France 2001. Third national communication under the UN framework convention on climate change

International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

2001-01-01

In line with obligations under the UN Framework Convention on Climate Change, France, like all the signatories of the convention, is required periodically to provide a National Communication following a plan established by the Conference of Parties to the Convention. This document provides information on national actions related to climate change. It also aims to help our country respect its commitments and encourage the release of information so as to enable an examination and in-depth evaluation of the implementation of the commitments made under the Convention, the Kyoto Protocol and the 1998 European agreement on burden-sharing within the European Union. (author)

Getting ready for crops' adaptation to climate change in France ; two complementary experiences : what lessons can we draw from them ?

Science.gov (United States)

de Noblet, Nathalie; Levrault, Frédéric; Caubel, Julie; Garcia de CortazarAtauri, Iñaki; Vivant, Anne-Charlotte; Wieruszeski, Sophie; Launay, Marie

2016-04-01

The french agriculture is a sector particularly concerned by climate change: the scale of the already observed impacts and the expected climatic evolutions prevent any hesitation on the necessity of an adaptation of agriculture. This assessment is simultaneously shared by the scientific, political as well as the economic communities. However, a generalized and organized movement of adaptation of agriculture has difficulty in emerging in France and maybe in other countries, while past decades have seen the development of research projects and publications on the adaptation to climate change. Two parallel initiatives have been run in France over the past 5 years, that happen to share the same name while not involving the same actors: an observatory of climate change and agriculture functioning (ORACLE: Observatoire Régional sur l'Agriculture et le Changement Climatique), and a nationally funded research project that explores with various tools risks and opportunities for agro-ecosystems in the future in France (ORACLE: Opportunities and Risks of Agrosystems & forests in response to CLimate, socio-economic and policy changEs in France). The Observatory is carrying on a regional analysis of historical trends of both climatic and agricultural variables. It has for ambition to help the agricultural world to better integrate the evolution of climate into its decision-making, for purposes of adaptation as well as mitigation. The observatory is run since year 2011 in the Poitou-Charentes region and is now being implemented in other regions in France (Aquitaine, Pays de la Loire, Champagne Ardennes, Normandie). The research project has looked into the impacts of various scenarios of climate change through the use of various techniques : mechanistic models (Calvet et al. 2013, Wu et al. 2016) and eco-climatic indicators (Caubel et al. 2015). Informations regarding risks and opportunities for large crops in France is in the process being assessed though those tools and

Climate change and viticulture in Mediterranean climates: the complex response of socio-ecosystems. A comparative case study from France and Australia (1955-2040)

Science.gov (United States)

Lereboullet, A.-L.; Beltrando, G.; Bardsley, D. K.

2012-04-01

The wine industry is very sensitive to extreme weather events, especially to temperatures above 35°C and drought. In a context of global climate change, Mediterranean climate regions are predicted to experience higher variability in rainfall and temperatures and an increased occurrence of extreme weather events. Some viticultural systems could be particularly at risk in those regions, considering their marginal position in the growth climatic range of Vitis vinifera, the long commercial lifespan of a vineyard, the high added-value of wine and the volatile nature of global markets. The wine industry, like other agricultural systems, is inserted in complex networks of climatic and non-climatic (other physical, economical, social and legislative) components, with constant feedbacks. We use a socio-ecosystem approach to analyse the adaptation of two Mediterranean viticultural systems to recent and future increase of extreme weather events. The present analysis focuses on two wine regions with a hot-summer Mediterranean climate (CSb type in the Köppen classification): Côtes-du-Roussillon in southern France and McLaren Vale in southern Australia. Using climate data from two synoptic weather stations, Perpignan (France) and Adelaide (Australia), with time series running from 1955 to 2010, we highlight changes in rainfall patterns and an increase in the number of days with Tx >35°c since the last three decades in both regions. Climate models (DRIAS project data for France and CSIRO Mk3.5 for Australia) project similar trends in the future. To date, very few projects have focused on an international comparison of the adaptive capacity of viticultural systems to climate change with a holistic approach. Here, the analysis of climate data was complemented by twenty in-depth semi-structured interviews with key actors of the two regional wine industries, in order to analyse adaptation strategies put in place regarding recent climate evolution. This mixed-methods approach

Adaptation to Climate Change in France and Quebec: Convergent Institutional Constructions, Divergent Diffusion

International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

Marquet, Vincent; Salles, Denis

2014-01-01

In the space of a few decades, climate change has established itself as a central object of research for the scientific community and a high profile social and political question. Closely associated with the work of the IPCC, two dominant modes of action have supplied the institutional response: these are, respectively, attenuation and adaptation. The latter has established itself as a potential path for policy by appealing to the imperative of human survival and adopting the form of a vast normative program. By drawing upon a comparative approach, I propose to examine climate change adaptation policies as an emerging framework structuring global, transversal and multi-level public action. To this end, I examine the convergent process by which climate change adaptation policies have been institutionalized in France and Quebec. I then consider the issues involved in the spread of climate change adaptation via territorial risk management policies and water resource governance. Ultimately, the result is that the new requirements imposed by adaptation are in contradiction with the interests and shorter temporalities still prevailing within local management activities

Impacts of climate change on wind energy resources in France: a regionalization study; Impacts du changement climatique sur le potentiel eolien en France: une etude de regionalisation

Energy Technology Data Exchange (ETDEWEB)

Najac, J.

2008-11-15

In this work, we study the impact of climate change on surface winds in France and draw conclusions concerning wind energy resources. Because of their coarse spatial resolution, climate models cannot properly reproduce the spatial variability of surface winds. Thus, 2 down-scaling methods are developed in order to regionalize an ensemble of climate scenarios: a statistical method based on weather typing and a statistic-dynamical method that resorts to high resolution mesoscale modelling. By 2050, significant but relatively small changes are depicted with, in particular, a decrease of the wind speed in the southern and an increase in the northern regions of France. The use of other down-scaling methods enables us to study several uncertainty sources: it appears that most of the uncertainty is due to the climate models. (author)

Future C loss in mid-latitude mineral soils: climate change exceeds land use mitigation potential in France

OpenAIRE

Meersmans, Jeroen; Arrouays, Dominique; Van Rompaey, Anton J. J.; Pag?, Christian; De Baets, Sarah; Quine, Timothy A.

2016-01-01

Many studies have highlighted significant interactions between soil C reservoir dynamics and global climate and environmental change. However, in order to estimate the future soil organic carbon sequestration potential and related ecosystem services well, more spatially detailed predictions are needed. The present study made detailed predictions of future spatial evolution (at 250 m resolution) of topsoil SOC driven by climate change and land use change for France up to the year 2100 by takin...

Key figures on climate France and Worldwide - 2017 Edition

International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

Baude, Manuel; Dussud, Francois-Xavier; Ecoiffier, Mathieu; Duvernoy, Jerome; Vailles, Charlotte; Moreau, Sylvain; Bottin, Anne; Hiblot, Guillaume

2016-10-01

In line with previous years, the 2017 edition of 'Key figures on climate' has been written in the context of the 22. Conference of the Parties on Climate Change (COP 22) held in Marrakech from 7 to 18 November 2016. This latest version, published as part of the new 'datalab' collection of the General commission for sustainable development was updated and expanded relative to the 2016 edition. New data sources have been used for the part on global CO_2 emissions. The part on climate policies was further developed, and notably deals with the Paris agreement adopted in December 2015 at COP 21. Moreover, the analysis of climate finance (current climate investments and climate finance needs) has been expanded. About the form, and with a goal of simplification, some data previously displayed in both a graph and a table is now presented only in a graph. Content: Part 1: What is climate change? This part summarizes the scientific basis of climate change, including indicators, causes and possible consequences of global warming. Part 2: Which amounts of greenhouse gases are emitted globally? The focus here is on the most relevant data related to global greenhouse gases (GHG) emissions, in particular the geographic distribution of these emissions. Part 3: How much greenhouse gas is emitted in Europe and in France? A complete overview of GHG emissions statistics in Europe and in France is presented in this part as well as estimates of the carbon footprint of French people. Part 4: What is the sectoral distribution of GHG emissions in Europe and in France? This part features the detailed evolution since 1990 of GHG emissions in the following economic sectors: energy sector, transports, industry, residential and tertiary, agriculture, forestry, land use and waste management. Part 5: Which climate policies in the world, in Europe and in France? The main climate policies are described at each level: global, European and French

Future C loss in mid-latitude mineral soils: climate change exceeds land use mitigation potential in France.

Science.gov (United States)

Meersmans, Jeroen; Arrouays, Dominique; Van Rompaey, Anton J J; Pagé, Christian; De Baets, Sarah; Quine, Timothy A

2016-11-03

Many studies have highlighted significant interactions between soil C reservoir dynamics and global climate and environmental change. However, in order to estimate the future soil organic carbon sequestration potential and related ecosystem services well, more spatially detailed predictions are needed. The present study made detailed predictions of future spatial evolution (at 250 m resolution) of topsoil SOC driven by climate change and land use change for France up to the year 2100 by taking interactions between climate, land use and soil type into account. We conclude that climate change will have a much bigger influence on future SOC losses in mid-latitude mineral soils than land use change dynamics. Hence, reducing CO 2 emissions will be crucial to prevent further loss of carbon from our soils.

Late Holocene vegetation changes in relation with climate fluctuations and human activity in Languedoc (southern France)

OpenAIRE

Azuara , J; Combourieu-Nebout , N; Lebreton , V; Mazier , F; Müller , S D; Dezileau , L ,

2015-01-01

International audience; Holocene climate fluctuations and human activity since the Neolithic have shaped present-day Mediter-ranean environments. Separating anthropogenic effects from climatic impacts to better understand Mediterranean pale-oenvironmental changes over the last millennia remains a challenging issue. High-resolution pollen analyses were un-dertaken on two cores from the Palavasian lagoon system (Hérault, southern France). These records allow reconstruction of vegetation dynamic...

Key figures on climate France, Europe and Worldwide. Edition 2018

International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

Baude, Manuel; Dussud, Francois-Xavier; Ecoiffier, Mathieu; Moreau, Sylvain; Bottin, Anne; Duvernoy, Jerome; Vailles, Charlotte

2017-10-01

In line with previous years, the 2018 edition of 'Key figures on climate' has been written in the context of the 22. Conference of the Parties on Climate Change (COP 22) held in Bonn from 6 to 17 November 2017. This latest version was updated relative to the 2017 edition. New data sources have been used for emissions factors and the part on the carbon footprint was further developed. The part on climate policies notably deals with the Paris Agreement adopted in December 2015 at COP 21. Several data sets, displayed in graphs in this document are also available in tables on the web version. Content: 1 - What is climate change? This part summarizes the scientific basis of climate change, including indicators, causes and possible consequences of global warming. 2 - Which amounts of greenhouse gases are emitted globally? The focus here is on the most relevant data related to global greenhouse gases (GHG) emissions, in particular the geographic distribution of these emissions. 3 - How much greenhouse gas is emitted in Europe and in France? A complete overview of GHG emissions statistics in Europe and in France is presented in this part as well as estimates of the carbon footprint of French people. 4 - What is the sectoral distribution of GHG emissions in Europe and in France? This part features the detailed evolution since 1990 of GHG emissions in the following economic sectors: energy sector, transports, industry, residential and tertiary, agriculture, forestry, land use and waste management. 5 - Which climate policies in the world, in Europe and in France? The main climate policies are described at each level: global, European and French

Regional climate change scenarios

International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

Somot, S.

2005-01-01

Because studies of the regional impact of climate change need higher spatial resolution than that obtained in standard global climate change scenarios, developing regional scenarios from models is a crucial goal for the climate modelling community. The zoom capacity of ARPEGE-Climat, the Meteo-France climate model, allows use of scenarios with a horizontal resolution of about 50 km over France and the Mediterranean basin. An IPCC-A2 scenario for the end of the 21. century in France shows higher temperatures in each season and more winter and less summer precipitation than now. Tuning the modelled statistical distributions to observed temperature and precipitation allows us to study changes in the frequency of extreme events between today's climate and that at the end of century. The frequency of very hot days in summer will increase. In particular, the frequency of days with a maximum temperature above 35 deg C will be multiplied by a factor of 10, on average. In our scenario, the Toulouse area and Provence might see one quarter of their summer days with a maximum temperature above 35 deg C. (author)

The determinants of the cost of natural disasters: the role of climate change in France

International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

Peinturier, Cedric; Bonnet, Xavier; Nicklaus, Doris

2014-05-01

After having recalled the scientific context and some definitions, this report aims at proposing an overview of the state-of-the-art in the field of economy of natural risks and climate change in order to allow a better understanding of past events and of critical points for the next decades. It is in fact a synthesis of works performed by technical and economic experts. A first part, based on scientific works, explains the increase of costs of natural risks which has been noticed in the 21. century. It discusses the influence of climate change on this increase (modelling studies on clay movements, coastal risks, flooding, forest fires, wind effects, landslides and avalanches). It examines the possible consequences of climate change on natural hazards in France during the century. The last part examines the possibility to economically assess these potential future impacts

Impacts of climate change on the hydrological cycle over France and associated uncertainties

Science.gov (United States)

Dayon, Gildas; Boé, Julien; Martin, Éric; Gailhard, Joël

2018-05-01

This study deals with the evolution of the hydrological cycle over France during the 21st century. A large multi-member, multi-scenario, and multi-model ensemble of climate projections is downscaled with a new statistical method to drive a physically-based hydrological model with recent improvements. For a business-as-usual scenario, annual precipitation changes generally remain small, except over southern France, where decreases close to 20% are projected. Annual streamflows roughly decrease by 10% (±20%) on the Seine, by 20% (±20%) on the Loire, by 20% (±15%) on the Rhone and by 40% (±15%) on the Garonne. Attenuation measures, as implied by the other scenarios analyzed, lead to less severe changes. However, even with a scenario generally compatible with a limitation of global warming to two degrees, some notable impacts may still occur, with for example a decrease in summer river flows close to 25% for the Garonne.

France's fifth national communication submitted under the United Nations framework on Climate Change. November 2009

International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

2009-01-01

After a presentation of France's national context (institutions, demography, geography, climate, economy), this document proposes information related to greenhouse gas emission inventory, a description of policy and measures aimed notably at meeting Kyoto's protocol requirements, a discussion of projections and of an assessment of the total effect of these policy and measures, a discussion of vulnerability assessment, climate change impacts and adaptation measures, a presentation of financial resources and technology transfer actions, a presentation of research actions and systematic observations, and a presentation of actions in the fields of education, training and public participation

Key figures for the climate in France and in the World - Issue 2016

International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

Dussud, Francois-Xavier; Joassard, Irenee; Wong, Florine; Duvernoy, Jerome; Morel, Romain

2015-01-01

This publication proposes graphs, maps and tables to illustrate the status and the evolution of climate in France and in the World. The first part addresses climate change: global warming, consequences of climate change, predictions, factors influencing temperature, greenhouse effect and greenhouse gases, greenhouse gas tanks and flows (case of CO 2 ), and increase of greenhouse gas atmospheric stock. The second part proposes an overview of greenhouse gas emissions in the world, globally and due to energy combustion or to electricity production. The third part addresses greenhouse gas emissions in France and in Europe and gives data on carbon footprint and imported emissions. The fourth part addresses the distribution of emissions among sectors in Europe and in France (energy industry, transports, manufacturing and building industry, other sectors, emissions out of energy use). The last part addresses climate policies: carbon pricing in the World, international negotiations, the Kyoto protocol in its successive periods (2008-2012, 2013-2020), the EU commitments, the European ETS, carbon price in the EU ETS, the Energy Climate package for 2030, financing of the struggle against climate change, and the French climate policy

Key figures for climate in France and in the World - 2013 edition

International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

Ouradou, Frederic; Wong, Florine; Delalande, Daniel; Morel, Romain

2012-01-01

Graphs and figures related to different aspects of climate in France and in the World are presented and briefly commented. The different parts respectively address climate change (global warming, consequences, forecasts, greenhouse effect, impact of human activity, carbon reservoirs, evolution and concentrations of greenhouse gases, temperatures), emissions of greenhouse gases (in the world, in Europe, in France), CO 2 emissions due to energy and to electricity production, the shares of sectors in greenhouse gas emissions in Europe and in France (energy production and transformation, transports, industry, other sectors, without energy combustion, CO 2 emission factors), and climate policies (international negotiations, Kyoto protocol and its flexibility mechanisms, the European Union commitments, the European Union Emission Trading Scheme and its carbon price, the French climate policy)

Nuclear Power and Climate Change: Construction and Consequences of a Geopolitical Rhetoric in France and Sweden

International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

Meyer, Teva

2017-01-01

The political awakening to the climate- change issue in the 1980's has durably de-structured the antinuclear movements. Previously held as the highest global threat, atomic energy became a potential solution to the contemporary environmental challenges thanks to its low emissions of greenhouse gases. However, it appears that these upheavals have not identically impacted every country, as evidenced by the diversity of reactions after the Fukushima accident. Relying on the study of two highly nuclearized countries, France and Sweden, this article intends to analyze the consequences of the climate argument on the balance of power between actors of the conflict over atomic energy's future. While in France, this new issue triggered an internal crisis within the antinuclear movement which did not structurally influence the conflict, it led in Sweden to a complete reorganization of the debate, thus facilitating the return of nuclear power in 2011 in the country

Key Figures on Climate France and Worldwide 2011 Edition

International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

2011-01-01

Each year, CDC Climate Research publishes in partnership with the French Ministry of Ecology, Sustainable Development, Transport and Housing (MEDDTL) the Key Figures on Climate - France and Worldwide, in the Highlights Series. This publication aims at gathering all the relevant data relating the scientific analysis of climate change, greenhouses gas emissions, in particular CO 2 emissions linked to energy use, and the emissions reduction-targeted economic policies. Contents: Part 1 - Climate Change: The Greenhouse Effect - Humans and the Greenhouse Effect - Stocks and Flows of GHGs: The Example of CO 2 - Increase in Atmospheric GHG Levels - Concentrations and Temperatures - Global Warming - Warming Differentiated by Latitude - Consequences of Global Warming. Part 2 - Greenhouse Gas Emissions: Snapshot of Global GHG Emissions - European Panorama of GHGs - French Panorama of GHGs. Part 3 - Energy-related CO 2 Emissions in the World: Energy-related CO 2 emissions - CO 2 Emissions due to Electricity Production including CHP Plants - CO 2 Emission Factors. Part 4 - CO 2 Emissions by Sector in Europe and in France: Fuel Combustion: the Largest Emitter of CO 2 - CO 2 Emissions due to Energy Production and Conversion - Transportation-related CO 2 Emissions - Industry-related CO 2 Emissions - CO 2 Emissions in the Other Sectors - CO 2 Emissions excluding Fuel Combustion. Part 5 - Climate Policies: The Kyoto Protocol - The Tradable Permit Market - Project Mechanisms of the Kyoto Protocol - Other Initiatives to Reduce Emissions - The European Union's Commitment - The European CO 2 Market (EU ETS) - The Carbon Price in the EU ETS - States Climate Policy: The Case of France. Practical information: CO 2 Key Figures - Glossary of Terms - Useful Links

Climate and Global Change

International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

Duplessy, J.C.; Pons, A.; Fantechi, R.

1991-01-01

The present volume contains the lessons delivered at the course held in Arles, France, on the subject Climate and Global Change: natural variability of the geosphere and biosphere systems, biogeochemical cycles and their perturbation by human activities, monitoring and forecasting global changes (satellite observations, modelling,...). Short presentations of students' own research activities are also proposed (climatic fluctuation in the Mediterranean area, climate/vegetation relations, etc.)

Key figures for the climate in France and in the World - issue 2014

International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

Ouradou, Frederic; Wong, Florine; Duvernoy, Jerome; Morel, Romain

2013-01-01

This publication proposes graphs, maps and tables to illustrate the status and the evolution of climate in France and in the World. The first part addresses climate change: atmosphere warming, consequences of climate change, predictions, factors influencing temperature, greenhouse effect and greenhouse gases, greenhouse gas tanks and flows (case of CO 2 ), and increase of greenhouse gas atmospheric stock. The second part addresses greenhouse gas emissions in the world, globally and due to energy combustion or to electricity production. The third part addresses greenhouse gas emissions in France and in Europe and gives data on carbon print and imported emissions. The fourth part addresses the distribution of emissions among sectors in Europe and in France (energy industry, transports, manufacturing and building industry, other sectors, emissions out of energy use, CO 2 emission factors). The last part addresses climate policies: international negotiations, the Kyoto protocol and its flexibility mechanism, the emission trading scheme during its first period, the second period of the Kyoto protocol, the EU commitments, the European ETS, carbon price in the EU ETS, the French climate policy

Policies to contend with climate change : positive impacts on employment in Europe and France

International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

Gaudin, T.; Bouchereau, J.M.

