Major points:
Recent data and research supports the importance of natural climate variability and calls into question the conclusion that humans are the dominant cause of recent climate change[/B]:
• The hiatus in global warming since 1998
• Reduced estimates of the sensitivity of climate to carbon dioxide
• Climate models predict much more warming than has been observed in the early 21st century
We have made some questionable choices in defining the problem of climate change and its solution:
• The definition of 'dangerous' climate change is ambiguous, and
hypothesized catastrophic tipping points are regarded as very or extremely unlikely in the 21st century.
• Efforts to link dangerous impacts of extreme weather events to human-caused warming are misleading and unsupported by evidence.
• Climate change is a 'wicked problem' and ill-suited to a 'command and control' solution
• It has been estimated that the U.S. INDC of 28% emissions reduction will prevent 0.03 Deg C in warming by 2100.[/B]
The inadequacies of current policies based on the Precautionary Principle are leaving the real societal consequences of climate change and extreme weather events (whether caused by humans or natural variability) largely unaddressed:
• We should expand the frameworks for thinking about climate policy and provide policy makers with a wider choice of options in addressing the risks from climate change.
• Pragmatic solutions based on efforts to accelerate energy innovation, build resilience to extreme weather, and pursue no regrets pollution reduction measures have justifications independent of their benefits for climate mitigation and adaptation.
Dr. Curry has recently served on the
NASA Advisory Council Earth Science Subcommittee[/B], the DOE Biological and Environmental Research Advisory Committee[/B], and the National Academies Climate Research Committee and the Space Studies Board[/B] and the NOAA Climate Working Group[/B].
Dr. Curry is a Fellow of the American Meteorological Society, the American Association for the Advancement of Science, and the American Geophysical Union.
