Sea level rising much faster than predicted

New estimates of sea level change including the dynamics of the big ice sheets are way higher than the IPCC 2007 estimate.
14/12/2009 - In an epoch report published in 2007, the UN's Intergovernmental Panel on Climate Change (IPCC) predicted that oceans would rise by 18-59 centimeters in 2100. In a new report, the Arctic Monitoring and Assessment Programme estimates the increase to be more than the double.

According to the Danish daily Politiken, the climate panel underlined that the estimate did not include rises caused by the disintegration of Greenland and Antarctica ice sheets.

"Today's bid is that by 2100, ocean levels are expected to rise by 0.5 to 1.5 meters. It is a dramatic increase in sea level rising over the next 100 years, and it is something that upsets us all," writes Professor Dorthe Dahl-Jensen with the Niels Bohr Institute at the University of Copenhagen in the article.

The study, The Greenland Ice Sheet in a Changing Climate: Snow, Water, Ice and Permafrost in the Arctic, is presented Monday at a side event at the UN climate change conference in Copenhagen.

+ More

Rich countries behind green technology fund

The White House on Monday announced a new program drawing funds from international partners to spend 350 million US dollars over five years to supply developing nations with clean energy technology.

14/12/2009 - The program will contribute to distribution of solar power alternatives for homes, including sun-powered lanterns, supply of cleaner equipment and appliances and a push to fund and put in place renewable energy systems in the world's poorer nations.

The funding plan grew out of the Major Economies Forum (MEF) established among the world's top economies earlier this year, with a decision to produce detail plans and spending at the July summit meeting in L'Aquila, Italy.

The US share of the program will amount to 85 million US dollars with the remainder coming from Australia, Britain, Netherlands, Norway and Switzerland, the White House said in a statement by spokesman Robert Gibbs.

He said President Barack Obama had assigned Energy Secretary Steven Chu to coordinate with partners in the MEF to insure immediate action on the program.

Do UNFCCC