2007-01-01

The impact of climate change on the evolution of our society and economy was discussed. Studies have shown that the fight against climate change could result in the creation of many jobs. This article proposed several strategies to undertake, with particular reference to investment in energy conservation and the use of renewable energy. It promoted the frugal use of energy resources, notably fossil fuels, which are becoming scare. It also argued that investment in energy conservation and renewable energy sources is no long a luxury, but a necessity. It provided examples of how these investments are guided by profitability. For example, an investment to insulate a house in 1998 will be completely recuperated by 2005 due to savings in energy costs, after which time energy savings will continue. In addition to environmental protection and energy conservation, another benefit associated with the fight against climate change is job creation in areas such as insulating houses or the production of biofuels. By nature, renewable energy is local and decentralized. As such, it offers the opportunity for local jobs at or near the site of consumption. Examples of direct employment were depicted. In the transportation sector, half the amount of energy is needed to move in mass transit compared to individual cars, while creating twice the employment. Although the initial investment in mass transit is costly, the advantages are far from limited to energy conservation and employment. They include security, and improved health of people in cities which results in lower social costs. In France, the insulation of old buildings constructed before the introduction of new laws on thermal standards also generated employment. It is expected that 20,000 to 30,000 perennial jobs in agriculture and industrial manufacturing will been created in France by 2010 for the biofuel industry alone. Energy conservation will result in a drop in traditional energy consumption, this being the first goal

France's Climate Plan. Implementation of the Grenelle Environment

International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

2010-01-01

This report discusses the greenhouse gas emission reduction objectives by 2020 set by the French government within the frame of the 'Grenelle de l'Environnement' and also in compliance with France's commitments within international agreements and conferences, and indicates the share of each sector for these reductions (housing and office building, industry, energy, transports). This report first recalls the conclusions of the IPCC, indicates the observed evolutions and tendencies in the case of France, and describes the expected impacts of climate change. It gives an overview of the French climate policy and presents the methodology adopted to update the Climate Plan (scenarios, global assessment, assessment of the impact of some specific measures, cost assessment). Then, it describes French emission evolutions (globally and per sector) according to two scenarios by 2020. Global and transverse policies and measures are discussed, as well as those per sector (housing and office building, transport, industry, agriculture and forests, energy, wastes, public authorities and local communities, information and education). A global method of assessment of scenarios is presented, and an assessment of policies and measures is reported. A sensitivity study of the impact of the present crisis on France's emissions is also reported. The Kyoto protocol mechanism is described as well as the adaptation process

Key figures on climate France and Worldwide. 2010 Edition

International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

2010-01-01

This document makes a synthesis on the climate in France and in the World. Contents: 1 - Climate Change: The Greenhouse Effect, Humans and the Greenhouse Effect, Stocks and Flows of GHGs: The Example of CO 2 , Increase in Atmospheric GHG Levels, Concentrations and Temperatures, Global Warming, Warming Differentiated by Latitude, Consequences of Global Warming; 2 - Greenhouse Gas Emissions Snapshot of Global GHG Emissions, European Panorama of GHGs, French Panorama of GHGs; 3 - Energy-related CO 2 Emissions in the World: 3.1 Energy-related CO 2 emissions, CO 2 Emissions due to Electricity Production including CHP Plants, CO 2 Emission Factors; 4 - CO 2 Emissions by Sector in Europe and in France: Fuel Combustion: the Largest Emitter of CO 2 , CO 2 Emissions due to Energy Production and Conversion, Transportation-related CO 2 Emissions, Industry-related CO 2 Emissions, CO 2 Emissions in the Other Sectors, CO 2 Emissions excluding Fuel Combustion; 5 - Climate Policies: The Kyoto Protocol, The Tradable Permit Market, Project Mechanisms of the Kyoto Protocol, The European Union's Commitment, European CO 2 Market (EU ETS), Towards a Price Signal for CO 2 Emissions, States Climate Policy: The Case of France, Other Initiatives to Reduce Emissions; 6 - Practical information: CO 2 Key Figures, Glossary of Terms, Useful Links

Climate change impact on the activities of Electricite de France

International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

Manoha, B.; Hendrickx, F.; Dupeyrat, A.; Bertier, Ch.; Parey, S.

2008-01-01

Water resource is of prime importance for a producer of electricity like Electricite de France. As a matter of fact, EDF manages about 75 % of the French surface waters through hydro electricity which represents about 13 % of its production. EDF also needs access to water for the cooling of its thermal power plants, especially nuclear power plants which represent between 75 and 80 % of its electric production. Climate change is then studied with much care in order to be able to predict its effects on the future water repartition in time and place. The paper presents the results of studies carried out on the French Loire and Rhone rivers, using different climate models, with the assumption of doubling CO 2 in the atmosphere (which could happen during the second half of the century). Future river temperatures and flows have been quantified, showing in particular an increase of river flows in winter, and a rather large decrease in summer. These results will have to be taken into account for the future management of the power plants (some experience has already been drawn after the very hot 2003 summer), especially during dry periods when scarce waters will have to be shared between the various users (drinking water, irrigation, tourism, industries and hydroelectricity). (authors)

Climate change, energy security, and risk-debating nuclear new build in Finland, France and the UK

International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

Teraevaeinen, Tuula; Lehtonen, Markku; Martiskainen, Mari

2011-01-01

Concerns about climate change and energy security have been major arguments used to justify the recent return of nuclear power as a serious electricity generation option in various parts of the world. This article examines the recent public discussion in Finland, France, and the UK - three countries currently in the process of constructing or planning new nuclear power stations. To place the public discussion on nuclear power within the relationship between policy discourses and contexts, the article addresses three interrelated themes: the justifications and discursive strategies employed by nuclear advocates and critics, the similarities and differences in debates between the three countries, and the interaction between the country-specific state orientations and the argumentation concerning nuclear power. Drawing from documentary analysis and semi-structured interviews, the article identifies and analyses key discursive strategies and their use in the context of the respective state orientations: 'technology-and-industry-know-best' in Finland, 'government-knows-best' in France, and 'markets-know-best' in the UK. The nuclear debates illustrate subtle ongoing transformations in these orientations, notably in the ways in which the relations between markets, the state, and civil society are portrayed in the nuclear debates. - Highlights: → Focus on argumentation on new nuclear power in Finland, France, and the UK. → Nuclear power is justified by climate change, energy security, and independence. → The credibility of discursive strategies varies across countries. → Country-specific state orientations shape the success of discursive strategies. → Discursive strategies contain normative claims about state-society relations.

What will be the impacts of climate change on surface hydrology in France by 2070?

International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

Chauveau, Mathilde; Chazot, Sebastien; David, Julian; Norotte, Thomas; Perrin, Charles; Bourgin, Pierre-Yves; Sauquet, Eric; Vidal, Jean-Philippe; Rouchy, Nathalie; Martin, Eric; Maugis, Pascal; De Lacaze, Xavier

2013-01-01

Within the Explore 2070 project, an evaluation of the possible impacts of climate change on surface water between the 1961-1990 reference period and the 2046-2065 period was carried out in continental France and i n overseas departments on the basis of the A1B greenhouse gas emission scenario, seven general circulation models an d two hydrological models (Isba-Modcou and GR4J). In continental France, results indicate: (1) a possible increase in ai r temperature between +1.4 deg. C and +3 deg. C; (2) an uncertain evolution of precipitation, most models however agreeing on a decreasing trend in summer precipitation; (3) a significant decrease (10% to 40%) of mean annual flows at the country scale, especially pronounced in the Seine-Normandie and Adour-Garonne districts; (4) a strong decrease in summer lo w flows in most basins; (5) more heterogeneous and less significant evolutions for floods. A special care was given to the quantification of the uncertainties linked to these results. They provide an indication of the significance of projected changes. The evolutions calculated in the overseas zones can be considered non-significant given the level of uncertainty linked to the hydro-climatic modelling chain. These results urge to implement adaptation strategies based on a better management of water resources, among others. (authors)

The national adaptation plan to climate change

International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

Galliot, M.

2013-01-01

Adaptation to climate change is a necessity, as well as reducing emissions of greenhouse gases. Since 2001, the National Observatory on the effects of global warming gathers and disseminates news on the effects of climate change and drive implementation of adaptation in France. A national strategy was adopted in 2006, followed by an analysis of the impacts of climate change and associated costs that could amount to several billion euros per year at the end of the century. Preceded by extensive consultation that involved stakeholders Grenelle Environment the National Adaptation Plan was published in mid-2011. It covers all sectors and many areas. He has more than 80 concrete actions that will commit France to adapt to the new climate. (author)

Evolution of extreme rainfall in France with a changing climate

International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

Soubeyroux, Jean-Michel; Veysseire, Jean-Michel; Gouget, Viviane; Neppel, Luc; Tramblay, Yves; Carreau, Julie

2015-01-01

This paper focuses a synthesis of the works led within the framework of the French project ANR/Extraflo on the evolution of the daily (and infra daily) extreme rainfall in France. An important dataset of more than 900 series was used. It was shown that a majority of series presented a not significant upward trend in particular in Mediterranean area, in relation with various recent exceptional extreme events. An interesting way to characterize this evolution consists in identifying climatic co-variables associated to heavy rainfall events (weather patterns, average temperatures, flow of humidity) and in taking into account them with a non stationary POT model. The application of this method with climatic projections under scenario A2 from IPCC could lead to a possible increase on extreme precipitation quantiles on the horizon 2070. (authors)

Witnesses of climate change

International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

2015-11-01

After having evoked the process of climate change, the effect of greenhouse gas emissions, the evolution of average temperatures in France since 1900, and indicated the various interactions and impacts of climate change regarding air quality, water resources, food supply, degradation and loss of biodiversity, deforestation, desertification, this publication, while quoting various testimonies (from a mountain refuge guardian, a wine maker, a guide in La Reunion, an IFREMER bio-statistician engineer, and a representative of health professionals), describes the various noticed impacts of climate change on the environment in mountain chains, on agriculture, on sea level rise, on overseas biodiversity, and on health

ONERC Observatoire National sur les Effets du Rechauffement Climatique (National Observatory of Climate warming effects). Report to the Prime Minister and to Parliament. Climate changes and public health risks in France

International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

2010-01-01

After having recalled the climate change context and the activities of the ONERC (the French National Observatory of Climate Warming Effects) since its previous report, this report gathers several contributions by as many scientists. They propose analysis, comments and discussions on various topics: human diseases which might be influenced by climate change in France (heat waves and allergies, emergence of animal and human diseases, potential impacts of climate change on vector-borne diseases, infectious diseases in overseas territories, public health consequences), surveillance and health alert systems (infectious disease national surveillance and monitoring network, emergency response, satellite imagery, public health and risk management, lessons learned from the chikungunya pandemic), public health and risk management (overview of international works on the relationship between climate change and public health, public health consequences of climate change)

ONERC. Observatoire National sur les Effets du Rechauffement Climatique (National Observatory of Climate warming effects). Report to the Prime Minister and to Parliament. Climate changes and public health risks in France; Changements climatiques et risques sanitaires en France. Rapport au Premier Ministre et au Parlement

Energy Technology Data Exchange (ETDEWEB)

NONE

2010-07-01

After having recalled the climate change context and the activities of the ONERC (the French National Observatory of Climate Warming Effects) since its previous report, this report gathers several contributions by as many scientists. They propose analysis, comments and discussions on various topics: human diseases which might be influenced by climate change in France (heat waves and allergies, emergence of animal and human diseases, potential impacts of climate change on vector-borne diseases, infectious diseases in overseas territories, public health consequences), surveillance and health alert systems (infectious disease national surveillance and monitoring network, emergency response, satellite imagery, public health and risk management, lessons learned from the chikungunya pandemic), public health and risk management (overview of international works on the relationship between climate change and public health, public health consequences of climate change)

France 2001. Third national communication under the UN framework convention on climate change; France 2001. Troisieme communication nationale a la convention cadre des nations unies sur les changements climatiques

Energy Technology Data Exchange (ETDEWEB)

NONE

2001-07-01

In line with obligations under the UN Framework Convention on Climate Change, France, like all the signatories of the convention, is required periodically to provide a National Communication following a plan established by the Conference of Parties to the Convention. This document provides information on national actions related to climate change. It also aims to help our country respect its commitments and encourage the release of information so as to enable an examination and in-depth evaluation of the implementation of the commitments made under the Convention, the Kyoto Protocol and the 1998 European agreement on burden-sharing within the European Union. (author)

Using a Statistical Approach to Anticipate Leaf Wetness Duration Under Climate Change in France

Science.gov (United States)

Huard, F.; Imig, A. F.; Perrin, P.

2014-12-01

Leaf wetness plays a major role in the development of fungal plant diseases. Leaf wetness duration (LWD) above a threshold value is determinant for infection and can be seen as a good indicator of impact of climate on infection occurrence and risk. As LWD is not widely measured, several methods, based on physics and empirical approach, have been developed to estimate it from weather data. Many LWD statistical models do exist, but the lack of standard for measurements require reassessments. A new empirical LWD model, called MEDHI (Modèle d'Estimation de la Durée d'Humectation à l'Inra) was developed for french configuration for wetness sensors (angle : 90°, height : 50 cm). This deployment is different from what is usually recommended from constructors or authors in other countries (angle from 10 to 60°, height from 10 to 150 cm…). MEDHI is a decision support system based on hourly climatic conditions at time steps n and n-1 taking account relative humidity, rainfall and previously simulated LWD. Air temperature, relative humidity, wind speed, rain and LWD data from several sensors with 2 configurations were measured during 6 months in Toulouse and Avignon (South West and South East of France) to calibrate MEDHI. A comparison of empirical models : NHRH (RH threshold), DPD (dew point depression), CART (classification and regression tree analysis dependant on RH, wind speed and dew point depression) and MEDHI, using meteorological and LWD measurements obtained during 5 months in Toulouse, showed that the development of this new model MEHDI was definitely better adapted to French conditions. In the context of climate change, MEDHI was used for mapping the evolution of leaf wetness duration in France from 1950 to 2100 with the French regional climate model ALADIN under different Representative Concentration Pathways (RCPs) and using a QM (Quantile-Mapping) statistical downscaling method. Results give information on the spatial distribution of infection risks

Comparison of two down-scaling methods for climate study and climate change on the mountain areas in France

International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

Piazza, Marie; Page, Christian; Sanchez-Gomez, Emilia; Terray, Laurent; Deque, Michel

2013-01-01

Mountain regions are highly vulnerable to climate change and are likely to be among the areas most impacted by global warming. But climate projections for the end of the 21. century are developed with general circulation models of climate, which do not present a sufficient horizontal resolution to accurately evaluate the impacts of warming on these regions. Several techniques are then used to perform a spatial down-scaling (on the order of 10 km). There are two categories of down-scaling methods: dynamical methods that require significant computational resources for the achievement of regional climate simulations at high resolution, and statistical methods that require few resources but an observation dataset over a long period and of good quality. In this study, climate simulations of the global atmospheric model ARPEGE projections over France are down-scaled according to a dynamical method, performed with the ALADIN-Climate regional model, and a statistical method performed with the software DSClim developed at CERFACS. The two down-scaling methods are presented and the results on the climate of the French mountains are evaluated for the current climate. Both methods give similar results for average snowfall. However extreme events of total precipitation (droughts, intense precipitation events) are largely underestimated by the statistical method. Then, the results of both methods are compared for two future climate projections, according to the greenhouse gas emissions scenario A1B of IPCC. The two methods agree on fewer frost days, a significant decrease in the amounts of solid precipitation and an average increase in the percentage of dry days of more than 10%. The results obtained on Corsica are more heterogeneous but they are questionable because the reduced spatial domain is probably not very relevant regarding statistical sampling. (authors)

Investigating the Influence of Climate Changes on Rodent Communities at a Regional-Scale (MIS 1-3, Southwestern France.

Directory of Open Access Journals (Sweden)

Aurélien Royer

Full Text Available Terrestrial ecosystems have continuously evolved throughout the Late Pleistocene and the Holocene, deeply affected by both progressive environmental and climatic modifications, as well as by abrupt and large climatic changes such as the Heinrich or Dansgaard-Oeschger events. Yet, the impacts of these different events on terrestrial mammalian communities are poorly known, as is the role played by potential refugia on geographical species distributions. This study examines community changes in rodents of southwestern France between 50 and 10 ky BP by integrating 94 dated faunal assemblages coming from 37 archaeological sites. This work reveals that faunal distributions were modified in response to abrupt and brief climatic events, such as Heinrich events, without actually modifying the rodent community on a regional scale. However, the succession of events which operated between the Late Pleistocene and the Holocene gradually led to establishing a new rodent community at the regional scale, with intermediate communities occurring between the Bølling and the Allerød.

Conditions for a market uptake of climate services for adaptation in France

Directory of Open Access Journals (Sweden)

Romain Cavelier

2017-04-01

Full Text Available This perspective paper reports the results of a collaborative survey of French research institutes concerned with environmental issues, which examined the potential for a market uptake of climate services for adaptation in France. The study is based on a review of existing reports on the market of climate services, and on interviews of 68 climate service providers and users in public and private organizations. Although the study does not allow to provide quantified estimations regarding the present and future size of the market, its results offer new perspectives with implications extending far beyond the sole case of France: first, while the market is still in its infancy, significant opportunities exist in sectors such as flooding risks, and, to a slightly lesser extent, hydro and nuclear energy and viticulture. In addition, the study identifies critical conditions for the uptake in climate services: (1 a coordinated delivery of data, information, expertise and training by public research institutes concerned with climate change and its impacts; (2 the inclusion of adaptation in the regulation and in public and private tenders. Finally, (3 uncertainties in climate projections appear as a major barrier to the uptake of climate services. However, ambitious greenhouse gas emission reduction as planned by the COP-21 Paris Agreement contribute to reducing this uncertainties by allowing users to select a subset of climate change projections, avoiding those for which adaptation is most problematic.

Proceedings of the College de France symposium. The man facing up climate

International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

Jacque, M.

2004-01-01

The aim of the 2004 symposium of the College de France was to start-up a realistic reflection about the relations between the man and his environment shaped by climate. Four sessions were devoted to the different aspects of the problem and their content is summarized in this article: past, present and future climatic changes (influence of anthropic CO 2 , relation between greenhouse effect and ambient temperature, role of the oceanic circulation, variations of the sea level, accuracy of models); climate effects on biological organisms (forests and carbon sinks, vegetation as a climate tracer, impact of climatic changes on agriculture, relations between climate and health); impacts on human populations and ancient civilizations (climatic change and the birth of modern humans, prehistoric population development in Europe, correlations between cultural and climatic changes, dryness crises and collapse of meso-American populations); economical, juridical and political aspects (uncertainties of forecasts, economical evaluation of environmental policies, the necessity and insufficiency of the Kyoto protocol, the integration of long-term risk in today's decisions, public information and acceptance). (J.S.)

Key data for climate. France and the World. Issue 2012

International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

Ouradou, Frederic; Wong, Florine; Delalande, Daniel; Delbosc, Anais

2012-01-01

This document proposes figures, tables, graphs and maps which illustrate climate change (greenhouse effect, impact of human activity, greenhouse gas tanks, fluxes and concentrations), emissions of greenhouse gases (at the world, European and French levels), emissions of greenhouse gases due to energy production in the world, the sector-based distribution of greenhouse gas emissions in Europe and in France (energy combustion, energy production and transformation, transports, industry, other sectors). Then, it presents the climate policies: Kyoto protocol, the emission permit market, Kyoto protocol project mechanisms, other initiatives aimed at emission reduction, the European trading scheme (EU ETS), carbon price in the EU ETS, French climate policy

Late Holocene vegetation changes in relation with climate fluctuations and human activities in Languedoc (Southern France)

OpenAIRE

J. Azuara; N. Combourieu-Nebout; V. Lebreton; F. Mazier; S. D. Müller; L. Dezileau

2015-01-01

Holocene climate fluctuations and human activities since the Neolithic have shaped present-day Mediterranean environments. Separating anthropogenic effects from climatic impacts to reconstruct Mediterranean paleoenvironments over the last millennia remains a challenging issue. High resolution pollen analyses were undertaken on two cores from the Palavasian lagoon system (Hérault, southern France). These records allow reconstruction of vegetation dynamics ove...

