made, these emissions should be regulated under the Clean Air Act, the court said.

The new projections, published this month in the American Meteorological Society's Journal of Climate, indicate a median probability of surface warming of 5.2 degrees Celsius by 2100, with a 90% probability range of 3.5 to 7.4 degrees. This can be compared to a median projected increase in the 2003 study of just 2.4 degrees.

The effects of climate change are being felt by indigenous peoples from the Arctic to the Caribbean. Inuit livelihoods are disappearing as quickly as the snow, Caribbean Islands are at risk of drowning and the tribes of Borneo can only watch as their rainforests catch fire. Put simply indigenous peoples are at the frontline of climate change. There is a moral duty to protect those vulnerable from climate change, and action needs to be taken now.

The scientific evidence for global warming and for humanity's role in the increase of greenhouse gasses becomes ever more unimpeachable, as the Intergovernmental Panel on Climate Change findings are going to suggest; and such activity has a profound relevance, not just for the environment, but in ethical, economic, social and political terms as well. The consequences of climate change are being felt not only in the environment, but in the entire socioeconomic system and, as seen in the findings of numerous reports already available, they will impact first and foremost the poorest and weakest who, even if they are among the least responsible for global warming, are the most vulnerable because they have limited resources or live in areas at greater risk. We need only think of the small island developing states as one example among many. Many of the most vulnerable societies, already facing energy problems, rely upon agriculture -- the very sector most likely to suffer from climatic shifts. Thus, in order to address the double challenge of climate change and the need for ever greater energy resources, we will have to change our present model from one of the heedless pursuit of economic growth in the name of development, toward a model which heeds the consequences of its actions and is more respectful toward the creation we hold in common, coupled with an integral human development for present and future generations. The complexity of the promotion of sustainable development is evident to all; there are, however, certain underlying principles which can direct research toward adequate and lasting solutions. Humanity must become increasingly conscious of the links between natural ecology, or respect for nature, and human ecology. Experience shows that disregard for the environment harms human coexistence, while at the same time it becomes clearer that there is a positive link to be made between peace with creation and peace among nations.

The effort responds to and builds upon the leadership of Pope Benedict XVI, the U.S. Catholic Bishops, and many Catholic religious communities who believe that our response to climate change must be guided by the exercise of prudence, the pursuit of the common good and a priority for the poor. Pope Benedict most recently referenced "troubling climate change" in his Easter message to the world and has insisted that, "Before it is too late, it is necessary to make courageous decisions that can recreate a strong alliance between humankind and the earth. A decisive 'yes' is needed to protect creation and also a strong commitment to invert those trends which risk leading to irreversibly degrading situations."

In a new report, international aid agency Oxfam says within six years, the number of people affected by climatic crises is projected to rise by 54 per cent to 375 million people.

Oxfam Australia says that climate change could leave up to 75 million people in the Asia-Pacific region homeless by 2050. The Future is Here: Climate Change says that these island nations are already suffering from drought, food shortages and rising water levels.

Some of the mightiest rivers on the planet, including the Ganges, the Niger, and the Yellow river in China, are drying up because of climate change, a study of global waterways warned yesterday. The study by the National Center for Atmospheric Research in Colorado found that global warming has had a far more damaging impact on rivers than had been realised and that, overwhelmingly, those rivers in highly populated areas were the most severely affected. That could threaten food and water supply to millions of people living in some of the world's poorest regions, the study warned.

It is most appropriate for Alaska to be hosting this week's Indigenous People's Global Summit on Climate Change here in Anchorage. Alaska's indigenous people know well a cruel irony of global warming: Those who are suffering the most from a warming climate are those who contribute least to the problem -- and they generally have the fewest resources to cope with the damage. Warming trends in the world's Arctic are undeniable. Sea ice is shrinking, giving storms more chance to pound unprotected shorelines and eat away at low-lying communities. Melting permafrost causes homes and other buildings to heave and twist.

"In my 33 years on the Energy and Commerce Committee, I cannot remember a week of hearings quite like this one," said Markey. "With so much at stake and such little time, I am pleased that our country's business, science and environmental leaders are lining up to engage in this historic week of hearings."