Transcript An Analysis of the Bush Administration Climate Change Policy

Bush Administration Global
Change Policy: It’s Evolution
and Present Status
Warren M. Washington
NCAR
Context
• President Bush is the United States “Commander in
Chief” for the war on Terrorism
• There are still substantial concerns about the
administration views on climate policy. Administration
asked National Academy of Sciences to review the IPCC
report.
• Connections between Middle East policy and
environmental policies
• Polls on environmental policy…my talk to oil and gas
CEOs on day of terrorism
Facts and Connections
• 178 countries versus U.S.
• Bush …Kyoto Treaty is “fatally flawed”
• Scientists agree that treaty has flaws and is
unrealistic in many ways
• Administration is committed to finding solutions
• Kyoto Treaty is more a commitment to
solutions than “the” solution
• Terrorism-Middle East Crisis-Oil-EnergyEditorial
Proposed Bush Administration
Plan for Climate Modeling
• Bush - “develop state-of-the-art climate
modeling that will help us better understand
the causes and impacts of climate change”
• National Academy of Science Studies of the
successes and problems
• Work with international partners
• Proposed establishment of two
complementary high-end research centers
Two Centers Approach
• One a high-end research center-broad multidisciplinary community-Community Based
Research Center with connections to
universities and federal laboratories
• Second being focus on products generation
for assessment, and policy applications GFDL-NCEP-ERL- Joint Institutes
• Limited funding…secret plan
Workshop on Rapid and Severe
Climate Change – 9 October 2001
• Technological response options and research
needs
• National Climate Change Technology
Initiative (NCCTI)
• Report to the President due January 2002
• Discussion with White House Science Advisor
Various Geoengineering
Schemes if Climate Changes
> 0.5 C/Decade
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Engineered Stratospheric Scatters
Stratospheric Aerosols
Increased Cloud Albedo or Amount
Increased Surface Albedo
Ocean Slicks…Moderating Hurricanes
Altering Polar Energy Balance..Sea Ice
Altering Ocean Currents..Sustain
Thermohaline Circulation
• Insulating Greenland and Antarctica Polar
Caps
NCCTI Goals
• Evaluate current U.S. Climate change
Technology R&D
• Develop private-public partnerships
• Recommend demonstration projects of
cutting-edge technologies
• Strengthen research at universities and
laboratories
Global to Local - Courtesy of NASA
The End