Mapping urban climate zones and quantifying climate behaviors--an application on Toulouse urban area (France).

Science.gov (United States)

Houet, Thomas; Pigeon, Grégoire

2011-01-01

Facing the concern of the population to its environment and to climatic change, city planners are now considering the urban climate in their choices of planning. The use of climatic maps, such Urban Climate Zone‑UCZ, is adapted for this kind of application. The objective of this paper is to demonstrate that the UCZ classification, integrated in the World Meteorological Organization guidelines, first can be automatically determined for sample areas and second is meaningful according to climatic variables. The analysis presented is applied on Toulouse urban area (France). Results show first that UCZ differentiate according to air and surface temperature. It has been possible to determine the membership of sample areas to an UCZ using landscape descriptors automatically computed with GIS and remote sensed data. It also emphasizes that climate behavior and magnitude of UCZ may vary from winter to summer. Finally we discuss the influence of climate data and scale of observation on UCZ mapping and climate characterization. Copyright © 2011 Elsevier Ltd. All rights reserved.

The Local-Level Management of Climate Change: the Case of Urban Passenger Transportation in France

International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

Cochran, Ian Thomas

2012-01-01

The reduction of GHG emissions is one of the largest and most pressing collective-action problems facing humanity. Addressing this transversal, trans-boundary policy challenge requires action at multiple scales of governance: from behavioral changes by individuals to modifications of local, national and international regulatory frameworks and decision-making processes. Taking an interdisciplinary approach, this project draws on theories on collective action, institutional economics, multilevel governance, and indicators in decision making to analyze what appears to be an increasingly poly-centric governance approach to achieving cross-scale action on GHG mitigation. This dissertation addresses the over-arching question of what governance changes are needed to deliver lasting GHG emissions reductions in the urban passenger transport sector in France? This analysis suggests that achieving greenhouse gas mitigation is dependent not only on the ability of actors to coordinate action, but also on the information tools needed to integrate these issues into decision-making at multiple levels of government and across policy priorities. Thus, GHG mitigation must be linked as an often-complementary issue with existing policy priorities. The findings resulting from this dissertation have a number of contributions to make both to the theoretical literature as well as to general policy practice and the specific decision-making process in France in terms of transport, urban planning and climate governance. (author)

The french researches on the climatic change

International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

2006-01-01

Scientists were the first to prevent decision makers on the risk of the climatic change bond to the greenhouse gases emissions. The results of the third GIEC report confirmed that the main part of the global warming of the last 50 years is due to the human activities. This document presents the major results of the french researches during the last five years: the planet observation, the climate evolution study, the simulation of the future climate, the climatic change in France, the impacts of the climatic change on the marine and earth biosphere, the climatic risks and the public policies, the health impacts, the 2003 heat and the research infrastructures. (A.L.B.)

Forest Plant community changes during 1989-2007 in response to climate warming in the Jura Mountains (France and Switzerland)

DEFF Research Database (Denmark)

Lenoir, Jonathan; Gégout, J.C.; Dupouey, J.L.

2010-01-01

Question: How strong are climate warming-driven changes within mid-elevation forest communities? Observations of plant community change within temperate mountain forest ecosystems in response to recent warming are scarce in comparison to high-elevation alpine and nival ecosystems, perhaps...... reflecting the confounding influence of forest stand dynamics. Location: Jura Mountains (France and Switzerland). Methods: We assessed changes in plant community composition by surveying 154 Abies alba forest vegetation relevés (550-1,350 m a.s.l.) in 1989 and 2007. Over this period, temperatures increased...... while precipitation did not change. Correspondence analysis (CA) and ecological indicator values were used to measure changes in plant community composition. Relevés in even- and uneven-aged stands were analysed separately to determine the influence of forest stand dynamics. We also analysed changes...

Climate Change Adaptation Practices in Various Countries

Science.gov (United States)

Tanik, A.; Tekten, D.

2017-08-01

The paper will be a review work on the recent strategies of EU in general, and will underline the inspected sectoral based adaptation practices and action plans of 7 countries; namely Germany, France, Spain, Italy, Denmark, USA and Kenya from Africa continent. Although every countries’ action plan have some similarities on sectoral analysis, each country in accordance with the specific nature of the problem seems to create its own sectoral analysis. Within this context, green and white documents of EU adaptation to climate change, EU strategy on climate change, EU targets of 2020 on climate change and EU adaptation support tools are investigated.

Landward Perspective of Coastal Eutrophication Potential Under Future Climate Change: The Seine River Case (France

Directory of Open Access Journals (Sweden)

Mélanie Raimonet

2018-05-01

Full Text Available Studies quantifying the impact of climate change have so far mostly examined atmospheric variables, and few are evaluating the cascade of aquatic impacts that will occur along the land–ocean continuum until the ultimate impacts on coastal eutrophication potential. In this study, a new hydro-biogeochemical modeling chain has been developed, based on the coupling of the generic pyNuts-Riverstrahler biogeochemical model and the GR4J-CEMANEIGE hydrological model, and applied to the Seine River basin (France. Averaged responses of biogeochemical variables to climate-induced hydrological changes were assessed using climate forcing based on 12 projections of precipitation and temperature (BC-CORDEX for the stabilization (RCP 4.5 and the increasing (RCP 8.5 CO2 emission scenarios. Beyond the amount of nutrients delivered to the sea, we calculated the indicator of coastal eutrophication potential (ICEP. The models run with the RCP4.5 stabilization scenario show low variations in hydrological regimes and water quality, while five of the six models run with the increasing CO2 emissions scenario (RCP8.5 leads to more intense extreme streamflow (i.e., higher maximum flows, lower and longer minimum flows, resulting in the degradation of water quality. For the driest RCP 8.5 projection, median biogeochemical impacts induced by decreasing discharge (until −270 m3 s−1 in average are mostly located downstream of major wastewater treatment plants. During spring bloom, e.g., in May, the associated higher residence time leads to an increase of phytoplankton biomass (+31% in average, with a simultaneous −23% decrease of silicic acid, followed downstream by a −9% decrease of oxygen. Later during low flow, major increases in nitrate and phosphate concentrations (until +19% and +32% in average are expected. For all considered scenarios, high ICEP values (above zero lasted, indicating that coastal eutrophication is not expected to decrease with changing

A method for modeling the effects of climate and land use changes on erosion and sustainability of soil in a Mediterranean watershed (Languedoc, France).

Science.gov (United States)

Paroissien, Jean-Baptiste; Darboux, Frédéric; Couturier, Alain; Devillers, Benoît; Mouillot, Florent; Raclot, Damien; Le Bissonnais, Yves

2015-03-01

Global climate and land use changes could strongly affect soil erosion and the capability of soils to sustain agriculture and in turn impact regional or global food security. The objective of our study was to develop a method to assess soil sustainability to erosion under changes in land use and climate. The method was applied in a typical mixed Mediterranean landscape in a wine-growing watershed (75 km(2)) within the Languedoc region (La Peyne, France) for two periods: a first period with the current climate and land use and a second period with the climate and land use scenarios at the end of the twenty-first century. The Intergovernmental Panel on Climate Change A1B future rainfall scenarios from the Météo France General circulation model was coupled with four contrasting land use change scenarios that were designed using a spatially-explicit land use change model. Mean annual erosion rate was estimated with an expert-based soil erosion model. Soil life expectancy was assessed using soil depth. Soil erosion rate and soil life expectancy were combined into a sustainability index. The median simulated soil erosion rate for the current period was 3.5 t/ha/year and the soil life expectancy was 273 years, showing a low sustainability of soils. For the future period with the same land use distribution, the median simulated soil erosion rate was 4.2 t/ha/year and the soil life expectancy was 249 years. The results show that soil erosion rate and soil life expectancy are more sensitive to changes in land use than to changes in precipitation. Among the scenarios tested, institution of a mandatory grass cover in vineyards seems to be an efficient means of significantly improving soil sustainability, both in terms of decreased soil erosion rates and increased soil life expectancies. Copyright © 2014 Elsevier Ltd. All rights reserved.

Late Holocene vegetation changes in relation with climate fluctuations and human activity in Languedoc (southern France)

Science.gov (United States)

Azuara, J.; Combourieu-Nebout, N.; Lebreton, V.; Mazier, F.; Müller, S. D.; Dezileau, L.

2015-12-01

Holocene climate fluctuations and human activity since the Neolithic have shaped present-day Mediterranean environments. Separating anthropogenic effects from climatic impacts to better understand Mediterranean paleoenvironmental changes over the last millennia remains a challenging issue. High-resolution pollen analyses were undertaken on two cores from the Palavasian lagoon system (Hérault, southern France). These records allow reconstruction of vegetation dynamics over the last 4500 years. Results are compared with climatic, historical and archeological archives. A long-term aridification trend is highlighted during the late Holocene, and three superimposed arid events are recorded at 4600-4300, 2800-2400 and 1300-1100 cal BP. These periods of high-frequency climate variability coincide in time with the rapid climatic events observed in the Atlantic Ocean (Bond et al., 2001). From the Bronze Age (4000 cal BP) to the end of the Iron Age (around 2000 cal BP), the spread of sclerophyllous taxa and loss of forest cover result from anthropogenic impact. Classical Antiquity is characterized by a major reforestation event related to the concentration of rural activity and populations in coastal plains leading to forest recovery in the mountains. A major regional deforestation occurred at the beginning of the High Middle Ages. Around 1000 cal BP, forest cover is minimal while the cover of olive, chestnut and walnut expands in relation to increasing human influence. The present-day vegetation dominated by Mediterranean shrubland and pines has been in existence since the beginning of the 20th century.

Forest and climate change

International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

2009-01-01

After having recalled the challenges the French forest has to face, and a brief overview of the status of forests in the world, this report proposes an overview of actions which are implemented to strengthen the carbon sequestration role of forests, at the international level and in France. It discusses the distribution of carbon, the forest carbon stocks (in the world, Europe and France), the actions against climate change, the costs and financing of the reduction of greenhouse gas emissions in the forest sector. It comments the status of international negotiations and how forests are taken into account. It presents the French forest and wood sector (characteristics of the forest in metropolitan France and overseas, wood as material and as energy). It recalls the commitment of the Grenelle de l'Environnement, and indicates the current forest studies

Point Climat no. 23 'The new European Energy Efficiency Directive: France is on track'

International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

Berghmans, Nicolas; Alberola, Emilie

2012-01-01

Among the publications of CDC Climat Research, 'Climate Briefs' presents, in a few pages, hot topics in climate change policy. This issue addresses the following points: On October 4 2012, the European Union adopted a new Directive in order to help reach the common target of a 20% improvement in energy efficiency in 2020. At a time when a major national debate on energy transition is set to take place in France, this new directive will need to be taken into account when defining future energy policy. The measures specified in the European Directive, which focus on buildings and energy suppliers, will enable part of France's goal to be met. The transposition of the Directive into French law will result in the setting of a national target for 2020, and will primarily reinforce an existing requirement that applies to energy suppliers, as well as adding measures aimed at informing energy consumers

Climate hazards, adaptation and "resilience" of societies (early Little Ice Age, west of France).

Science.gov (United States)

Athimon, Emmanuelle; Maanan, Mohamed

2016-04-01

Over the past ten to fifteen years, climate hazards and adaptation have received more attention due to the current climate change. Climate historians have gathered strong evidence that the world's climate has evolved over the past millennium and one of the most significant changes took place during the Little Ice Age. Recently, a set of questions has emerged: what were the effects of the Little Ice Age on human's societies? How did humans adapt to these climate changes? How did they react to extreme weather-related events? Using examples of climate hazards from the West of France during the beginning of the Little Ice Age (xivth-xviith centuries) such as storms, flooding, drought, harsh winters, the poster aims at showing how the past societies can constitute a source of inspiration for present ones. Through schemas, this research exposes the system's rebound capacity, points out the importance of the historical depth in research on human's adaptation and resilience and shows the value of integrating a historical approach. It reveals that History contributes to the knowledge of the relationship between societies and climate hazards. Data on climate hazards and adaptation of societies stem from historical sources such as chronicles, diaries, books of accounts, records of cities repairs. To protect themselves and their goods, medieval and modern societies had developed specific skills, practices and strategies. From the xivth to the xviiith century, there is an increase of defense by dikes in the low Loire, as for example the construction of those amongst Longué and Ponts-de-Cé between the early xivth century and 1407. The French kingdom's authorities also tried increasingly to provide technical, material, logistical and fiscal support: for instance, during the winter 1564-1565, several bridges have been destroyed by a river flooding in Nantes. The King Charles IX then offered to people of Nantes part of the funds from taxes on the main activities such as the

The many facets of climate change - Conference proceedings

International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

2011-03-01

This conference day on climate change was organized by the French meteorological society (SMF) at the Ecole Normale Superieure of Paris. This document brings together the available presentations given at the conference. Eight presentations (slides) are compiled in this document and deal with: 1 - Climate change today and tomorrow, the research stakes (Herve Le Treut, IPSL); 2 - Rise of sea levels: estimations and regional variability (Guy Woeppelmann, La Rochelle Univ.); 3 - Polar ice caps and continental cryo-sphere as seen from space (A. Kouraev, F. Remy, E. Berthier, LEGOS); 4 - Impacts of climate change on exploited marine populations: projections and uncertainties (Patrick Lehodey, CLS); 5 - Climate change stakes on agricultural and winery activities in France (Eric Duchene, INRA); 6 - Impacts of climate change on forest trees phenology and their consequences on trees life and survival (Francois Lebourgeois, ENGREF); 7 - Remote-epidemiology: a health-aid in a climate change context (Murielle Lafaye, CNES); 8 - Socio-economic aspects and adaptation: a climate history, for what? (Emmanuel Garnier, Caen Univ.)

Title Highlight: Scientists respond to climate change challenges at ...

International Development Research Centre (IDRC) Digital Library (Canada)

2016-04-14

Apr 14, 2016 ... ... Change (UNFCC) conference, to be hosted by France later this year. ... Nobel Prize winner Joseph Stiglitz, a conference keynote speaker, ... to attempt to deal with climate change when the world is recovering, and in some ...

Explore 2070: what use of a prospective exercise on climate change impacts at the national scale to define adaptation strategies?

International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

Carroget, Aurelie; Perrin, Charles; Sauquet, Eric; Vidal, Jean-Philippe; Chazot, Sebastien; Chauveau, Mathilde; Rouchy, Nathalie

2017-01-01

Projected climate change could have important impacts on water availability in France by mid-21. century. The Explore 2070 prospective study, directed by the Ministry in charge of ecology, has thus highlighted the necessity to quantify and anticipate these changes, and to build adaptation strategies to limit their negative impacts on hydro-systems and human activities. This paper analyses how these works have contributed to the sensitization of water actors and to the reflection about climate change adaptation in France and to the reflection on adaptation to climate change in France

France's Climate Plan - update 2011

International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

Kosciusko-Morizet, Nathalie

2011-07-01

After a presentation of the background of the French climate policy and of prospective data regarding carbon emissions by 2020 (global evolution, sector-based analysis, vigilance items, scenario by 2030), this report presents the different policies and measures implemented in France. After the transverse policies and measures, it presents the current status and policies and measures for different sectors: housing and office building, transports, industry, agriculture and forest, energy (energy demand and management of greenhouse gas emissions related to energy production), wastes, public authorities and local communities

Landscape of climate finance in france in 2011. Executive Summary

International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

Morel, Romain; Cochran, Ian; Hubert, Romain; Dequesne, Jeanne; Herve-Mignucci, Morgan

2014-10-01

This study identifies and analyzes the investment spending in France in 2011 that contributed directly or indirectly to the reduction of greenhouse gases emissions (GHG); this corresponds to investment in low-carbon infrastructure and fixed capital (renewable energy, building high environmental quality, public transport, etc.). This study has adopted the methodology developed by Climate Policy Initiative (CPI), which has been applied elsewhere both at global scale and to national flows in Germany [2012] and Indonesia [2014]. Funding for the energy transition is a central issue for which the available data are often incomplete. This report presents the first comprehensive view of climate finance flows in France to reduce GHG emissions. This report aims to further the current debate by providing economy-wide estimates. The main objective of this study was not to measure as precisely as possible climate finance in France in 2011. Rather, it has focused on order of magnitude estimates rather than precision to the nearest euro. The collected information has been used to identify the distribution of flows across sectors, the share of different instruments, their use and the role of different actors. (authors)

Multiple aspects of climate change - Summary of presentations

International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

Andre, Jean-Claude; Bauer, Pierre; Le Treut, Herve; Woeppelmann, Guy; Kouraev, Alexei; Remy, Frederique; Berthier, Etienne; Lehodey, Patrick; Lebourgeois, Francois; Chuine, Isabelle; Vennetier, Michel; Duchene, Eric; Lafaye, Murielle

2011-01-01

The French Meteorological Society (SMF) organized its annual scientific day on March 23, 2011 on the topic of the multiple aspects of climate change. The aim was to take stock of the lessons learnt from the different meteorological markers in several domains (agriculture, forests, ecosystems, rise of sea level, changes in marine biodiversity, health, snow and ice caps..). This paper summarizes the seven presentations given at this meeting: 1 - climate change today and tomorrow (H. Le Treut); 2 - rise of oceans level: estimations and regional variability (G. Woeppelmann); 3 - polar caps and continental cryo-sphere as seen from space (A. Kouraev, F. Remy and E. Berthier); 4 - impact of climate change on exploited marine populations: projections and uncertainties (P. Lehodey); 5 - stakes of climate change on agricultural and winery activities in France (E. Duchene); 6 - impact of climate change on forest trees phenology and consequence on their survival and operation (F. Lebourgeois, I. Chuine and M. Vennetier); 7 - 'tele-epidemiology': a health-aid in a climate change context. (J.S.)

Acting against climate change, the French know-how

International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

2014-10-01

This publication aims at presenting for international purposes the French public and private know-how in the field of struggle against climate change and of decision-making tools. It first recalls the various international commitments (international mobilisation within the IPCC, United Nations, the United Nations Framework Convention on Climate Change or UNFCCC, the Kyoto protocol) and proposes an overview of the UE policy. The next part outlines the role of France as host of the COP21, and the French policy and its territorial declinations. It proposes an overview of the French global offer to meet climate challenges: a table indicates actions and actors in the fields of diagnosis, elaboration of action plans, monitoring and assessment, labelling, capacity development. An article presents the 'Monitoring, Reporting and Verification' (MRV) principle and the different arrangements, bodies and actors addressing these assessment issues, with a focus of methods of assessments of greenhouse gas emissions (standards and methods have been developed in France and are evoked). Various tools applicable in different sectors are also indicated, and the exportation of abilities regarding energy-climate diagnosis is outlined. The next part addresses methods, tools and publications addressing the diagnosis of consequences of climate change. The structure, content and approach of Territorial Climate Energy Plans (PCET) is presented and commented. The next parts show how French companies are mobilised to reduce their greenhouse gas emissions, give an overview of public and private initiatives for adaptation to climate change, describe how energy-climate approaches are monitored and assessed, comment how French local communities act at an international level through decentralised cooperation, and indicate how French know-how is developed and can be exported in the field of education and training of actors

Mapping urban climate zones and quantifying climate behaviors - An application on Toulouse urban area (France)

Energy Technology Data Exchange (ETDEWEB)

Houet, Thomas, E-mail: thomas.houet@univ-tlse2.fr [GEODE UMR 5602 CNRS, Universite de Toulouse, 5 allee Antonio Machado, 31058 Toulouse Cedex (France); Pigeon, Gregoire [Centre National de Recherches Meteorologiques, Meteo-France/CNRM-GAME, 42 avenue Coriolis, 31057 Toulouse Cedex (France)

2011-08-15

Facing the concern of the population to its environment and to climatic change, city planners are now considering the urban climate in their choices of planning. The use of climatic maps, such Urban Climate Zone-UCZ, is adapted for this kind of application. The objective of this paper is to demonstrate that the UCZ classification, integrated in the World Meteorological Organization guidelines, first can be automatically determined for sample areas and second is meaningful according to climatic variables. The analysis presented is applied on Toulouse urban area (France). Results show first that UCZ differentiate according to air and surface temperature. It has been possible to determine the membership of sample areas to an UCZ using landscape descriptors automatically computed with GIS and remote sensed data. It also emphasizes that climate behavior and magnitude of UCZ may vary from winter to summer. Finally we discuss the influence of climate data and scale of observation on UCZ mapping and climate characterization. - Highlights: > We proposed a method to map Urban Climate Zones and quantify their climate behaviors. > UCZ is an expert-based classification and is integrated in the WMO guidelines. > We classified 26 sample areas and quantified climate behaviors in winter/summer. > Results enhance urban heat islands and outskirts are surprisingly hottest in summer. > Influence of scale and climate data on UCZ mapping and climate evaluation is discussed. - This paper presents an automated approach to classify sample areas in a UCZ using landscape descriptors and demonstrate that climate behaviors of UCZ differ.

