Of course mindless derision without even bothering to look at the link is the Conservatives response to everything.
http://www.ccrc.unsw.edu.au/Copenhagen/Copenhagen_Diagnosis_LOW.pdf
EXECUTIVE SUMMARY
The most significant recent climate change findings are:
Surging greenhouse gas emissions: Global carbon dioxide emissions from fossil fuels in 2008 were 40% higher than thosein 1990. Even if global emission rates are stabilized at present-day levels, just 20 more years of emissions would give a25% probability that warming exceeds 2°C, even with zero emissions after 2030. Every year of delayed action increases thechances of exceeding 2°C warming.
Recent global temperatures demonstrate human-induced warming: Over the past 25 years temperatures have increased at arate of 0.19°C per decade, in very good agreement with predictions based on greenhouse gas increases. Even over the pastten years, despite a decrease in solar forcing, the trend continues to be one of warming. Natural, short-term fluctuations areoccurring as usual, but there have been no significant changes in the underlying warming trend.
Acceleration of melting of ice-sheets, glaciers and ice-caps: A wide array of satellite and ice measurements now demonstratebeyond doubt that both the Greenland and Antarctic ice-sheets are losing mass at an increasing rate. Melting of glaciers andice-caps in other parts of the world has also accelerated since 1990.
Rapid Arctic sea-ice decline: Summer-time melting of Arctic sea-ice has accelerated far beyond the expectations of climatemodels. The area of summertime sea-ice melt during 2007-2009 was about 40% less than the average prediction from IPCCAR4 climate models.
Current sea-level rise underestimated: Satellites show recent global average sea-level rise (3.4 mm/yr over the past 15 years)to be ~80% above past IPCC predictions. This acceleration in sea-level rise is consistent with a doubling in contribution frommelting of glaciers, ice caps, and the Greenland and West-Antarctic ice-sheets.
Sea-level predictions revised: By 2100, global sea-level is likely to rise at least twice as much as projected by Working Group1 of the IPCC AR4; for unmitigated emissions it may well exceed 1 meter. The upper limit has been estimated as ~ 2 meterssea level rise by 2100. Sea level will continue to rise for centuries after global temperatures have been stabilized, and severalmeters of sea level rise must be expected over the next few centuries.
Delay in action risks irreversible damage: Several vulnerable elements in the climate system (e.g. continental ice-sheets,Amazon rainforest, West African monsoon and others) could be pushed towards abrupt or irreversible change if warmingcontinues in a business-as-usual way throughout this century. The risk of transgressing critical thresholds (“tipping points”
increases strongly with ongoing climate change. Thus waiting for higher levels of scientific certainty could mean that some
tipping points will be crossed before they are recognized.
The turning point must come soon: If global warming is to be limited to a maximum of 2 °C above pre-industrial values, globalemissions need to peak between 2015 and 2020 and then decline rapidly. To stabilize climate, a decarbonized global society –with near-zero emissions of CO2 and other long-lived greenhouse gases – needs to be reached well within this century. Morespecifically, the average annual per-capita emissions will have to shrink to well under 1 metric ton CO2 by 2050. This is 80-95%
below the per-capita emissions in developed nations in 2000.
The Copenhagen Diagnosis, 2009: Updating the World on the Latest Climate Science.
I. Allison, N.L. Bindoff, R.A. Bindschadler, P.M. Cox, N. de Noblet, M.H. England, J.E. Francis, N.
Gruber, A.M. Haywood, D.J. Karoly, G. Kaser, C. Le Quéré, T.M. Lenton, M.E. Mann, B.I. McNeil,
A.J. Pitman, S. Rahmstorf, E. Rignot, H.J. Schellnhuber, S.H. Schneider, S.C. Sherwood, R.C.J.
Somerville, K. Steffen, E.J. Steig, M. Visbeck, A.J. Weaver. The University of New South Wales
Climate Change Research Centre (CCRC), Sydney, Australia, 60pp.
