Euro MP: 'War on climate change is as big as the war on terrorism'.

In advance of a high level meeting in the European Parliament held on Monday 29 November Lib Dem Euro MP Diana Wallis has said the war on climate change is as big as the war on terrorism.

Members of the European Parliament, as well as visiting parliamentarians from arctic countries, heard a presentation of Arctic Climate Impact Assessment (ACIA) on Monday, November 29th, by Dr. Robert W. Corell, chairman of the ACIA, and Jennifer Morgan, director of WWF's Climate Change Programme at a meeting organised by Diana Wallis MEP, a member of the Arctic Parliamentarians Committee.

Liberal Democrat MEP, Diana Wallis, who chaired Monday's presentation, said in advance of the meeting, "It is not fashionable to say this but in my opinion the war on climate change is as big as the war on terrorism."

"The difference is that I believe we can a get real international effort to tackle this problem. Quite simply we cannot fail."

European countries, all ratifiers of the Kyoto protocol, must establish their leadership role in the world by committing to yet deeper cuts in carbon dioxide emissions. This is more urgent than ever due to the re-election of the Bush administration in the US, said WWF, the global conservation organization, before a presentation to the European Parliament of the Arctic Climate Impact Assessment (ACIA)*, the most comprehensive regional assessment so far made about the impacts of climate change.

The Arctic Climate Impact Assessment, produced by more than 300 scientists and indigenous people for the Arctic Council, provides incontrovertible proof that climate change is happening in the Arctic and that it will get worse unless emissions of carbon dioxide are cut. The report also warns that a warmer Arctic will have impacts around the world, contributing to global warming and sea level rise.

The policy response to ACIA, released by the Arctic Council* on Wednesday, November 24th, notes with concern the impacts outlined in the ACIA report and the important role that the Arctic plays in the global climate. It does not, however, support stronger mandatory measures to reduce CO2 emissions, which are essential to avoid many of the impacts outlined in the report.

"The nations in the Arctic Council missed an opportunity to show real leadership in response to ACIA and support bigger cuts in CO2 emissions," said Jennifer Morgan, director of WWF's International Climate Change Programme. "The EU must not make the same mistake".

WWF's call comes as countries prepare for The Tenth Conference of the Parties of the UN Framework Convention on Climate Change (UNFCCC - COP10), which takes place in Buenos Aires from December 6th to 17th.

"The December meeting of the EU's Environment Council, consisting of all European environmental ministers, is the perfect opportunity for Europe to show that it understands that emissions must be cut far beyond the Kyoto targets and they are ready to take on that challenge. All of the European countries have already ratified the Kyoto Protocol, and must now meet targets", said Morgan. "We challenge them to differentiate themselves further from the Bush administration in the US and establish their moral leadership in the world on climate change".

Key findings in the ACIA report are:

" Human-induced changes in arctic climate are among the largest on earth. Warming in the Arctic will be around two or three times greater than the rest of the world.

" Polar bears could become extinct by the end of this century. They are very unlikely to survive as a species if there is an almost complete loss of summer sea ice cover, which is projected to occur before the end of this century by some climate models.

" Some arctic fisheries will disappear

" New health hazards for both animals and humans are set to appear as the climate warms.

" A warmer climate is likely to see more forest fires and storm damage to coastal communities in the Arctic.

" Glaciers, sea ice and tundra will melt, contributing to global sea level rise. According to the report, sea levels could rise by nearly one meter by the end of the century. A warmer Arctic will contribute up to 15 per cent of this rise. Today, there are 17 million people living less than one meter above sea level in Bangladesh, while places like Florida and Louisiana in the US, Bangkok, Calcutta, Dhaka and Manila are also are risk from sea level rise.

" The area of the Greenland Ice Sheet that experiences some melting has increased by about 16 per cent from 1979 to 2002. The area of melting in 2002 broke all previous records. Global warming could eventually lead to a complete melting of the Greenland Ice Sheet, and a resulting sea-level rise globally of seven meters although this will take several hundred years.

" A melting Arctic will also accelerate the rate of global climate change. As arctic snow and ice melt, the ability of the Arctic to reflect heat back to space is reduced, accelerating the overall rate of global warming.

" A warmer Arctic could possibly halt the Gulf Stream, which brings warmer water and weather to north-western Europe.