Integration of climate change in flood prediction: application to the Somme river (France)

Science.gov (United States)

Pinault, J.-L.; Amraoui, N.; Noyer, M.-L.

2003-04-01

Exceptional floods that have occurred for the last two years in western and central Europe were very unlikely. The concomitance of such rare events shows that they might be imputable to climate change. The statistical analysis of long rainfall series confirms that both the cumulated annual height and the temporal variability have increased for the last decade. This paper is devoted to the analysis of climate change impact on flood prediction applied to the Somme river. The exceptional pluviometry that occurred from October 2000 to April 2001, about the double of the mean value, entailed catastrophic flood between the high Somme and Abbeville. The flow reached a peak at the beginning of May 2001, involving damages in numerous habitations and communication routes, and economical activity of the region had been flood-bound for more than 2 months. The flood caught unaware the population and caused deep traumas in France since it was the first time such a sudden event was recognized as resulting from groundwater discharge. Mechanisms of flood generation were studied tightly in order to predict the behavior of the Somme catchment and other urbanized basins when the pluviometry is exceptional in winter or in spring, which occurs more and more frequently in the northern part of Europe. The contribution of groundwater in surface water flow was calculated by inverse modeling from piezometers that are representative of aquifers in valleys. They were found on the slopes and near the edge of plateaus in order to characterize the drainage processes of the watertable to the surface water network. For flood prediction, a stochastic process is used, consisting in the generation of both rainfall and PET time series. The precipitation generator uses Markov chain Monte Carlo and simulated annealing from the Hastings -- Metropolis algorithm. Coupling of rainfall and PET generators with transfer enables a new evaluation of the probability of occurrence of floods, taking into account

Mapping climate change in European temperature distributions

International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

Stainforth, David A; Chapman, Sandra C; Watkins, Nicholas W

2013-01-01

Climate change poses challenges for decision makers across society, not just in preparing for the climate of the future but even when planning for the climate of the present day. When making climate sensitive decisions, policy makers and adaptation planners would benefit from information on local scales and for user-specific quantiles (e.g. the hottest/coldest 5% of days) and thresholds (e.g. days above 28 ° C), not just mean changes. Here, we translate observations of weather into observations of climate change, providing maps of the changing shape of climatic temperature distributions across Europe since 1950. The provision of such information from observations is valuable to support decisions designed to be robust in today’s climate, while also providing data against which climate forecasting methods can be judged and interpreted. The general statement that the hottest summer days are warming faster than the coolest is made decision relevant by exposing how the regions of greatest warming are quantile and threshold dependent. In a band from Northern France to Denmark, where the response is greatest, the hottest days in the temperature distribution have seen changes of at least 2 ° C, over four times the global mean change over the same period. In winter the coldest nights are warming fastest, particularly in Scandinavia. (letter)

Autochthonous Chikungunya Transmission and Extreme Climate Events in Southern France.

Science.gov (United States)

Roiz, David; Boussès, Philippe; Simard, Frédéric; Paupy, Christophe; Fontenille, Didier

2015-06-01

Extreme precipitation events are increasing as a result of ongoing global warming, but controversy surrounds the relationship between flooding and mosquito-borne diseases. A common view among the scientific community and public health officers is that heavy rainfalls have a flushing effect on breeding sites, which negatively affects vector populations, thereby diminishing disease transmission. During 2014 in Montpellier, France, there were at least 11 autochthonous cases of chikungunya caused by the invasive tiger mosquito Aedes albopictus in the vicinity of an imported case. We show that an extreme rainfall event increased and extended the abundance of the disease vector Ae. albopictus, hence the period of autochthonous transmission of chikungunya. We report results from close monitoring of the adult and egg population of the chikungunya vector Ae. albopictus through weekly sampling over the entire mosquito breeding season, which revealed an unexpected pattern. Statistical analysis of the seasonal dynamics of female abundance in relation to climatic factors showed that these relationships changed after the heavy rainfall event. Before the inundations, accumulated temperatures are the most important variable predicting Ae. albopictus seasonal dynamics. However, after the inundations, accumulated rainfall over the 4 weeks prior to capture predicts the seasonal dynamics of this species and extension of the transmission period. Our empirical data suggests that heavy rainfall events did increase the risk of arbovirus transmission in Southern France in 2014 by favouring a rapid rise in abundance of vector mosquitoes. Further studies should now confirm these results in different ecological contexts, so that the impact of global change and extreme climatic events on mosquito population dynamics and the risk of disease transmission can be adequately understood.

Expected impacts of climate change on extreme climate events

International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

Planton, S.; Deque, M.; Chauvin, F.; Terray, L.

2008-01-01

An overview of the expected change of climate extremes during this century due to greenhouse gases and aerosol anthropogenic emissions is presented. The most commonly used methodologies rely on the dynamical or statistical down-scaling of climate projections, performed with coupled atmosphere-ocean general circulation models. Either of dynamical or of statistical type, down-scaling methods present strengths and weaknesses, but neither their validation on present climate conditions, nor their potential ability to project the impact of climate change on extreme event statistics allows one to give a specific advantage to one of the two types. The results synthesized in the last IPCC report and more recent studies underline a convergence for a very likely increase in heat wave episodes over land surfaces, linked to the mean warming and the increase in temperature variability. In addition, the number of days of frost should decrease and the growing season length should increase. The projected increase in heavy precipitation events appears also as very likely over most areas and also seems linked to a change in the shape of the precipitation intensity distribution. The global trends for drought duration are less consistent between models and down-scaling methodologies, due to their regional variability. The change of wind-related extremes is also regionally dependent, and associated to a poleward displacement of the mid-latitude storm tracks. The specific study of extreme events over France reveals the high sensitivity of some statistics of climate extremes at the decadal time scale as a consequence of regional climate internal variability. (authors)

Companies and adaptation to climate change

International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

Bourrier, Herve; Duchene, Patrice-Henry; Metcalf, Gerry; Deandreis, Celine; Hardelin, Julien; Vautard, Robert; Bailly, Boris; Gemenne, Francois; Peyrat, Olivier; Greppo, Fabien; Reysset, Bertrand; Beriot, Nicolas; Leonard, Damien; Colas, Julien; Tutenuit, Claire

2014-04-01

Whereas climate change will have significant consequences on various economic sectors (infrastructures, energy and water supply, agriculture, cities and buildings, and so on), population behaviours and uses will have to be deeply changed, and this is more particularly the case for enterprises and companies. This guide aims at presenting solutions to face the challenge of climate change for enterprises. In its first part, it outlines how our climate is already changing, gives an overview of main future climate trends in the World, indicates what will be the future climate in France, discusses the noticeable and brutal consequences for activities, resources and territories, outlines that adaptation to tomorrow's climate begins now, and discusses to which climate we'll have to adapt at the local level. In the second part, this publication explains why enterprises must adapt themselves to climate change: enterprises are in a changing environment, and must take a legal and standard framework into account, but this adaptation will have a cost. Adaptation also means uncertainty management, and enterprises are facing obstacles and brakes to adaptation. The last part describes how to implement a strategy of adaptation in an enterprise: resources for adaptation, integration of enterprise management, understanding needs to convince within the enterprise itself, assessment of vulnerability to climate change, how to define priorities for action, which options to choose to adapt the enterprise, how to implement the strategy and how to follow it up and assess it. Some sector-related sheets are provided in appendix. They indicate identified risks, potential impacts of national policies for enterprises, measures which can be freely implemented by enterprises, and identified opportunities for various sectors (health, agriculture, forest, coastal areas, fishery and aquaculture, energy and industry, transport infrastructure, town planning and built environment, tourism

Impact of climate change on the stability of underground cavities. Status of knowledge. Investigation report

International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

Didier, C.; Al Heib, M.; Gombert, P.; Charmoille, A.; Watelet, Jean-Marc

2010-01-01

After having described the impact of global warming on climate parameters (possible climate evolution, impact on temperatures and precipitations in France) and presented underground cavities in France (nature and localisation, expected instability), this report discusses the impact of climate change on underground waters: impact on water cycle, on underground water level variation, and on the power of dissolution by underground waters. Then, it more particularly addresses the impact of water on underground cavity stability: impact of water on the behaviour of underground works, examples (iron mines, water sheet rising, quarry collapsing, and so on, in France, Belgium and USA), development of natural cavities. It finally outlines the perspectives, knowledge gaps, and required researches

Climate change and ozone layer protection

International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

Anon.

1991-01-01

This conference is composed of 27 communications of which the following main themes are: general approach to the problems of climatic change, greenhouse effect and ozone layer; France, Cameroon and Switzerland examples of energy conservation and greenhouse gas reduction; energy conservation measures and policies for dwellings, transport, industry, agriculture and food industry with a global aspect of reducing greenhouse gas emissions; CFC utilization effects on environment and alternatives to CFC utilization

2. orientation council. National observatory on the climatic change effects in France and in overseas territories and Departments; 2. conseil d'orientation. Observatoire national sur les effets du rechauffement climatique en France metropolitaine et dans les departements et territoires d'outre-mer

Energy Technology Data Exchange (ETDEWEB)

NONE

2003-11-01

This document provides the transparencies presented at the 2. orientation council concerning the climatic change effects. The participation of the ONERC to the colloquium on ''managers facing the climatic risks'', 23-24 june 2003 in Paris and the preparation to the technical assistance market, are discussed. The document presents also the heat wave of summer 2003 in France and the first reflexions on the adaptation. Some action principles are proposed. (A.L.B.)

The effect of climate and climate change on ammonia emissions in Europe

Directory of Open Access Journals (Sweden)

C. A. Skjøth

2013-01-01

Full Text Available We present here a dynamical method for modelling temporal and geographical variations in ammonia emissions in regional-scale chemistry transport models (CTMs and chemistry climate models (CCMs. The method is based on the meteorology in the models and gridded inventories. We use the dynamical method to investigate the spatiotemporal variability of ammonia emissions across part of Europe and study how these emissions are related to geographical and year-to-year variations in atmospheric temperature alone. For simplicity we focus on the emission from a storage facility related to a standard Danish pig stable with 1000 animals and display how emissions from this source would vary geographically throughout central and northern Europe and from year to year. In view of future climate changes, we also evaluate the potential future changes in emission by including temperature projections from an ensemble of climate models. The results point towards four overall issues. (1 Emissions can easily vary by 20% for different geographical locations within a country due to overall variations in climate. The largest uncertainties are seen for large countries such as the UK, Germany and France. (2 Annual variations in overall climate can at specific locations cause uncertainties in the range of 20%. (3 Climate change may increase emissions by 0–40% in central to northern Europe. (4 Gradients in existing emission inventories that are seen between neighbour countries (e.g. between the UK and France can be reduced by using a dynamical methodology for calculating emissions. Acting together these four factors can cause substantial uncertainties in emission. Emissions are generally considered among the largest uncertainties in the model calculations made with CTM and CCM models. Efforts to reduce uncertainties are therefore highly relevant. It is therefore recommended that both CCMs and CTMs implement a dynamical methodology for simulating ammonia emissions in a

Modelling the impact of climate change and atmospheric N deposition on French forests biodiversity

International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

Rizzetto, Simon; Belyazid, Salim; Gégout, Jean-Claude; Nicolas, Manuel; Alard, Didier; Corcket, Emmanuel; Gaudio, Noémie; Sverdrup, Harald; Probst, Anne

2016-01-01

A dynamic coupled biogeochemical–ecological model was used to simulate the effects of nitrogen deposition and climate change on plant communities at three forest sites in France. The three sites had different forest covers (sessile oak, Norway spruce and silver fir), three nitrogen loads ranging from relatively low to high, different climatic regions and different soil types. Both the availability of vegetation time series and the environmental niches of the understory species allowed to evaluate the model for predicting the composition of the three plant communities. The calibration of the environmental niches was successful, with a model performance consistently reasonably high throughout the three sites. The model simulations of two climatic and two deposition scenarios showed that climate change may entirely compromise the eventual recovery from eutrophication of the simulated plant communities in response to the reductions in nitrogen deposition. The interplay between climate and deposition was strongly governed by site characteristics and histories in the long term, while forest management remained the main driver of change in the short term. - Highlights: • The effects of N atmospheric deposition and climate change on vegetation were simulated. • The model ForSAFE-Veg was calibrated and validated carefully for three forests in France. • Climate has a greater influence on vegetation than N deposition in conifer forests. • N-poor ecosystems are, however, more sensitive to N deposition than to climate change. - Compared to nitrogen atmospheric deposition, climate appears to be the main driver of change in forest plant biodiversity on a century scale, except in N-poor ecosystems.

Climate change, nuclear power, and the adaptation-mitigation dilemma

International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

Kopytko, Natalie; Perkins, John

2011-01-01

Many policy-makers view nuclear power as a mitigation for climate change. Efforts to mitigate and adapt to climate change, however, interact with existing and new nuclear power plants, and these installations must contend with dilemmas between adaptation and mitigation. This paper develops five criteria to assess the adaptation-mitigation dilemma on two major points: (1) the ability of nuclear power to adapt to climate change and (2) the potential for nuclear power operation to hinder climate change adaptation. Sea level rise models for nine coastal sites in the United States, a review of US Nuclear Regulatory Commission documents, and reports from France's nuclear regulatory agency provided insights into issues that have arisen from sea level rise, shoreline erosion, coastal storms, floods, and heat waves. Applying the criteria to inland and coastal nuclear power plants reveals several weaknesses. Safety stands out as the primary concern at coastal locations, while inland locations encounter greater problems with interrupted operation. Adapting nuclear power to climate change entails either increased expenses for construction and operation or incurs significant costs to the environment and public health and welfare. Mere absence of greenhouse gas emissions is not sufficient to assess nuclear power as a mitigation for climate change. - Research Highlights: → The adaptation-mitigation criteria reveal nuclear power's vulnerabilities. → Climate change adaptation could become too costly at many sites. → Nuclear power operation jeopardizes climate change adaptation. → Extreme climate events pose a safety challenge.

Climate change: costs of impacts and lines of adaptation. Report to the Prime Minister and Parliament

International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

2009-01-01

Since its creation in 2001, ONERC has been an essential tool for bringing public authorities and elected officials the necessary bases for strategic choices and for steering political decisions. After having suggested a national strategy for adaptation to climate change for France, ONERC, together with the Ministry for Ecology, Energy, Sustainable Development and the Sea, responsible for Green Technologies and climate Negotiations, steered an inter-ministerial working group on the impacts of climate change, adaptation and associated costs. Climate change is today a reality, and its consequences will have a significant medium-term impact on our environment and our ways of life. The Grenelle Environment Forum recommended anticipating these as of now, in order to minimise the resulting socio-economic impacts and reduce the vulnerability of the players concerned. Defining and evaluating the impacts of climate change that players will have to confront allows the most suitable adaptation measures to be planned. In March 2007, the Ministry for Ecology, Energy, Sustainable Development and the Sea (MEEDDM) formed an inter-ministerial group under the name 'Impacts of climate change, adaptation and associated costs in France', thus undertaking a project to evaluate the damage and the measures that will allow the cost of impacts to be limited. One of the characteristics of this task resides in the fact that it is, for the most part, carried out by the services concerned, with research organisation and private player collaboration. It must be considered as a stage in an ambitious public action gauging process: it leads to temporary results that remain open to discussion, for development in later stages. The decision has produced sectoral evaluations at Horizons 2030, 2050 and 2100, without wanting to aggregate the results. At this stage, the thematic works have not been designed to be exhaustive: only certain impacts have been assessed in a quantitative fashion. The group chose

PONDS AND CLIMATE, THE GEOGRAPHICAL ASCENDANCY RELATIONSHIP (“LA BRENNE” CASE STUDY, FRANCE

Directory of Open Access Journals (Sweden)

Laurent TOUCHART

2012-03-01

Full Text Available Ponds and climate, the geographical ascendancy relationship (“La Brenne” case study, France. The climate influences markedly the volume of water ponds and lakes. However, the role and the influence of "small" water areas, and areas of ponds on the local climate remain poorly understood. Scientific studies for the Great Lakes have been made. Moreover, scientific studies on «small» water areas and areas of ponds do not exist until today. A first approach to study the area of ponds of “La Brenne” (Central Region, France was performed. The monthly climate data from some meteorological stations, with the reference station of “Issoudun”, located away from areas of ponds, were the basis of our analysis. The study focuses on the most representative climatic parameters. These are the temperature, precipitation and relative humidity. This first approach is used to distinguish and clarify the most important cases and relevant parameters in order to achieve a typology of criteria. Our results will be used for further study and quantify the real influence of "small" water areas and areas of ponds on the elements of the local climate.

Climatic change impacts, adaptation and associated costs in France. Intermediate report. June 2008

International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

2008-01-01

This report aims at promoting the awareness of sector-based and land challenges of climate change in terms of impacts. It gives a wide overview of the present knowledge on sector-based vulnerabilities, and allows the identification of some paths for the alleviation of these vulnerabilities. After a discussion of objectives and context, of methodological choices (data, modalities to take impacts and adaptation into account, impact assessment approach) thematic woks are reported. They are dealing with health (population vulnerability to climate change with the example of 2006 heat wave), agriculture, forest and water, energy, tourism, natural risks and insurance, territories. For each of these topics, the reports discusses vulnerability aspects, the present knowledge about the impact of climate change, and identifies the core problems as well as studies which remain to be performed

Late Holocene vegetation changes in relation with climate fluctuations and human activities in Languedoc (Southern France)

Science.gov (United States)

Azuara, J.; Combourieu-Nebout, N.; Lebreton, V.; Mazier, F.; Müller, S. D.; Dezileau, L.

2015-09-01

Holocene climate fluctuations and human activities since the Neolithic have shaped present-day Mediterranean environments. Separating anthropogenic effects from climatic impacts to reconstruct Mediterranean paleoenvironments over the last millennia remains a challenging issue. High resolution pollen analyses were undertaken on two cores from the Palavasian lagoon system (Hérault, southern France). These records allow reconstruction of vegetation dynamics over the last 4500 years. Results are compared with climatic, historical and archeological archives. A long-term aridification trend is highlighted during the Late Holocene and three superimposed arid events are recorded at 4600-4300, 2800-2400 and 1300-1100 cal BP. These periods of climatic instability coincide in time with the rapid climatic events depicted in the Atlantic Ocean (Bond et al., 2001). From the Bronze Age (4000 cal BP) to the end of the Iron Age (around 2000 cal BP), the spread of evergreen taxa and loss of forest cover result from anthropogenic impact. The Antiquity is characterized by a major reforestation event related to the concentration of rural activities and populations in coastal plains leading to forest recovery in the mountains. A major regional deforestation occurred at the beginning of the High Middle Ages. Around 1000 cal BP, forest cover is minimal while cover of olive, chestnut and walnut expands in relation to increasing human influence. The present day vegetation dominated by Mediterranean shrubland and pines has been in existence since the beginning of the 20th century.

