The Royal Society and the US National Academy of Sciences have issued a joint publication on the evidence for anthropogenic climate change in an effort to underpin international discussions with easily available scientific evidence.
Launched in Washington DC on 27 February, the report has been compiled by a team of climate scientists from both countries and explains which aspects of climate change are well understood, and which areas require more research.
“Our aim with this new resource is to provide people with easy access to the latest scientific evidence,” said Royal Society president Paul Nurse, who added that there was enough evidence to warrant taking action on climate change. “It is now time for the public debate to move forward to discuss what we can do to limit the impact on our lives and those of future generations.”
The report concludes that climate change is occurring, that most recent changes are almost certainly due to human activities, and that further climate change is inevitable.
It states that governments now face four options: changing their patterns of energy production and use; waiting for changes to occur and accepting concurrent damages; adapting to actual and expected changes; or seeking geoengineering solutions. These options are not mutually exclusive.
The report says: “There is an important debate to be had about choices among these options, to decide what is best for each group or nation, and, most importantly, for the global population as a whole."
The report addresses 20 questions on climate change, ranging from “Is the climate warming?” to “If emissions of greenhouse gases were stopped, would the climate return to the conditions of 200 years ago?” Also included among these questions are “How do scientists know that recent climate change is largely caused by human activities?” and “What are scientists doing to address key uncertainties in our understanding of the climate system?”
Commenting on the report, NAS president Ralph Cicerone said, “As two of the world’s leading scientific bodies, we feel a responsibility to evaluate and explain what is known about climate change…and to advance public dialogue about how to respond to the threats of climate change.”