IISD Reporting Services Coverage of U.S. Center at COP 22 - Issue #10

[IISD Reporting Services]

Title: IISD Reporting Services Coverage of U.S. Center at COP 22 - Issue #9

Having trouble viewing this email? Please try our Browser Version     U.S. Center at COP 22 Issue No. 10 - Saturday, 19 November 2016 Event convened on Friday, 18 November 2016 Visit our IISD Coverage for Friday, 18 November 2016, at: http://www.iisd.ca/climate/cop22/us-center/18nov.html Carbon and Climate: What We Know and What We Need to Know Organized by the National Aeronautic and Space Administration (NASA) The event, moderated by Tom Di Liberto, INNOVIM, explored scientific collaboration around the world to advance scientific knowledge on carbon sources and sinks, with a focus on activities related to greenhouse gases (GHGs). The event was organized by NASA, along with Japan’s Ministry of the Environment and the World Meteorological Organization (WMO). Lesley Ott, NASA, presented on satellite observations in support of scientific understanding and decision-making. She explained that human activities and, to a lesser extent, El Niño, were the major contributors to the warmest global temperatures on record in 2015. She explained the steady decrease of: the Arctic sea ice area from 1980 to 2015, and the permafrost distribution in the Northern Hemisphere. Noting that volcanic, orbital and solar changes cannot explain the observed increases in global temperatures, she presented models that depict that anthropogenic GHG emissions are the major cause of such increases. Using data provided by the Carnegie-Ames-Stanford Approach-Global Fire Emission Database model, she explained the carbon flux between terrestrial ecosystems and the atmosphere. Akio Takemoto, Ministry of the Environment, Japan, presented on his country’s action for GHG monitoring from space. Drawing attention to data provided by the US Orbiting Carbon Observatory and Japan’s Greenhouse Gases Observing Satellite (GOSAT), he explained how the data sets can be used to measure the global distribution and concentration of CO2 and methane levels. He highlighted steps forward in terms of Japan-US satellite data cooperation, such as: developing a methodology to estimate anthropogenic GHG emissions and removals via satellite; and providing input to the Intergovernmental Panel on Climate Change GHG Inventory to enable all countries to utilize GOSAT. During discussions, participants addressed, inter alia: model prediction changes in past decades, particularly in carbon flux; decreases in model uncertainty over time; and the political reaction to the overwhelming scientific consensus that anthropogenic GHGs are the major causes of global warming. Participants also called for more research on the role of phytoplankton and tropical forests as global carbon sinks. More information: www.nasa.gov Contacts: Lesley Ott (Coordinator) lesley....@nasa.gov This issue has been written by Bo-Alex Fredvik. The Digital Editor are Liz Rubin and Diego Noguera. The Editor is Leila Mead <le...@iisd.org>. The Director of IISD Reporting Services is Langston James “Kimo” Goree VI <k...@iisd.org>. Funding for coverage of the U.S. Center at COP 22 has been provided by the US Department of State. The opinions expressed in this issue are those of the author and do not necessarily reflect the views of IISD and funder. Excerpts from this issue may be used in non-commercial publications only with appropriate academic citation. For permission to use this material in commercial publications, contact the Director of IISD Reporting Services at <k...@iisd.org>. Electronic versions of issues of this issue can be found on the IISD Reporting Services website at http://www.iisd.ca/climate/cop22/us-center/ You are currently subscribed to enb as: arch...@mail-archive.com View enb Forum            Membership Options / Unsubscribe Subscribe to all other IISD Reporting Services' free newsletters and lists for environment and sustainable development policy professionals at http://www.iisd.ca/email/subscribe.htm