The french researches on the climatic change; Les recherches francaises sur le changement climatique

Energy Technology Data Exchange (ETDEWEB)

NONE

2006-07-01

Scientists were the first to prevent decision makers on the risk of the climatic change bond to the greenhouse gases emissions. The results of the third GIEC report confirmed that the main part of the global warming of the last 50 years is due to the human activities. This document presents the major results of the french researches during the last five years: the planet observation, the climate evolution study, the simulation of the future climate, the climatic change in France, the impacts of the climatic change on the marine and earth biosphere, the climatic risks and the public policies, the health impacts, the 2003 heat and the research infrastructures. (A.L.B.)

Twenty first century climate change as simulated by European climate models

International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

Cubasch, Ulrich

2007-01-01

Full text: Climate change simulation results for seven European state-of-the-art climate models, participating in the European research project ENSEMBLES (ENSEMBLE-based Predictions of Climate Changes and their Impacts), will be presented. Models from Norway, France, Germany, Denmark, and Great Britain, representing a sub-ensemble of the models contributing to the Intergovernmental Panel on Climate Change Fourth Assessment Report (IPCC AR4), are included. Climate simulations are conducted with all the models for present-day climate and for future climate under the SRES A1B, A2, and B1 scenarios. The design of the simulations follows the guidelines of the IPCC AR4. The 21st century projections are compared to the corresponding present-day simulations. The ensemble mean global mean near surface temperature rise for the year 2099 compared to the 1961-1990 period amounts to 3.2Kforthe A1B scenario, to 4.1 K for the A2 scenario, and to 2.1 K for the B1 scenario. The spatial patterns of temperature change are robust among the contributing models with the largest temperature increase over the Arctic in boreal winter, stronger warming overland than over ocean, and little warming over the southern oceans. The ensemble mean globally averaged precipitation increases for the three scenarios (5.6%, 5.7%, and 3.8% for scenarios A1B, A2, and B1, respectively). The precipitation signals of the different models display a larger spread than the temperature signals. In general, precipitation increases in the Intertropical Convergence Zone and the mid- to high latitudes (most pronounced during the hemispheric winter) and decreases in the subtropics. Sea-level pressure decreases over the polar regions in all models and all scenarios, which is mainly compensated by a pressure increase in the subtropical highs. These changes imply an intensification of the Southern and Northern Annular Modes

France and coal in the world. Myths and realities

International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

2014-09-01

This publication denounces some myths and, as answers, states some realities regarding France, the World and coal, i.e.: Through its reduction of greenhouse gas emissions, France is an example in the struggle against climate change at the international level (whereas France still supports the development of very emitting projects like coal-fired plants in France and abroad); The construction of new coal plants would comply with the objective defined by the international community to limit world mean temperature rise below 2 deg. C (whereas such a construction does not actually comply with this objective); To be against coal is to go against poverty eradication (whereas there are better alternatives than coal to promote access to energy and eradicate poverty); It's better to replace old existing coal plants by new and more efficient coal plants (whereas great economic powers are now closing coal plants to replace them with renewable energies); As China is not yet ready to struggle against climate change, there is no use to withdraw support to coal projects (whereas China is now implementing measures to struggle against climate change)

Colbert's shadow: trade liberalisation and France's energy giants

International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

Anon.

1999-01-01

The slow pace of liberalisation in France's state-owned Electricite de France (EdF) and Gaz de France (GdF) companies are examined, and complaints from the British, Austrian, and Spanish power companies that France has failed to implement the EU directives while EdF has not been slow to expand overseas are considered. The climate of change in France illustrated by the hostile takeover battles, and suspicion of spot and futures trading as speculation rather than offsetting risks are noted. (UK)

Health and vitality assessment of two common pine species in the context of climate change in southern Europe

International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

Sicard, Pierre; Dalstein-Richier, Laurence

2015-01-01

The Mediterranean Basin is expected to be more strongly affected by ongoing climate change than most other regions of the earth. The South-eastern France can be considered as case study for assessing global change impacts on forests. Based on non-parametric statistical tests, the climatic parameters (temperature, relative humidity, rainfall, global radiation) and forest-response indicators (crown defoliation, discoloration and visible foliar ozone injury) of two pine species (Pinus halepensis and Pinus cembra) were analyzed. In the last 20 years, the trend analyses reveal a clear hotter and drier climate along the coastline and slightly rainier inland. In the current climate change context, a reduction in ground-level ozone (O 3 ) was found at remote sites and the visible foliar O 3 injury decreased while deterioration of the crown conditions was observed likely due to a drier and warmer climate. Clearly, if such climatic and ecological changes are now being detected when the climate, in South-eastern France, has warmed in the last 20 years (+0.46–1.08 °C), it can be expected that many more impacts on tree species will occur in response to predicted temperature changes by 2100 (+1.95–4.59 °C). Climate change is projected to reduce the benefits of O 3 precursor emissions controls leading to a higher O 3 uptake. However, the drier and warmer climate should induce a soil drought leading to a lower O 3 uptake. These two effects, acting together in an opposite way, could mitigate the harmful impacts of O 3 on forests. The development of coordinated emission abatement strategies is useful to reduce both climate change and O 3 pollution. Climate change will create additional challenges for forest management with substantial socio-economic and biological diversity impacts. However, the development of future sustainable and adaptive forest management strategies has the potential to reduce the vulnerability of forest species to climate change. - Highlights: • We

The national campaign for action against climatic changes

International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

Gueret, T.

2000-01-01

The Kyoto protocol adopted in 1997 lays down the principle of a reduction in greenhouse gas emissions for developed countries and the instigation of sanctions for those not adhering to their commitments. Each country has set up a national institute responsible for adapting the instigation of this protocol to its own particularities. The Inter-departmental Mission for Greenhouse Effects (MIES) in France was given this task, and in January 2000 it presented the national campaign for action against climatic changes. This article sets out the international measures, the commitments made by France, and presents the measures to be implemented as well as the aspects to be strengthened within the French plan. (author)

National plan for adaptation to climate change

International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

2011-01-01

This report first explains the rationale for such a plan, and discusses the costs associated to climate change impacts. It presents two scenarios for climate change in France during the 21. century, highlights the weight of uncertainty for the results of these scenarios, and indicates some current consequences. Then, it presents the Plan content and gives an overview of the Plan governance and evaluation. It proposes a set of action sheets which contain the main adopted measures and briefly describe some implemented or projected actions. These sheets concern the different fields of application of the plan: cross-cutting actions, health, water resources, biodiversity, natural hazards, agriculture, forest, fishery and aquaculture, energy and industry, transport infrastructures and systems, urban planning and built environment, tourism, information, education and training, research, finance and insurance, coasts, mountains, European and international actions, governance

Modeling of vine agronomic practices in the context of climate change

Directory of Open Access Journals (Sweden)

Tissot Cyril

2014-01-01

Full Text Available Global climate change affects regional climates and hold implications for viticulture worldwide. Many studies have addressed the issue of the impact of climate change on viticulture in most wine regions worldwide, yet few studies are devoted to observing and simulating both climate and climate change at the “terroir” scale (local scale. However, phenological variations as well as differences in grapes/wine quality are often observed over short distances in a wine-region, which are related to local characteristics (slope, soil, seasonal climate …. This paper proposes a modeling approach to simulate behavior changes in wine grower activities and to analyze the impact of changing strategies in wine production. Two experiments were conducted in the small wine appellation grand cru Quart de Chaume (Coteaux du Layon, Loire Valley, France and in the wine estate in Mendoza (Bodega Alta Vista where all of the methodology (from the implementation of the knowledge database to the analysis of the first simulation is presented. Given that this prototype is still under development, several research perspectives are discussed.

Climate change effects on Chikungunya transmission in Europe: geospatial analysis of vector's climatic suitability and virus' temperature requirements.

Science.gov (United States)

Fischer, Dominik; Thomas, Stephanie M; Suk, Jonathan E; Sudre, Bertrand; Hess, Andrea; Tjaden, Nils B; Beierkuhnlein, Carl; Semenza, Jan C

2013-11-12

Chikungunya was, from the European perspective, considered to be a travel-related tropical mosquito-borne disease prior to the first European outbreak in Northern Italy in 2007. This was followed by cases of autochthonous transmission reported in South-eastern France in 2010. Both events occurred after the introduction, establishment and expansion of the Chikungunya-competent and highly invasive disease vector Aedes albopictus (Asian tiger mosquito) in Europe. In order to assess whether these outbreaks are indicative of the beginning of a trend or one-off events, there is a need to further examine the factors driving the potential transmission of Chikungunya in Europe. The climatic suitability, both now and in the future, is an essential starting point for such an analysis. The climatic suitability for Chikungunya outbreaks was determined by using bioclimatic factors that influence, both vector and, pathogen. Climatic suitability for the European distribution of the vector Aedes albopictus was based upon previous correlative environmental niche models. Climatic risk classes were derived by combining climatic suitability for the vector with known temperature requirements for pathogen transmission, obtained from outbreak regions. In addition, the longest potential intra-annual season for Chikungunya transmission was estimated for regions with expected vector occurrences.In order to analyse spatio-temporal trends for risk exposure and season of transmission in Europe, climate change impacts are projected for three time-frames (2011-2040, 2041-2070 and 2071-2100) and two climate scenarios (A1B and B1) from the Intergovernmental Panel on Climate Change (IPCC). These climatic projections are based on regional climate model COSMO-CLM, which builds on the global model ECHAM5. European areas with current and future climatic suitability of Chikungunya transmission are identified. An increase in risk is projected for Western Europe (e.g. France and Benelux-States) in the

Adaptation to climate change and industrial vulnerability

International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

Garnaud, Benjamin; Ferret, Celine

2010-06-01

In today's societies, the production base made up by the industrial fabric acts as an important link between the climate and its variations and our lifestyle. However, several decades of experience have often enabled us to minimise the impact of the weather and its fluctuations on activities, making the industrial sector out to be purely artificial and protected from climate impacts. Yet climate change leads us to challenge this assumption: if the industrial base is supposed to be impervious to the current climate, is this still the case in a context of climate change? In an attempt to answer this question, the Invulnerable project was launched, led by the Institute for Sustainable Development and International Relations (IDDRI) and bringing together scientific and industrial partners (Meteo-France, IPSL, CERFACS). Observing the availability of scientific resources on climate change, partly resulting from the modeling research coordinated by the IPCC, the idea was to work with industries to identify their vulnerabilities and to use these to define indicators for climatologists. These indicators are not chosen by scientists without consulting industries, but are in fact defined by these industries to ensure they correspond to their needs as closely as possible. The challenge is therefore to bring together scientists and industries and to catalyse a mutual understanding to ensure this discussion results in one or several indicators that are relevant to the activity in question and on which climatologists can work

Impact of climate change on heavy precipitation events of the Mediterranean basin

International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

Ricard, D.; Beaulant, A.L.; Deque, M.; Ducrocq, V.; Joly, A.; Joly, B.; Martin, E.; Nuissier, O.; Quintana Segui, P.; Ribes, A.; Sevault, F.; Somot, S.; Boe, J.

2009-01-01

A second topic covered by the CYPRIM project aims to characterize the evolution of heavy precipitation events in Mediterranean in the context of climate change. To this end, a continuous climate simulation from 1960 to 2099 has been run using a regional ocean-atmosphere coupled model under IPCC A2 emission scenario. Various techniques of down-scaling, down to the very fine 2 km scale, and methods to highlight synoptic environments favourable to heavy rain, have been used to estimate the impact of climate change on precipitation and hydrology over South-East France, both for the whole autumn season and the heavy rain events. (authors)

Climate index for France - Methodology; Indice climatique France - Methodologie

Energy Technology Data Exchange (ETDEWEB)

NONE

2006-07-01

According to the U.S. Department of Energy, an estimated 25% of the GNP is affected by weather-related events. The variations in temperature - even small ones - can also have long-lasting effects on the operational results of a company. Among other, the Energy supply sector is sensitive to weather risks: a milder or harsher than usual winter leads to a decrease or increase of energy consumption. The price of electricity on power trading facilities like Powernext is especially sensitive to odd changes in temperatures. Powernext and Meteo-France (the French meteorological agency) have joined expertise in order to promote the use of weather indices in term of decision making or underlying of hedging tools to energy actors, end users from any other sector of activity and specialists of the weather risk hedging. The Powernext Weather indices are made from information collected by Meteo-France's main observation network according to the norms of international meteorology, in areas carefully selected. The gross data are submitted to a thorough review allowing the correction of abnormalities and the reconstitution of missing data. Each index is fashioned to take into account the economic activity in the various regions of the country as represented by each region's population. This demographic information represents a fair approximation of the weight of the regional economic activity. This document presents the calculation methodology of average, minimum and maximum weather indexes with the winter and summer regression equations for the different economical regions of France. (J.S.)

Health and vitality assessment of two common pine species in the context of climate change in southern Europe

Energy Technology Data Exchange (ETDEWEB)

Sicard, Pierre, E-mail: pierre.sicard@acri-st.fr [ACRI-ST, 260 route du Pin Montard, BP 234, 06904 Sophia Antipolis cedex (France); Dalstein-Richier, Laurence [GIEFS (Groupe International d’Etudes des Forêts Sud-européennes) – 60, Avenue des Hespérides, 06300 Nice (France)

2015-02-15

The Mediterranean Basin is expected to be more strongly affected by ongoing climate change than most other regions of the earth. The South-eastern France can be considered as case study for assessing global change impacts on forests. Based on non-parametric statistical tests, the climatic parameters (temperature, relative humidity, rainfall, global radiation) and forest-response indicators (crown defoliation, discoloration and visible foliar ozone injury) of two pine species (Pinus halepensis and Pinus cembra) were analyzed. In the last 20 years, the trend analyses reveal a clear hotter and drier climate along the coastline and slightly rainier inland. In the current climate change context, a reduction in ground-level ozone (O{sub 3}) was found at remote sites and the visible foliar O{sub 3} injury decreased while deterioration of the crown conditions was observed likely due to a drier and warmer climate. Clearly, if such climatic and ecological changes are now being detected when the climate, in South-eastern France, has warmed in the last 20 years (+0.46–1.08 °C), it can be expected that many more impacts on tree species will occur in response to predicted temperature changes by 2100 (+1.95–4.59 °C). Climate change is projected to reduce the benefits of O{sub 3} precursor emissions controls leading to a higher O{sub 3} uptake. However, the drier and warmer climate should induce a soil drought leading to a lower O{sub 3} uptake. These two effects, acting together in an opposite way, could mitigate the harmful impacts of O{sub 3} on forests. The development of coordinated emission abatement strategies is useful to reduce both climate change and O{sub 3} pollution. Climate change will create additional challenges for forest management with substantial socio-economic and biological diversity impacts. However, the development of future sustainable and adaptive forest management strategies has the potential to reduce the vulnerability of forest species to climate

Transferability in the future climate of a statistical downscaling method for precipitation in France

Science.gov (United States)

Dayon, G.; Boé, J.; Martin, E.

2015-02-01

A statistical downscaling approach for precipitation in France based on the analog method and its evaluation for different combinations of predictors is described, with focus on the transferability of the method to the future climate. First, the realism of downscaled present-day precipitation climatology and interannual variability for different combinations of predictors from four reanalyses is assessed. Satisfactory results are obtained, but elaborated predictors do not lead to major and consistent across-reanalyses improvements. The downscaling method is then evaluated on its capacity to capture precipitation trends in the last decades. As uncertainties in downscaled trends due to the choice of the reanalysis are large and observed trends are weak, this analysis does not lead to strong conclusions on the applicability of the method to a changing climate. The temporal transferability is then assessed thanks to a perfect model framework. The statistical downscaling relationship is built using present-day predictors and precipitation simulated by 12 regional climate models. The entire projections are then downscaled, and future downscaled and simulated precipitation changes are compared. A good temporal transferability is obtained only with a specific combination of predictors. Finally, the regional climate models are downscaled, thanks to the relationship built with reanalyses and observations, for the best combination of predictors. Results are similar to the changes simulated by the models, which reinforces our confidence in the realism of the models and of the downscaling method. Uncertainties in precipitation change due to reanalyses are found to be limited compared to those due to regional simulations.

Climate index for France - Methodology

International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

2006-01-01

According to the U.S. Department of Energy, an estimated 25% of the GNP is affected by weather-related events. The variations in temperature - even small ones - can also have long-lasting effects on the operational results of a company. Among other, the Energy supply sector is sensitive to weather risks: a milder or harsher than usual winter leads to a decrease or increase of energy consumption. The price of electricity on power trading facilities like Powernext is especially sensitive to odd changes in temperatures. Powernext and Meteo-France (the French meteorological agency) have joined expertise in order to promote the use of weather indices in term of decision making or underlying of hedging tools to energy actors, end users from any other sector of activity and specialists of the weather risk hedging. The Powernext Weather indices are made from information collected by Meteo-France's main observation network according to the norms of international meteorology, in areas carefully selected. The gross data are submitted to a thorough review allowing the correction of abnormalities and the reconstitution of missing data. Each index is fashioned to take into account the economic activity in the various regions of the country as represented by each region's population. This demographic information represents a fair approximation of the weight of the regional economic activity. This document presents the calculation methodology of average, minimum and maximum weather indexes with the winter and summer regression equations for the different economical regions of France. (J.S.)

Assessing Climate Change Impacts on Wildfire Exposure in Mediterranean Areas.

Science.gov (United States)

Lozano, Olga M; Salis, Michele; Ager, Alan A; Arca, Bachisio; Alcasena, Fermin J; Monteiro, Antonio T; Finney, Mark A; Del Giudice, Liliana; Scoccimarro, Enrico; Spano, Donatella

2017-10-01

We used simulation modeling to assess potential climate change impacts on wildfire exposure in Italy and Corsica (France). Weather data were obtained from a regional climate model for the period 1981-2070 using the IPCC A1B emissions scenario. Wildfire simulations were performed with the minimum travel time fire spread algorithm using predicted fuel moisture, wind speed, and wind direction to simulate expected changes in weather for three climatic periods (1981-2010, 2011-2040, and 2041-2070). Overall, the wildfire simulations showed very slight changes in flame length, while other outputs such as burn probability and fire size increased significantly in the second future period (2041-2070), especially in the southern portion of the study area. The projected changes fuel moisture could result in a lengthening of the fire season for the entire study area. This work represents the first application in Europe of a methodology based on high resolution (250 m) landscape wildfire modeling to assess potential impacts of climate changes on wildfire exposure at a national scale. The findings can provide information and support in wildfire management planning and fire risk mitigation activities. © 2016 Society for Risk Analysis.

Understanding the school 'climate': secondary school children and climate change

International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

Kovacs, Susan; Bernier, Sandrine; Blanchet, Aymeric; Derkenne, Chantal; Clement, Florence; Petitjean, Leslie

2012-01-01

This interdisciplinary study analyzes the production, circulation and reception of messages on climate change in secondary schools in France. The objective is to understand how political and educational policy initiatives influence the ways in which schools contribute to creating youngsters' perceptions and opinions about climate change. In order to study the conditions of production and reception of information about climate change, a survey was conducted in four French secondary schools, in the 'Bas Rhin' and 'Nord' departments, and local political actors in each department were interviewed. The cross disciplinary analytical and methodological approach uses the tools of sociological inquiry, information science, and political science: questionnaires and interviews were conducted with members of the educational and governmental communities of each school and department, semiotic and discursive analyses of corpuses of documents were carried out, in order to characterize documents used by students and teachers at school or in more informal contexts; the nature and extent of the relations between the political contexts and school directives and programs were also discussed. This interdisciplinary approach, combining sociological, communicational, and political methods, was chosen in response to the hypothesis that three types of variables (social, communicational and political) contribute to the structuring and production of messages about climate change in schools. This report offers a contextualized overview of activities developed within the four secondary schools to help sensitize children to the risks associated with climate change. A study of the networks of individuals (teachers, staff, members of associations, etc.) created in and around the school environment is presented. The degree of involvement of these actors in climate change programs is analyzed, as it is related to their motives and objectives, to the school discipline taught, and to the position

Impacts of Climate Change and of Anthropisation on Water Resources: from the Risk Assessment to Adaptation, the Case of the Seine Basin (including Paris, France)

Science.gov (United States)

Habets, F.; Viennot, P.; Thierion, C.; Vergnes, J. P.; Ait Kaci, A.; Caballero, Y.

