Transcript M. Shore-Climate Change ()

ENVIRONMENTAL DEFENSE
Climate Change
Challenge and Opportunity
Michael Shore
DENR Climate and Mercury Workshop
April 21, 2004
ENVIRONMENTAL DEFENSE
Two Reasons NC should pay attention to
climate change:
– Challenge: Environmental/Economic
Issues
– Opportunity: Carbon Marketplace
2
ENVIRONMENTAL DEFENSE
Sea level on
the Atlantic
coast is
expected to rise
about 12 inches
over the next 30
years.
3
ENVIRONMENTAL DEFENSE
Supply Demand
Ag, Hog, Forestry, Utilities,
Industry Manufacturers
Registry
-orReporting
Carbon
Reporting
Marketplace
Targets
Selling
Credits
4
Caps (Buying)
Pilot
Market
ENVIRONMENTAL DEFENSE
If NC is asleep at the wheel. . .
• Emission credit dollars will go
to out of state suppliers
• The longer NC waits, the higher
the cost of reduction efforts
• The longer NC waits, the worse
the environmental/economic
impacts
5
ENVIRONMENTAL DEFENSE
Bottom Line on Climate
• North Carolina is already experiencing the
effects of climate change and will continue
to do so
• There will be national standards, eventually,
and greenhouse gas marketplace
• Will NC be ready or caught off guard?
6
ENVIRONMENTAL DEFENSE
Supply Demand
Ag, Hog, Forestry, Utilities,
Industry Manufacturers
Registry
-orReporting
Reporting
Targets
Selling
Credits
7
Caps (Buying)
Pilot
Market
ENVIRONMENTAL DEFENSE
Greenhouse gases are a blanket
that keeps the Earth warm
8
ENVIRONMENTAL DEFENSE
CO2 & temperature are correlated
9
ENVIRONMENTAL DEFENSE
10
ENVIRONMENTAL DEFENSE
Global temperatures are rising
11
ENVIRONMENTAL DEFENSE
Risks and Impacts
$
12
ENVIRONMENTAL DEFENSE
Scientific Consensus
• A rise in global average temperature has
already occurred and temperature
will
continue to rise over the next 100 years
• Warming is mostly due to human activities
– mainly the burning of fossil fuels
• The greater our emissions of greenhouse
gases, the more the severe the adverse
impacts of climate change will be.
–
13
Assessments by the US National Academy of Sciences and the United
Nations Intergovernmental Panel on Climate Change (IPCC)
ENVIRONMENTAL DEFENSE
14