MEDIA RELEASE
New policies needed to combat Global Change, says Commissioner Wallström [20 Jan. 2004]
For immediate release: 20 January, 2004
STOCKHOLM. Never before have policy makers faced a more challenging
task than responding to global change, said EU Environment Commissioner
Margot Wallström, in an article in the International Herald Tribune
today (http://www.iht.com/articles/125563.html) and in a statement made for the launch of a new book on global
change*
Global change is the combination of changes that are occurring
to the Earth’s environment as a result of human and natural forces. In the
book, a view of a rapidly changing planet is presented by hundreds
of scientists from around the world.
“The rate and extent of change, especially since the 1950s is unprecedented,” says Dr Will Steffen, Executive Director of the International
Geosphere-Biosphere Programme and lead author of the book. “We are changing the very life support system on which we depend
and its future is highly unpredictable.”
One of the concerns raised by the book is that many of the changes
occurring to the Earth remain “invisible” for long periods until critical thresholds are crossed and large
changes follow. “Some changes may be irreversible on any time scale meaningful
to humans”, says Steffen.
Speaking at the launch, Nobel Prize-winner Paul Crutzen, cites
our experience with the ozone hole as an example of a large change
that remained unnoticed for many years. Had we used bromine instead
of chlorine in propellants and refrigerants we would now have
a catastrophic ozone hole covering a large portion of the planet.
It was luck that prevented this catastrophe. What other surprises
might lay ahead (and which may already have been set in motion
by our activities over the past 50 years)?
Such catastrophic changes will first appear as rapid regional
changes in vulnerable areas, even though they may result from
global forces, says Founding Chair of the Intergovernmental Panel
on Climate Change (IPCC), Professor Bert Bolin. “Most major global changes will actually be first experienced by
us as humans in our local setting,” he says. “It is most important for policy makers to know where these ‘Achilles’ heels’ in the Earth System are and what might happen to them.”
The quality of life of present and future generations depends
on the effectiveness of current policy decisions, says Wallström.
She points to better collaboration between scientists, policy
makers and the public as an important step in the process.
“The Intergovernmental Panel on Climate Change (IPCC) has been
instrumental in catalysing international action against global
warming and testifies to the importance of science in promoting
action to address global change,” she said.
Wallström and the scientists involved in the study also point
to the need for a multilateral approach similar to the Kyoto Protocol
but even more far-reaching.
“…while most practical action will in the end be taken at local,
regional and national levels, international frameworks are essential,” she said.
*Notes for Editors:
Margot Wallström’s statement will be presented at the launch of a new book “Global Change and the Earth System: A planet under pressure” (Steffen et al., published by Springer-Verlag, Germany) by the
International Geosphere-Biosphere Programme. Dr Steffen and Professors Crutzen and Bolin will be speaking
at the launch, which will be held on Wednesday 21 January (9.30
am to 12.00 pm) at the Royal Swedish Academy of Sciences, Lilla
frescativägen 4, Stockholm.
- An informal lunch for the media will be held from 12.15 pm to
13.00 pm
(registration essential)
Other panellists include:
Professor Bo Kjellen (Tyndall Centre, Norwich, UK)
Professor Bert Bolin (University of Stockholm and former Chair of the IPCC)
Professor Paul Crutzen (Nobel Prize winning atmospheric chemist)
Professor Stefan Rahmstorf (Potsdam Institute for Climate Impact Research, Germany).
Professor Katherine Richardson (Aarhus University, Denmark)
Dr Will Steffen (Executive Director of IGBP, Royal Swedish Academy of Sciences)
For more information and to register for this event contact:
Susannah Eliott at the IGBP Secretariat
Phone: 46-8-16 64 48; Fax: 46-8-16 64 05;
Email: Susannah Eliott
Mobile: 46 708 346 463