2015-12-01

The Seine river, located in the temperate climate of northern France and flowing over a large sedimentary basins that hosts multilayer aquifers, is characterized by small temporal variations of its discharge. However, the presence of a megacity (Paris) and a wide area of intensive agriculture combined with climate change puts pressure on the water resources both in terms of quality and quantity. Previous research projects have estimated the impact of climate change on the water resource of the Seine basin, with the uncertainties associated to climate projections, hydrological models or downscaling methods. The water resource was projected to decrease by -14 % ± 10 % in 2050 and -28 +/-16% in 2100. This led to new studies that focus on the combined impact of climate change and adaptations. The tested adaptations are: a reduction of the groundwater abstractions, evolution of land use, development of small dams to « harvest water » or artificial recharge of aquifers. The communication of the results of these projects to stakeholders have led to the development on new indicators that better express the risk on the water resource management, especially for the groundwater. For instance maps of the evolution of piezometric head are difficult to interpret. To better express the risk evolution, a new indicator was defined: the evolution of the groundwater crisis duration, ie, the period when the charge of the aquifer is below the crisis piezometric level defined by the stakeholders. Such crisis piezometric levels are used to help defining the period when the groundwater abstraction should be reduced. Such maps are more efficient to communicate with water resources managers. This communication will focus on the results from the MEDDE Explore 2070 and ANR Oracle projects.

Topex/Poseidon: A United States/France mission. Oceanography from space: The oceans and climate

Science.gov (United States)

1992-01-01

The TOPEX/POSEIDON space mission, sponsored by NASA and France's space agency, the Centre National d'Etudes Spatiales (CNES), will give new observations of the Earth from space to gain a quantitative understanding of the role of ocean currents in climate change. Rising atmospheric concentrations of carbon dioxide and other 'greenhouse gases' produced as a result of human activities could generate a global warming, followed by an associated rise in sea level. The satellite will use radar altimetry to measure sea-surface height and will be tracked by three independent systems to yield accurate topographic maps over the dimensions of entire ocean basins. The satellite data, together with the Tropical Ocean and Global Atmosphere (TOGA) program and the World Ocean Circulation Experiment (WOCE) measurements, will be analyzed by an international scientific team. By merging the satellite observations with TOGA and WOCE findings, the scientists will establish the extensive data base needed for the quantitative description and computer modeling of ocean circulation. The ocean models will eventually be coupled with atmospheric models to lay the foundation for predictions of global climate change.

Evaluation of the applicability in the future climate of a statistical downscaling method in France

Science.gov (United States)

Dayon, G.; Boé, J.; Martin, E.

2013-12-01

The uncertainties in climate projections during the next decades generally remain large, with an important contribution of internal climate variability. To quantify and capture the impact of those uncertainties in impact projections, multi-model and multi-member approaches are essential. Statistical downscaling (SD) methods are computationally inexpensive allowing for large ensemble approaches. The main weakness of SD is that it relies on a stationarity hypothesis, namely that the statistical relation established in the present climate remains valid in the climate change context. In this study, the evaluation of SD methods developed for a future study of hydrological changes during the next decades over France is presented, focusing on precipitation. The SD methods are all based on the analogs method which is quite simple to set up and permits to easily test different combinations of predictors, the only changing parameter in the methods discussed in this presentation. The basic idea of the analogs method is that for a same large scale climatic state, the state of local variables will be identical. In a climate change context, the statistical relation established on past climate is assumed to remain valid in the future climate. In practice, this stationarity assumption is impossible to verify until the future climate is effectively observed. It is possible to evaluate the ability of SD methods to reproduce the interannual variability in the present climate, but this approach does not guarantee their validity in the future climate as the mechanisms that play in the interannual and climate change contexts may not be identical. Another common approach is to test whether a SD method is able to reproduce observed, as they may be partly caused by climate changes. The observed trends in precipitation are compared to those obtained by downscaling 4 different atmospheric reanalyses with analogs methods. The uncertainties in downscaled trends due to renalyses are very large

Landscape and climatic characteristics associated with human alveolar echinococcosis in France, 1982 to 2007.

Science.gov (United States)

Piarroux, M; Gaudart, J; Bresson-Hadni, S; Bardonnet, K; Faucher, B; Grenouillet, F; Knapp, J; Dumortier, J; Watelet, J; Gerard, A; Beytout, J; Abergel, A; Wallon, M; Vuitton, D A; Piarroux, R

2015-05-07

Human alveolar echinococcosis (AE) is a severe hepatic disease caused by Echinococcus multilocularis. In France, the definitive and intermediate hosts of E. multilocularis (foxes and rodents, respectively) have a broader geographical distribution than that of human AE. In this two-part study, we describe the link between AE incidence in France between 1982 and 2007 and climatic and landscape characteristics. National-level analysis demonstrated a dramatic increase in AE risk in areas with very cold winters and high annual rainfall levels. Notably, 52% (207/401) of cases resided in French communes (smallest French administrative level) with a mountain climate. The mountain climate communes displayed a 133-fold (95% CI: 95-191) increase in AE risk compared with communes in which the majority of the population resides. A case-control study performed in the most affected areas confirmed the link between AE risk and climatic factors. This arm of the study also revealed that populations residing in forest or pasture areas were at high risk of developing AE. We therefore hypothesised that snow-covered ground may facilitate predators to track their prey, thus increasing E. multilocularis biomass in foxes. Such climatic and landscape conditions could lead to an increased risk of developing AE among humans residing in nearby areas.

Etude Climat no. 41 'Combating fuel poverty: policies in France and the United Kingdom'

International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

Tyszler, Johan; Bordier, Cecile; Leseur, Alexia

2013-01-01

Among the publications of CDC Climat Research, 'Climate Reports' offer in-depth analyses on a given subject. This issue addresses the following points: The National Debate on Energy Transition in France highlighted issues relating to the social acceptability of the measures in question, and especially the inclusion of fuel poverty. However, the wide range of determining factors for fuel poverty (high energy prices, poor living conditions, and limited financial resources) make it hard to characterise the households involved. Several indicators are available although the defining criterion that is currently used, even though it is disputed, is the allocation of at least 10% of a household's income to expenditure on fuel: in this case, 3.8 million households would be concerned in France, and 4.7 million in the United Kingdom

Climate change and health: new challenges for epidemiology and public health

International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

Pascal, Mathilde; Beaudeau, Pascal; Laaidi, Karine; Pirard, Philippe; Vautard, Robert

2015-01-01

Climate change contributes to a rapid and deep modification of the environment. In the same time, other factors such as population increase, ageing or urbanization increase the vulnerability to various environmental and health risks. Chains of complex interactions are impacting populations' health and well-being. Developing prevention measures is an asset to reduce the health impacts of present climate change (through adaptation measures) and to limit the intensity of future impacts (through mitigation measures). Mitigation will result in major changes in several sectors, for instance housing, transports or agriculture. Taking into account the potential health impacts is important to avoid choices impairing human health, and to maximize health co-benefits. In this paper we propose a reflection on how present and future climate change in France challenges epidemiology and public health in the next few years. While many questions remain unanswered, there is a consensus on the importance of the links between climate change and human health, that can be summarized into three points: 1) climate change already impacts human health, 2) adaptation and mitigation are needed to reduce those impacts, 3) adaptation and mitigation can rely on immediate measures that would be beneficial for health and for climate. An integrated and interdisciplinary approach is essential to tackle the complexity of the issue, of its implications for public health, for research, surveillance and intervention. (authors)

To finance climate: time for action. Seven proposals for France and Europe

International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

Aglietta, Michel; Espagne, Etienne; Perrissin Fabert, Baptiste

2016-01-01

In this paper, the authors aims at showing how France and Europe could play a key role in a new definition of the global financial framework to support transition towards a carbon-neutral world. In order to do so, they formulate seven proposals which aim at strengthening the existing French ecosystem related to finance and climate issues, at reducing financial consequences of the climate system risk, at acting on the profitability of low carbon investments, and at proposing a horizon to the European Union away from the present spectre of stagnation

Modelling sequential Biosphere systems under Climate change for radioactive waste disposal. Project BIOCLIM

International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

Texier, D.; Degnan, P.; Loutre, M.F.; Lemaitre, G.; Paillard, D.; Thorne, M.

2000-01-01

The BIOCLIM project (Modelling Sequential Biosphere systems under Climate change for Radioactive Waste Disposal) is part of the EURATOM fifth European framework programme. The project was launched in October 2000 for a three-year period. It is coordinated by ANDRA, the French national radioactive waste management agency. The project brings together a number of European radioactive waste management organisations that have national responsibilities for the safe disposal of radioactive wastes, and several highly experienced climate research teams. Waste management organisations involved are: NIREX (UK), GRS (Germany), ENRESA (Spain), NRI (Czech Republic) and ANDRA (France). Climate research teams involved are: LSCE (CEA/CNRS, France), CIEMAT (Spain), UPMETSIMM (Spain), UCL/ASTR (Belgium) and CRU (UEA, UK). The Environmental Agency for England and Wales provides a regulatory perspective. The consulting company Enviros Consulting (UK) assists ANDRA by contributing to both the administrative and scientific aspects of the project. This paper describes the project and progress to date. (authors)

Landscape of climate finance in France 2011-2014 - 2015 Edition - Executive Summary

International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

Hainaut, Hadrien; Morel, Romain; Cochran, Ian

2015-11-01

The Landscape of Climate Finance surveys investment in tangible (physical) assets contributing to climate change mitigation and resulting directly or indirectly in greenhouse gas emissions (GHG) emission reductions - generally referred to as climate investments. This total is made up of investments of euro 17.6 bn in energy efficiency, euro 5.1 bn in renewable energy and euro 12 bn for sustainable transport infrastructure. Investments in new nuclear plants and GHG reductions outside of energy consumption (agriculture, forestry, industrial processes, etc.) totaled an estimated euro 1.4 bn. An increase in investment was noted in low-emission new buildings and sustainable transport infrastructure, while investment in renewable energy decreased over the same period. The Landscape of Climate Finance is a comprehensive study of financial flows in favor of climate and the broader energy transition in France. The study maps the flows supporting investments leading to greenhouse gas mitigation across the French economy. The results discussed in the report present trends seen between 2011 and 2014, with a detailed focus on 2013. Findings are contextualized in two ways: first, they are compared with the general characteristics of the financing of the French economy; second, the volumes identified are assessed in comparison to existing projected investment needs to achieve GHG emission reduction targets and energy transition objectives. The final objective of the study is to contribute to the public debate on the role and relevancy of public and private finance in support of climate mitigation. This French Landscape of Climate Finance is based on the aggregation of a large number of often-fragmented sources and estimations. All results reflect explicit methodological choices made by the authors based on existing national and international approaches and should, thus, be understood as orders of magnitude including a varying degree of uncertainty

Exploring the Multifaceted Topic of Climate Change in Our Changing Climate and Living With Our Changing Climate

Science.gov (United States)

Brey, J. A.; Kauffman, C.; Geer, I. W.; Mills, E. W.; Nugnes, K. A.; Stimach, A. E.

2015-12-01

As the effects of climate change become more profound, climate literacy becomes increasingly important. The American Meteorological Society (AMS) responds to this need through the publication of Our Changing Climate and Living With Our Changing Climate. Both publications incorporate the latest scientific understandings of Earth's climate system from reports such as IPCC AR5 and the USGCRP's Third National Climate Assessment. Topic In Depth sections appear throughout each chapter and lead to more extensive, multidisciplinary information related to various topics. Additionally, each chapter closes with a For Further Exploration essay, which addresses specific topics that complement a chapter concept. Web Resources, which encourage additional exploration of chapter content, and Scientific Literature, from which chapter content was derived can also be found at the conclusion of each chapter. Our Changing Climate covers a breadth of topics, including the scientific principles that govern Earth's climate system and basic statistics and geospatial tools used to investigate the system. Released in fall 2015, Living With Our Changing Climate takes a more narrow approach and investigates human and ecosystem vulnerabilities to climate change, the role of energy choices in affecting climate, actions humans can take through adaption, mitigation, and policy to lessen vulnerabilities, and psychological and financial reasons behind climate change denial. While Living With Our Changing Climate is intended for programs looking to add a climate element into their curriculum, Our Changing Climate is part of the AMS Climate Studies course. In a 2015 survey of California University of Pennsylvania undergraduate students using Our Changing Climate, 82% found it comfortable to read and utilized its interactive components and resources. Both ebooks illuminate the multidisciplinary aspect of climate change, providing the opportunity for a more sustainable future.

Synthesis of the 2011 'struggle against climate change' DPT

International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

2011-01-01

A DPT is a document of transverse policy in France. This paper presents the DPT which addresses the struggle against climate change. It briefly presents the French budget effort on this topic, indicates some programs addressing this issue and contained in the DPT, comments the expenses of these programs which are taken into account in the DPT, evokes incentive mechanisms based on tax expenses. It finally evokes the indicators aimed at assessing the success or failure of these programs

Health and vitality assessment of two common pine species in the context of climate change in southern Europe.

Science.gov (United States)

Sicard, Pierre; Dalstein-Richier, Laurence

2015-02-01

The Mediterranean Basin is expected to be more strongly affected by ongoing climate change than most other regions of the earth. The South-eastern France can be considered as case study for assessing global change impacts on forests. Based on non-parametric statistical tests, the climatic parameters (temperature, relative humidity, rainfall, global radiation) and forest-response indicators (crown defoliation, discoloration and visible foliar ozone injury) of two pine species (Pinus halepensis and Pinus cembra) were analyzed. In the last 20 years, the trend analyses reveal a clear hotter and drier climate along the coastline and slightly rainier inland. In the current climate change context, a reduction in ground-level ozone (O3) was found at remote sites and the visible foliar O3 injury decreased while deterioration of the crown conditions was observed likely due to a drier and warmer climate. Clearly, if such climatic and ecological changes are now being detected when the climate, in South-eastern France, has warmed in the last 20 years (+0.46-1.08°C), it can be expected that many more impacts on tree species will occur in response to predicted temperature changes by 2100 (+1.95-4.59°C). Climate change is projected to reduce the benefits of O3 precursor emissions controls leading to a higher O3 uptake. However, the drier and warmer climate should induce a soil drought leading to a lower O3 uptake. These two effects, acting together in an opposite way, could mitigate the harmful impacts of O3 on forests. The development of coordinated emission abatement strategies is useful to reduce both climate change and O3 pollution. Climate change will create additional challenges for forest management with substantial socio-economic and biological diversity impacts. However, the development of future sustainable and adaptive forest management strategies has the potential to reduce the vulnerability of forest species to climate change. Copyright © 2014 Elsevier Inc. All

Climate Change and Future Pollen Allergy in Europe.

Science.gov (United States)

Lake, Iain R; Jones, Natalia R; Agnew, Maureen; Goodess, Clare M; Giorgi, Filippo; Hamaoui-Laguel, Lynda; Semenov, Mikhail A; Solomon, Fabien; Storkey, Jonathan; Vautard, Robert; Epstein, Michelle M

2017-03-01

Globally, pollen allergy is a major public health problem, but a fundamental unknown is the likely impact of climate change. To our knowledge, this is the first study to quantify the consequences of climate change upon pollen allergy in humans. We produced quantitative estimates of the potential impact of climate change upon pollen allergy in humans, focusing upon common ragweed ( Ambrosia artemisiifolia ) in Europe. A process-based model estimated the change in ragweed's range under climate change. A second model simulated current and future ragweed pollen levels. These findings were translated into health burdens using a dose-response curve generated from a systematic review and from current and future population data. Models considered two different suites of regional climate/pollen models, two greenhouse gas emissions scenarios [Representative Concentration Pathways (RCPs) 4.5 and 8.5], and three different plant invasion scenarios. Our primary estimates indicated that sensitization to ragweed will more than double in Europe, from 33 to 77 million people, by 2041-2060. According to our projections, sensitization will increase in countries with an existing ragweed problem (e.g., Hungary, the Balkans), but the greatest proportional increases will occur where sensitization is uncommon (e.g., Germany, Poland, France). Higher pollen concentrations and a longer pollen season may also increase the severity of symptoms. Our model projections were driven predominantly by changes in climate (66%) but were also influenced by current trends in the spread of this invasive plant species. Assumptions about the rate at which ragweed spreads throughout Europe had a large influence upon the results. Our quantitative estimates indicate that ragweed pollen allergy will become a common health problem across Europe, expanding into areas where it is currently uncommon. Control of ragweed spread may be an important adaptation strategy in response to climate change. Citation: Lake IR

The many facets of climate change - Conference proceedings; Les multiples facettes du changement climatique - Recueil des presentations

Energy Technology Data Exchange (ETDEWEB)

NONE

2011-03-15

This conference day on climate change was organized by the French meteorological society (SMF) at the Ecole Normale Superieure of Paris. This document brings together the available presentations given at the conference. Eight presentations (slides) are compiled in this document and deal with: 1 - Climate change today and tomorrow, the research stakes (Herve Le Treut, IPSL); 2 - Rise of sea levels: estimations and regional variability (Guy Woeppelmann, La Rochelle Univ.); 3 - Polar ice caps and continental cryo-sphere as seen from space (A. Kouraev, F. Remy, E. Berthier, LEGOS); 4 - Impacts of climate change on exploited marine populations: projections and uncertainties (Patrick Lehodey, CLS); 5 - Climate change stakes on agricultural and winery activities in France (Eric Duchene, INRA); 6 - Impacts of climate change on forest trees phenology and their consequences on trees life and survival (Francois Lebourgeois, ENGREF); 7 - Remote-epidemiology: a health-aid in a climate change context (Murielle Lafaye, CNES); 8 - Socio-economic aspects and adaptation: a climate history, for what? (Emmanuel Garnier, Caen Univ.)

Water scarcity from climate change and adaptation response in an international river basin context

NARCIS (Netherlands)

Levin-Koopman, J.F.; Kuik, O.J.; Tol, Richard S.J.; Brouwer, Roy

We simulate and analyze the direct and indirect economic impacts of climate change on water availability for irrigation on the economy of the Netherlands and the other EU countries which share the Rhine and Meuse river basin (France, Germany and Belgium), employing a computable general equilibrium

Climate change

International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

Anon.

1990-01-01

In this paper, the authors discuss in brief the magnitude and rate of past changes in climate and examine the various factors influencing climate in order to place the potential warming due to increasing greenhouse gas concentrations in context. Feedback mechanisms that can amplify or lessen imposed climate changes are discussed next. The overall sensitivity of climate to changes in forcing is then considered, followed by a discussion of the time-dependent response of the Earth system. The focus is on global temperature as an indicator for the magnitude of climatic change

Climate change 101 : understanding and responding to global climate change

Science.gov (United States)

2009-01-01

To inform the climate change dialogue, the Pew Center on Global Climate Change and the Pew Center on the States have developed a series of brief reports entitled Climate Change 101: Understanding and Responding to Global Climate Change. These reports...

Climate Change

DEFF Research Database (Denmark)

Rasmussen, Torben Valdbjørn; Hansen, Ernst Jan de Place

2011-01-01

This paper presents the effects of climate change relevant for Denmark, including the change in mean year values as well as the extent of maximum and minimum extremes. Described by the Intergovernmental Panel on Climate Change, the assumptions that the scenarios are based on were outlined...... and evaluated in a Danish context. The uncertainty of the scenarios leaves major challenges that, if not addressed and taken into account in building design, will grow far more serious as climate change progresses. Cases implemented in the Danish building stock illustrate adaptation to climate change...... and illustrate how building design can include mitigating measures to counteract climate change. Cases studied were individual buildings as well as the urban environment. Furthermore the paper describes some of the issues that must be addressed, as the building sector is investing in measures to adapt to climate...

Climate Change

Science.gov (United States)

Climate is the average weather in a place over a period of time. Climate change is major change in temperature, rainfall, snow, ... by natural factors or by human activities. Today climate changes are occurring at an increasingly rapid rate. ...

In Brief: Science academies' statement on climate change

Science.gov (United States)

Showstack, Randy

2009-06-01

“It is essential that world leaders agree on emissions reductions needed to combat negative consequences of anthropogenic climate change,” national science academies from 13 countries declared in a joint statement issued on 11 June. The statement, issued by the academies of the G8 countries—including England, France, Russia, and the United States—and five other countries (Brazil, China, India, Mexico, and South Africa), came in advance of a G8 meeting in Italy in July and prior to United Nations Framework Convention on Climate Change (UNFCCC) negotiations in Denmark in December. “The G8+5 should lead the transition to an energy-efficient and low-carbon world economy, and foster innovation and research and development for both mitigation and adaptation technologies,” the statement noted. The academies urged governments to agree at the UNFCCC negotiations to adopt a long-term global goal and short-term emissions reduction targets so that by 2050 global emissions would be reduced by about 50% from 1990 levels.

Climate change velocity underestimates climate change exposure in mountainous regions

Science.gov (United States)

Solomon Z. Dobrowski; Sean A. Parks

2016-01-01

Climate change velocity is a vector depiction of the rate of climate displacement used for assessing climate change impacts. Interpreting velocity requires an assumption that climate trajectory length is proportional to climate change exposure; longer paths suggest greater exposure. However, distance is an imperfect measure of exposure because it does not...

4. national communication to the United Nation framework convention on the climatic change

International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

2006-01-01

France, as the other involved participants, has to periodically present its actions in favor of the climatic change fight. This fourth national communication follows a plan defined by the Conference of the Parties to the United Nation Framework Convention on the Climatic Change. This report follows the third national convention published on 2001. It presents in nine chapters the actions realized to reduce and stop the greenhouse effect gases emissions and limit the impacts on the environment and public health: an analytical abstract, the conditions specific to the country, the inventory, the policies and measures, the projections and global effects of the policies and measures, the evaluation of the vulnerability and the climatic changes consequences and the adapted measures, the financial resources and the technology transfer, the research programs, the education formation and awareness of the public. (A.L.B.)

The effects of changing solar activity on climate: contributions from palaeoclimatological studies

Directory of Open Access Journals (Sweden)

Engels Stefan

2012-07-01

Full Text Available Natural climate change currently acts in concert with human-induced changes in the climate system. To disentangle the natural variability in the climate system and the human-induced effects on the global climate, a critical analysis of climate change in the past may offer a better understanding of the processes that drive the global climate system. In this review paper, we present palaeoclimatological evidence for the past influence of solar variability on Earth’s climate, highlighting the effects of solar forcing on a range of timescales. On a decadal timescale, instrumental measurements as well as historical records show the effects of the 11-year Schwabe cycle on climate. The variation in total solar irradiance that is associated with a Schwabe cycle is only ~1 W m−2 between a solar minimum and a maximum, but winter and spring temperatures on the Northern Hemisphere show a response even to this small-scale variability. There is a large body of evidence from palaeoclimatic reconstructions that shows the influence of solar activity on a centennial to millennial timescale. We highlight a period of low solar activity starting at 2800 years before present when Europe experienced a shift to colder and wetter climate conditions. The spatial pattern of climate change that can be recognized in the palaeoclimatological data is in line with the suggested pattern of climate change as simulated by climate models. Millennial-scale climate oscillations can be recognized in sediment records from the Atlantic Ocean as well as in records of lake-level fluctuations in southeastern France. These oscillations coincide with variation in 14C production as recognized in the atmospheric 14C record (which is a proxy-record for solar activity, suggesting that Earth’s climate is sensitive to changes in solar activity on a millennial timescale as well.

Understanding climatic change

International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

Fellous, J.L.; Gautier, C.; Andre, J.C.; Balstad, R.; Boucher, O.; Brasseur, G.; Chahine, M.T.; Chanin, M.L.; Ciais, P.; Corell, W.; Duplessy, J.C.; Hourcade, J.C.; Jouzel, J.; Kaufman, Y.J.; Laval, K.; Le Treut, H.; Minster, J.F.; Moore, B. III; Morel, P.; Rasool, S.I.; Remy, F.; Smith, R.C.; Somerville, R.C.J.; Wood, E.F.; Wood, H.; Wunsch, C.

2007-01-01

Climatic change is gaining ground and with no doubt is stimulated by human activities. It is therefore urgent to better understand its nature, importance and potential impacts. The chapters of this book have been written by US and French experts of the global warming question. After a description of the Intergovernmental Panel on Climate Change (IPCC, GIEC in French) consensus, they present the past and present researches on each of the main component of the climate system, on the question of climatic change impacts and on the possible answers. The conclusion summarizes the results of each chapter. Content: presentation of the IPCC; greenhouse effect, radiation balance and clouds; atmospheric aerosols and climatic change; global water cycle and climate; influence of climatic change on the continental hydrologic cycle; ocean and climate; ice and climate; global carbon cycle; about some impacts of climatic change on Europe and the Atlantic Ocean; interaction between atmospheric chemistry and climate; climate and society, the human dimension. (J.S.)

CLIMATE CHANGE, Change International Negociations?

Institute of Scientific and Technical Information of China (English)

Gao Xiaosheng

2009-01-01

@@ Climate change is one of key threats to human beings who have to deal with.According to Bali Action Plan released after the 2007 Bali Climate Talk held in Indonesia,the United Nations Framework on Climate Change(UNFCCC) has launched a two-year process to negotiate a post-2012 climate arrangement after the Kyoto Protocol expires in 2012 and the Copenhagen Climate Change Conference will seal a final deal on post-2012 climate regime in December,2009.For this,the United Nation Chief Ban Ki Moon called 2009"the year ofclimate change".

Climate of origin affects tick (Ixodes ricinus) host-seeking behavior in response to temperature: implications for resilience to climate change?

Science.gov (United States)

Gilbert, Lucy; Aungier, Jennifer; Tomkins, Joseph L

2014-04-01

Climate warming is changing distributions and phenologies of many organisms and may also impact on vectors of disease-causing pathogens. In Europe, the tick Ixodes ricinus is the primary vector of medically important pathogens (e.g., Borrelia burgdorferi sensu lato, the causative agent of Lyme borreliosis). How might climate change affect I. ricinus host-seeking behavior (questing)? We hypothesize that, in order to maximize survival, I. ricinus have adapted their questing in response to temperature in accordance with local climates. We predicted that ticks from cooler climates quest at cooler temperatures than those from warmer climates. This would suggest that I. ricinus can adapt and therefore have the potential to be resilient to climate change. I. ricinus were collected from a cline of climates using a latitudinal gradient (northeast Scotland, North Wales, South England, and central France). Under laboratory conditions, ticks were subjected to temperature increases of 1°C per day, from 6 to 15°C. The proportion of ticks questing was recorded five times per temperature (i.e., per day). The theoretical potential to quest was then estimated for each population over the year for future climate change projections. As predicted, more ticks from cooler climates quested at lower temperatures than did ticks from warmer climates. The proportion of ticks questing was strongly associated with key climate parameters from each location. Our projections, based on temperature alone, suggested that populations could advance their activity season by a month under climate change, which has implications for exposure periods of hosts to tick-borne pathogens. Our findings suggest that I. ricinus have adapted their behavior in response to climate, implying some potential to adapt to climate change. Predictive models of I. ricinus dynamics and disease risk over continental scales would benefit from knowledge of these differences between populations.

European Union's French Presidency: priority to the fight against climate change

International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

Laurent, Eloi; Le Cacheux, Jacques

2008-06-01

Very much like the Lisbon Agenda, the European strategy against climate change suffers from a discrepancy between high ambitions and weak collective instruments. As France takes the EU Presidency in July 2008, one of its priorities is precisely to make some significant progress in reducing the gap between ends and means. With the negotiation on the reform of the EU budget, a perfect opportunity of furthering the cooperation between European member states presents itself. A reformed EU budget could in fact become the first step towards an integrated environmental and energetic European policy, by reorienting spending towards climate change mitigation policies, and creating new resources

Non-linear response of the Golo River system, Corsica, France, to Late Quaternary climatic and sea level variations

NARCIS (Netherlands)

Forzoni, A.; Storms, J.E.A.; Reimann, T.; Moreau, J.; Jouet, G.

2015-01-01

Disentangling the impact of climatic and sea level variations on fluvio-deltaic stratigraphy is still an outstanding question in sedimentary geology and geomorphology. We used the Golo River system, Corsica, France, as a natural laboratory to investigate the impact of Late Quaternary climate and sea

Climate change

Science.gov (United States)

Cronin, Thomas M.

2016-01-01

Climate change (including climate variability) refers to regional or global changes in mean climate state or in patterns of climate variability over decades to millions of years often identified using statistical methods and sometimes referred to as changes in long-term weather conditions (IPCC, 2012). Climate is influenced by changes in continent-ocean configurations due to plate tectonic processes, variations in Earth’s orbit, axial tilt and precession, atmospheric greenhouse gas (GHG) concentrations, solar variability, volcanism, internal variability resulting from interactions between the atmosphere, oceans and ice (glaciers, small ice caps, ice sheets, and sea ice), and anthropogenic activities such as greenhouse gas emissions and land use and their effects on carbon cycling.

Climate variability and climate change

International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

Rind, D.

1990-01-01

Changes of variability with climate change are likely to have a substantial impact on vegetation and society, rivaling the importance of changes in the mean values themselves. A variety of paleoclimate and future climate simulations performed with the GISS global climate model is used to assess how the variabilities of temperature and precipitation are altered as climate warms or cools. In general, as climate warms, temperature variability decreases due to reductions in the latitudinal temperature gradient and precipitation variability increases together with the intensity of the hydrologic cycle. If future climate projections are accurate, the reduction in temperature variability will be minimized by the rapid change in mean temperatures, but the hydrologic variability will be amplified by increased evapotranspiration. Greater hydrologic variability would appear to pose a potentially severe problem for the next century

Climate for Change?

DEFF Research Database (Denmark)

Wejs, Anja

Cities rather than national governments take the lead in acting on climate change. Several cities have voluntarily created climate change plans to prevent and prepare for the effects of climate change. In the literature climate change has been examined as a multilevel governance area taking place...... around international networks. Despite the many initiatives taken by cities, existing research shows that the implementation of climate change actions is lacking. The reasons for this scarcity in practice are limited to general explanations in the literature, and studies focused on explaining...... the constraints on climate change planning at the local level are absent. To understand these constraints, this PhD thesis investigates the institutional dynamics that influence the process of the integration of climate change into planning practices at the local level in Denmark. The examination of integration...

Climate variability and climate change

International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

Rind, D.

1991-01-01

Changes of variability with climate change are likely to have a substantial impact on vegetation and society, rivaling the importance of changes in the mean values themselves. A variety of paleoclimate and future climate simulations performed with the GISS global climate model is used to assess how the variabilities of temperature and precipitation are altered as climate warms or cools. In general, as climate warms, temperature variability decreases due to reductions in the latitudinal temperature gradient and precipitation variability increases together with the intensity of the hydrologic cycle. If future climate projections are accurate, the reduction in temperature variability will be minimized by the rapid change in mean temperatures, but the hydrologic variability will be amplified by increased evapotranspiration. Greater hydrologic variability would appear to pose a potentially severe problem for the next century. 19 refs.; 3 figs.; 2 tabs

Multiple aspects of climate change - Summary of presentations; Les multiples facettes du changement climatique - Resume des presentations

Energy Technology Data Exchange (ETDEWEB)

Andre, Jean-Claude; Bauer, Pierre; Le Treut, Herve [Institut Pierre Simon Laplace, 78280 Guyancourt Cedex (France); Woeppelmann, Guy [Universite de la Rochelle, 17000 La Rochelle (France); Kouraev, Alexei; Remy, Frederique; Berthier, Etienne [Legos, 31401 Toulouse cedex 9 (France); Lehodey, Patrick [CLS, 31520 Ramonville St Agne (France); Lebourgeois, Francois [ENGREF, AgroParisTech, 54042 Nancy Cedex (France); Chuine, Isabelle [CEFE, CNRS, Montpellier (France); Vennetier, Michel [CEMAGREF, 13182 Aix en Provence cedex 5 (France); Duchene, Eric [INRA-Universite de Strasbourg, 68021 Colmar Cedex (France); Lafaye, Murielle [CNES, 31401 Toulouse cedex 9 (France)

2011-08-15

The French Meteorological Society (SMF) organized its annual scientific day on March 23, 2011 on the topic of the multiple aspects of climate change. The aim was to take stock of the lessons learnt from the different meteorological markers in several domains (agriculture, forests, ecosystems, rise of sea level, changes in marine biodiversity, health, snow and ice caps..). This paper summarizes the seven presentations given at this meeting: 1 - climate change today and tomorrow (H. Le Treut); 2 - rise of oceans level: estimations and regional variability (G. Woeppelmann); 3 - polar caps and continental cryo-sphere as seen from space (A. Kouraev, F. Remy and E. Berthier); 4 - impact of climate change on exploited marine populations: projections and uncertainties (P. Lehodey); 5 - stakes of climate change on agricultural and winery activities in France (E. Duchene); 6 - impact of climate change on forest trees phenology and consequence on their survival and operation (F. Lebourgeois, I. Chuine and M. Vennetier); 7 - 'tele-epidemiology': a health-aid in a climate change context. (J.S.)

Sea Level Change and Coastal Climate Services: The Way Forward

Directory of Open Access Journals (Sweden)

Gonéri Le Cozannet

2017-10-01

Full Text Available For many climate change impacts such as drought and heat waves, global and national frameworks for climate services are providing ever more critical support to adaptation activities. Coastal zones are especially in need of climate services for adaptation, as they are increasingly threatened by sea level rise and its impacts, such as submergence, flooding, shoreline erosion, salinization and wetland change. In this paper, we examine how annual to multi-decadal sea level projections can be used within coastal climate services (CCS. To this end, we review the current state-of-the art of coastal climate services in the US, Australia and France, and identify lessons learned. More broadly, we also review current barriers in the development of CCS, and identify research and development efforts for overcoming barriers and facilitating their continued growth. The latter includes: (1 research in the field of sea level, coastal and adaptation science and (2 cross-cutting research in the area of user interactions, decision making, propagation of uncertainties and overall service architecture design. We suggest that standard approaches are required to translate relative sea level information into the forms required to inform the wide range of relevant decisions across coastal management, including coastal adaptation.

Ethics and climate change

International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

Abel, O.; Bard, E.; Berger, A.; Besnier, J.M.; Guesnerie, R.; Serres, M.

2009-01-01

Faced with climate change what is the position of scientists, of economists and of political decision makers? And the one of philosophers, of moralists, and of theologians? Finally, what is the position of anyone of us? This question of ethical aspect has been rarely tackled in France so far. Prepared after a colloquium held in Paris in 2009, this book combines scientifical, philosophical, moral and theological perspectives accessible to anyone. It stresses on the novelty and urgency of the ethical thought concerning a question having a strong impact of the humanity future, and more particularly on the future of the most vulnerable of us. If the human being is capable to mobilize himself collectively for a universal cause, he can stay on individualistic positions as well, in particular when he has to care of the fate of the generations to come. This book is a philosophical-scientifical thought which aims at bringing together four main views on this issue. (J.S.)

Modelling the impact of climate change and atmospheric N deposition on French forests biodiversity.

Science.gov (United States)

Rizzetto, Simon; Belyazid, Salim; Gégout, Jean-Claude; Nicolas, Manuel; Alard, Didier; Corcket, Emmanuel; Gaudio, Noémie; Sverdrup, Harald; Probst, Anne

2016-06-01

A dynamic coupled biogeochemical-ecological model was used to simulate the effects of nitrogen deposition and climate change on plant communities at three forest sites in France. The three sites had different forest covers (sessile oak, Norway spruce and silver fir), three nitrogen loads ranging from relatively low to high, different climatic regions and different soil types. Both the availability of vegetation time series and the environmental niches of the understory species allowed to evaluate the model for predicting the composition of the three plant communities. The calibration of the environmental niches was successful, with a model performance consistently reasonably high throughout the three sites. The model simulations of two climatic and two deposition scenarios showed that climate change may entirely compromise the eventual recovery from eutrophication of the simulated plant communities in response to the reductions in nitrogen deposition. The interplay between climate and deposition was strongly governed by site characteristics and histories in the long term, while forest management remained the main driver of change in the short term. Copyright © 2016 Elsevier Ltd. All rights reserved.

Climate Change Mitigation A Balanced Approach to Climate Change

CERN Document Server

2012-01-01

This book provides a fresh and innovative perspective on climate change policy. By emphasizing the multiple facets of climate policy, from mitigation to adaptation, from technological innovation and diffusion to governance issues, it contains a comprehensive overview of the economic and policy dimensions of the climate problem. The keyword of the book is balance. The book clarifies that climate change cannot be controlled by sacrificing economic growth and many other urgent global issues. At the same time, action to control climate change cannot be delayed, even though gradually implemented. Therefore, on the one hand climate policy becomes pervasive and affects all dimensions of international policy. On the other hand, climate policy cannot be too ambitious: a balanced approach between mitigation and adaptation, between economic growth and resource management, between short term development efforts and long term innovation investments, should be adopted. I recommend its reading. Carlo Carraro, President, Ca�...

Cinematic climate change, a promising perspective on climate change communication.

Science.gov (United States)

Sakellari, Maria

2015-10-01

Previous research findings display that after having seen popular climate change films, people became more concerned, more motivated and more aware of climate change, but changes in behaviors were short-term. This article performs a meta-analysis of three popular climate change films, The Day after Tomorrow (2005), An Inconvenient Truth (2006), and The Age of Stupid (2009), drawing on research in social psychology, human agency, and media effect theory in order to formulate a rationale about how mass media communication shapes our everyday life experience. This article highlights the factors with which science blends in the reception of the three climate change films and expands the range of options considered in order to encourage people to engage in climate change mitigation actions. © The Author(s) 2014.

Managing Climate Change Refugia for Climate Adaptation

Science.gov (United States)

Daly, Christopher; Dobrowski, Solomon Z.; Dulen, Deanna M.; Ebersole, Joseph L.; Jackson, Stephen T.; Lundquist, Jessica D.; Millar, Constance I.; Maher, Sean P.; Monahan, William B.; Nydick, Koren R.; Redmond, Kelly T.; Sawyer, Sarah C.; Stock, Sarah; Beissinger, Steven R.

2016-01-01

Refugia have long been studied from paleontological and biogeographical perspectives to understand how populations persisted during past periods of unfavorable climate. Recently, researchers have applied the idea to contemporary landscapes to identify climate change refugia, here defined as areas relatively buffered from contemporary climate change over time that enable persistence of valued physical, ecological, and socio-cultural resources. We differentiate historical and contemporary views, and characterize physical and ecological processes that create and maintain climate change refugia. We then delineate how refugia can fit into existing decision support frameworks for climate adaptation and describe seven steps for managing them. Finally, we identify challenges and opportunities for operationalizing the concept of climate change refugia. Managing climate change refugia can be an important option for conservation in the face of ongoing climate change. PMID:27509088

Managing climate change refugia for climate adaptation

Science.gov (United States)

Morelli, Toni L.; Jackson, Stephen T.

2016-01-01

Refugia have long been studied from paleontological and biogeographical perspectives to understand how populations persisted during past periods of unfavorable climate. Recently, researchers have applied the idea to contemporary landscapes to identify climate change refugia, here defined as areas relatively buffered from contemporary climate change over time that enable persistence of valued physical, ecological, and socio-cultural resources. We differentiate historical and contemporary views, and characterize physical and ecological processes that create and maintain climate change refugia. We then delineate how refugia can fit into existing decision support frameworks for climate adaptation and describe seven steps for managing them. Finally, we identify challenges and opportunities for operationalizing the concept of climate change refugia. Managing climate change refugia can be an important option for conservation in the face of ongoing climate change.

The words of controversy about climate change

International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

Chetouani, Lamria

2007-01-01

The author analyses the rhetorical staging of controversies which occur in France about climate change, and more particularly about the greenhouse effect. In a first part, she makes a distinction between four registers of controversy: on responsibilities, on consequences and extent of the phenomenon, on solutions, and on spatio-temporal projections of the greenhouse effect. She shows that debates are structured by an opposition between optimism and pessimism. In a second part, based on a lexicological analysis, she highlights the important oppositions between scientific speeches and political speeches, independent speeches and technocratic speeches, and so on, with unexpected aspects. It appears that controversy goes largely beyond the scientific debate, and incorporates crossed interventions of economic, political and social concern

Program GICC - AQUABIO. Possible consequences of the climatic change on the aquatic and river french biocenoses. Final report

International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

Pont, D.

2003-11-01

The consequences of the climatic change can modify the ecosystems. The aim of this research program is to analyze the impacts of the climatic change on the propagation of the exotic species in France in aquatic and river environment, the population of macro invertebrates and fishes in the french rivers and the socio economic challenges. The methodology is based on the simulation from the exploitation of great data bases and the combination of many approaches at different scales. (A.L.B.)

Present, past and future of the European rock fern Asplenium fontanum: combining distribution modelling and population genetics to study the effect of climate change on geographic range and genetic diversity.

Science.gov (United States)

Bystriakova, Nadia; Ansell, Stephen W; Russell, Stephen J; Grundmann, Michael; Vogel, Johannes C; Schneider, Harald

2014-02-01

Climate change is expected to alter the geographic range of many plant species dramatically. Predicting this response will be critical to managing the conservation of plant resources and the effects of invasive species. The aim of this study was to predict the response of temperate homosporous ferns to climate change. Genetic diversity and changes in distribution range were inferred for the diploid rock fern Asplenium fontanum along a South-North transect, extending from its putative last glacial maximum (LGM) refugia in southern France towards southern Germany and eastern-central France. This study reconciles observations from distribution models and phylogeographic analyses derived from plastid and nuclear diversity. Genetic diversity distribution and niche modelling propose that genetic diversity accumulates in the LGM climate refugium in southern France with the formation of a diversity gradient reflecting a slow, post-LGM range expansion towards the current distribution range. Evidence supports the fern's preference for outcrossing, contradicting the expectation that homosporous ferns would populate new sites by single-spore colonization. Prediction of climate and distribution range change suggests that a dramatic loss of range and genetic diversity in this fern is possible. The observed migration is best described by the phalanx expansion model. The results suggest that homosporous ferns reproducing preferentially by outcrossing accumulate genetic diversity primarily in LGM climate refugia and may be threatened if these areas disappear due to global climate change.

Climate plan 2004; Plan climat 2004

Energy Technology Data Exchange (ETDEWEB)

NONE

2004-07-01

The Climate Plan is an action plan drawn up by the French Government to respond to the climate change challenge, first by 2010 (complying with the Kyoto Protocol target), and, secondly, beyond this date. Projections for France show that national emissions could be 10% higher than the Kyoto target in 2010 if no measures are taken. This is particularly due to increasing emissions in the sectors affecting daily life (residential-tertiary sectors, transport, etc.). For this reason, the Climate Plan contains measures affecting all sectors of the economy and the daily life of all French citizens with a view to economizing the equivalent of 54 million tonnes of CO{sub 2} each year by the year 2010, which will help to reverse the trend significantly. Beyond 2010, the Climate Plan sets out a strategy for technological research which will enable France to meet a target of reducing greenhouse gas emissions four or fivefold by 2050. (author)

The EC BIOCLIM Project (2000-2003), 5. Euratom Framework Programme - Modelling sequential biosphere systems under climate change for radioactive waste disposal

International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

Calvez, Marianne

2002-01-01

Marianne Calvez (ANDRA, France) presented the new EC BIOCLIM project that started in 2001. Its main objective is to provide a scientific basis and practical methodology for assessing the possible long-term impacts on the safety of radioactive waste repositories in deep formations due to climate driven changes. She explained that BIOCLIM objective is not to predict what will be the future but will correspond to an illustration of how people could use the knowledge. The BIOCLIM project will use the outcomes from the Biomass project. Where Biomass considered discrete biospheres, the BIOCLIM project will consider the evolution of climate with a focus on the European climate for three regions in the United Kingdom, France and Spain. The consortium of BIOCLIM participants consists of various experts in climate modelling and various experts and organisations in performance assessment. The intent is to build an integrated dynamic climate model that represents all the important mechanisms for long-term climate evolution. The modelling will primarily address the next 200000 years. The final outcome will be an enhancement of the state-of-the-art treatment of biosphere system change over long periods of time through the use of a number of innovative climate modelling approaches and the application of the climate model outputs in performance assessments

How can a climate change perspective be integrated into public health surveillance?

Science.gov (United States)

Pascal, M; Viso, A C; Medina, S; Delmas, M C; Beaudeau, P

2012-08-01

Climate change may be considered as a key factor for environmental change, exposure to health risks and pathogens, consequently impairing the state of health among populations. Efficient health surveillance systems are required to support adaptation to climate change. However, despite a growing awareness, the public health surveillance sector has had very little involvement in the drafting of adaptation plans. This paper proposes a method to raise awareness about climate change in the public health community, to identify possible health risks and to assess the needs for reinforced health surveillance systems. A working group was set up comprising surveillance experts in the following fields: environmental health; chronic diseases and; infectious diseases. Their goal was to define common objectives, to propose a framework for risk analysis, and to apply it to relevant health risks in France. The framework created helped to organize available information on climate-sensitive health risks, making a distinction between three main determinants as follows: (1) environment; (2) individual and social behaviours; and (3) demography and health status. The process is illustrated using two examples: heatwaves and airborne allergens. Health surveillance systems can be used to trigger early warning systems, to create databases which improve scientific knowledge about the health impacts of climate change, to identify and prioritize needs for intervention and adaptation measures, and to evaluate these measures. Adaptation requires public health professionals to consider climate change as a concrete input parameter in their studies and to create partnerships with professionals from other disciplines. Copyright © 2012 The Royal Society for Public Health. Published by Elsevier Ltd. All rights reserved.

Ademe et Vous. International Newsletter No.34, September 2015. International research innovation to tackle climate change

International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

Martin, Valerie; Seguin-Jacques, Catherine; Tappero, Denis

2015-09-01

Held under the aegis of UNESCO, ICS and Future Earth, the conference on climate change titled 'Our Common Future Under Climate Change' brought together the international scientific community from 7 to 10 July in Paris. ADEME organised a round table to allow representatives from four countries, as well as France, to discuss their priorities in terms of technological innovation. As a key part of the 2015 global climate calendar, the World Summit Climate and Territories event brought together non-state stakeholders from all over the world in Lyon on July 1 and 2. Keen to stress their commitment to the issues at hand, the participants highlighted the importance of a territorial perspective on climate change. MEDENER, a non-profit organisation, which brings together ADEME and 11 of its Mediterranean counterparts, will host the new Euro-Mediterranean platform dedicated to energy efficiency and renewable energies. The Union for the Mediterranean, an international, intergovernmental organisation, aims to launch this new cooperation platform by 2016

Coupling a global climatic model with insurance impact models for flood and drought: an estimation of the financial impact of climate change

Directory of Open Access Journals (Sweden)

Tinard Pierre

2016-01-01

Full Text Available CCR, a French reinsurance company mostly involved in natural disasters coverage in France, has been developing tools for the estimation of its exposure to climatic risks for many years. Both a flood and a drought models were developed and calibrated on a large policies and claims database supplied every year with insurers’ data. More recently, CCR has been developing a stochastic approach in order to evaluate its financial exposure to extreme events. A large and realistic event set has been generated by applying extreme value statistic tools to simulate hazard and to estimate, using our impact models, the average annual losses and losses related to different return periods. These event sets have been simulated separately for flood and drought, with a hypothesis of independence, consistent with recent annual damage data. The newest development presented here consists in the use of the ARPEGE–Climat model performed by Météo-France to simulate two 200-years sets of hourly atmospheric time series reflecting both the current climate and the RCP 4.5 climate conditions circa year 2050. These climatic data constitute the input data for the flood and drought impact models to detect events and simulate the associated hazard and damages. Our two main goals are (1 to simulate simultaneously flood and drought events for the same simulated years and (2 to evaluate the financial impact of climate change.

Changing heathlands in a changing climate

DEFF Research Database (Denmark)

Ransijn, Johannes

Atmospheric CO2 concentrations and temperatures are rising and precipitation regimes are changing at global scale. How ecosystem will be affected by global climatic change is dependent on the responses of plants and plant communities. This thesis focuses on how climate change affects heathland...... plant communities. Many heathlands have shifted from dwarf shrub dominance to grass dominance and climatic change might affect the competitive balance between dwarf shrubs and grasses. We looked at heathland vegetation dynamics and heathland plant responses to climatic change at different spatial...... between C. vulgaris and D. flexuosa in the same climate change experiment and 5) a study where we compared the responses of shrubland plant communities to experimental warming and recurrent experimental droughts in seven climate change experiments across Europe. Heathland vegetation dynamics are slow...

Climate change and climate policy

International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

Alfsen, Knut H.; Kolshus, Hans H.; Torvanger, Asbjoern

2000-08-01

The climate issue is a great political and scientific challenge for several reasons: (1) There are many uncertain aspects of the climate problem, such as future emission of climate gases, the response of the climate system upon these gases, and the effects of climate changes. (2) It is probable, however, that anthropogenic emission of climate gases, deforestation etc. will cause noticeable climate changes in the future. This might be observed as increased frequency of extreme weather situations. This appears to be a greater threat than a gradual increase of temperature and precipitation. (3) Since the climate system is large and react only relatively slowly on changes in for instance the emission of climate gases, the climate problem can only be solved by means of long-term measures. (4) The climate changes may be irreversible. A rational short-term strategy is to ensure maximum flexibility, which can be done by ''slowing down'' (curtailing emissions) and by avoiding irreversible actions as much as possible. The long-term challenge is to develop an economically responsible alternative to the present fossil-based energy system that permits carbon-efficient technologies to compete on price with coal and unconventional oil and gas. Norway is in a special position by being a large exporter of fossil fuel and at the same time wanting to appear responsible in environmental matters. This combination may incur considerable expenses upon Norway and it is therefore important that environmental commitments like the Kyoto agreement can be honoured to the lowest possible cost. The costs can be minimized by: (1) minimizing the measure costs in Norway, (2) working to make the international quota price as low as possible, and (3) reducing the loss of petroleum income as much as possible. This report describes the earth's climate history, the forces behind climatic changes and what the prospects for the future look like. It also reviews what is being done to curtail the emission of

Insurance against climate change and flooding in the Netherlands: present, future, and comparison with other countries.

Science.gov (United States)

Botzen, W J W; van den Bergh, J C J M

2008-04-01

Climate change is projected to cause severe economic losses, which has the potential to affect the insurance sector and public compensation schemes considerably. This article discusses the role insurance can play in adapting to climate change impacts. The particular focus is on the Dutch insurance sector, in view of the Netherlands being extremely vulnerable to climate change impacts. The usefulness of private insurance as an adaptation instrument to increased flood risks is examined, which is currently unavailable in the Netherlands. It is questioned whether the currently dominant role of the Dutch government in providing damage relief is justified from an economic efficiency perspective. Characteristics of flood insurance arrangements in the Netherlands, the United Kingdom, Germany, and France are compared in order to identify possible future directions for arrangements in the Netherlands. It is argued that social welfare improves when insurance companies take responsibility for part of the risks associated with climate change.

Ensemble reconstruction of spatio-temporal extreme low-flow events in France since 1871

Science.gov (United States)

Caillouet, Laurie; Vidal, Jean-Philippe; Sauquet, Eric; Devers, Alexandre; Graff, Benjamin

2017-06-01

The length of streamflow observations is generally limited to the last 50 years even in data-rich countries like France. It therefore offers too small a sample of extreme low-flow events to properly explore the long-term evolution of their characteristics and associated impacts. To overcome this limit, this work first presents a daily 140-year ensemble reconstructed streamflow dataset for a reference network of near-natural catchments in France. This dataset, called SCOPE Hydro (Spatially COherent Probabilistic Extended Hydrological dataset), is based on (1) a probabilistic precipitation, temperature, and reference evapotranspiration downscaling of the Twentieth Century Reanalysis over France, called SCOPE Climate, and (2) continuous hydrological modelling using SCOPE Climate as forcings over the whole period. This work then introduces tools for defining spatio-temporal extreme low-flow events. Extreme low-flow events are first locally defined through the sequent peak algorithm using a novel combination of a fixed threshold and a daily variable threshold. A dedicated spatial matching procedure is then established to identify spatio-temporal events across France. This procedure is furthermore adapted to the SCOPE Hydro 25-member ensemble to characterize in a probabilistic way unrecorded historical events at the national scale. Extreme low-flow events are described and compared in a spatially and temporally homogeneous way over 140 years on a large set of catchments. Results highlight well-known recent events like 1976 or 1989-1990, but also older and relatively forgotten ones like the 1878 and 1893 events. These results contribute to improving our knowledge of historical events and provide a selection of benchmark events for climate change adaptation purposes. Moreover, this study allows for further detailed analyses of the effect of climate variability and anthropogenic climate change on low-flow hydrology at the scale of France.

Climate champions? France, Germany and Europe in the negotiations about the Paris Agreement on climate

International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

Aykut, Stefan

2016-05-01

This report discusses the role and implications of France, Germany and Europe in the preparation of the Paris Agreement of December 2015. The author first discusses the historical aspiration of Europe to have a role of leadership in the negotiations. Then, he examines and comments the actual results of the COP21 and the content of the Paris Agreement. He analyses situational factors, the economic and political context, the role of the French diplomacy, of Germany and of the European Union. He analyses dynamics which, on the medium and the long terms, has shaped climate governance, notably the red lines defined by China and the USA, and the general framework of negotiations which tend to exclude some important issues which are considered as matters of conflict. The last part proposes a retrospective overview on room and options available for Europe to find a leadership again within the new climate regime implemented by the Paris Agreement

Impact of climate change on ozone-related mortality and morbidity in Europe.

Science.gov (United States)

Orru, Hans; Andersson, Camilla; Ebi, Kristie L; Langner, Joakim; Aström, Christofer; Forsberg, Bertil

2013-02-01

Ozone is a highly oxidative pollutant formed from precursors in the presence of sunlight, associated with respiratory morbidity and mortality. All else being equal, concentrations of ground-level ozone are expected to increase due to climate change. Ozone-related health impacts under a changing climate are projected using emission scenarios, models and epidemiological data. European ozone concentrations are modelled with the model of atmospheric transport and chemistry (MATCH)-RCA3 (50×50 km). Projections from two climate models, ECHAM4 and HadCM3, are applied under greenhouse gas emission scenarios A2 and A1B, respectively. We applied a European-wide exposure-response function to gridded population data and country-specific baseline mortality and morbidity. Comparing the current situation (1990-2009) with the baseline period (1961-1990), the largest increase in ozone-associated mortality and morbidity due to climate change (4-5%) have occurred in Belgium, Ireland, the Netherlands and the UK. Comparing the baseline period and the future periods (2021-2050 and 2041-2060), much larger increases in ozone-related mortality and morbidity are projected for Belgium, France, Spain and Portugal, with the impact being stronger using the climate projection from ECHAM4 (A2). However, in Nordic and Baltic countries the same magnitude of decrease is projected. The current study suggests that projected effects of climate change on ozone concentrations could differentially influence mortality and morbidity across Europe.

Using Maps of City Analogues to Display and Interpret Climate Change scenarios and their uncertainty

International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

Kopf, S.; Minh, Ha-Duong; Hallegatte, St.

2008-02-01

We describe a method to represent the results of climate simulation models with analogues. An analogue to a city A is a city B whose climate today represents A's simulated future climate. Climates were characterized and compared non-parametrically, using the 30-years distribution of three indicators: Aridity Index, Heating Degree Days and Cooling Degree Days. Analogy was evaluated statistically with the two-samples Kolmogorov-Smirnov test, generalized to 3 dimensions. We looked at the climate of 12 European cities at the end of the century under an A2 climate change scenario. We used two datasets produced with high-resolution regional climate simulation models from the Hadley Center and Meteo France. Climate analogues were generally found southward of present locations, a clear warming trend even if much model and scenario uncertainty remains. Climate analogues provide an intuitive way to show the possible effects of climate change on urban areas, offering a holistic approach to think about how cities adapt to different climates. Evidence of its communication value comes from the reuse of our maps in teaching and in several European mass-media. (authors)

Climate in France during the 21. century - Regionalized scenarios - Reference indices for the metropolitan region - Evolution at sea level

International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

Peings, Yannick; Planton, Serge; Deque, Michel; Jamous, Marc; Le Treut, Herve; Gallee, Hubert; Li, Laurent; Jouzel, J.

2011-01-01

After some comments on climate modelling (models, scenarios, uncertainties, regional predictions), the first part reports the study of several temperature indices (minimum, average and maximum daily temperature, number of days with abnormally high or low temperature, number of days of heat wave, number of days with negative temperatures, and so on.), precipitation indices (daily and extreme precipitations, dry periods, snow falls). It also discusses soil humidity index, strong wind index, river flow rate, and sea level. The second part reports simulation results for indices in metropolitan France according to the French Aladin-Climat, LMDZ and MAR models. The third volume reports evolutions and predictions of average sea level at the planet scale and along the French coasts, and discusses impacts related to sea level change (coast erosion, submersion, salt intrusion)

Blue Jeans, Chewing Gum and Climate Change Litigation: American Exports to Europe

Directory of Open Access Journals (Sweden)

Daniel G Hare

2013-01-01

Full Text Available This paper analyses how American-style climate change litigation might be adopted by the European Union ('EU' and projects potential methods by which the EU might employ the US model, if it indeed chooses to take the climate change battle to the courts. By synthesising existing US case law in the environment and climate change fields, the paper roughly defines the 'American model' of climate change litigation as parens patriae actions, oftentimes based in the tort of public nuisance, brought by states and other sovereign entities against polluter-defendants. The structural differences between the common law United States and the predominantly civil law European Union are substantial, and the EU has traditionally been averse to enter too far into the American mass torts arena. Accordingly, Europeans have not yet undertaken these types of lawsuits. This paper identifies and examines several realistic options for Europe's possible espousal of the American climate change litigation model through EU law and national law of individual Member States. Although the comparison is admittedly imperfect, I conclude that by drawing on the blueprint of its American counterparts, the EU could viably use Directive 2004/35/EC (environmental liability with regard to the prevention and remedying of environmental damage and the 'polluter pays' principle and Directive 2003/87/EC (establishing a scheme for greenhouse gas emission allowance trading in a parens patriae-like manner to hold defendants liable for damages caused by climate change. Additionally with case studies focusing on France, Germany and the United Kingdom, national law alternatives exist for individual Member States, as well as regional and local governments, to take action on behalf of their citizens for injuries resulting from climate change, just like sovereign bodies in the United States have done.

Climatic change

International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

Perthuis, Ch. de; Delbosc, A.

2009-01-01

Received ideas about climatic change are a mixture of right and wrong information. The authors use these ideas as starting points to shade light on what we really know and what we believe to know. The book is divided in three main chapters: should we act in front of climatic change? How can we efficiently act? How can we equitably act? For each chapter a series of received ideas is analyzed in order to find those which can usefully contribute to mitigate the environmental, economical and social impacts of climatic change. (J.S.)

When and What Meteorological Stresses Will Maize Crops Meet in the future in France?

Science.gov (United States)

Caubel, J.

2015-12-01

Climate change is expected to modify overall climatic conditions and therefore, suitability for cropping. Assessment of when and what meteorological stresses will crops meet in the future is highly useful for planners and land managers who can apply adaptation strategies to improve agricultural potentialities. We propose to evaluate the impacts of climate change on suitability for maize cropping in terms of ecophysiology (e.g., heat stress during grain filling), yield quality (e.g., thermal conditions on protein content) and cultural practices performance (e.g., days available for harvest according to risk of waterlogged soil compaction) in two French areas. The Midi-Pyrénées (southern) and Ile-de-France (northern) regions were chosen as representing the two distinct climates when dividing France into southern and northern parts. The Midi-Pyrénées region is a major irrigated maize producer but could become penalizing in the future because of heat and water stress. By contrast, northern France could become a more suitable area thanks to the expected increasing temperature. To confirm our assumptions, we used the method assessment for crop-climate suitability developed in Caubel et al. (2015) and based on the sub-annual analysis of agroclimatic indicators calculated over phenological periods. Indicators have been calculated using climatic data from 1950 to 2100 simulated by the global climate ARPEGE at the meso-scale SAFRAN (8 km resolution) for the two areas and forced by a greenhouse effect corresponding to the SRES A1B scenario (similar to RCP 6.0). The evaluation was done for two distinct varieties in terms of precocity. Agroclimatic indicators characterizing water deficit and water excess impacts on crop were calculated for three soils with contrasting soil water reserves and depths. Finally, the evaluation was performed with a unique sowing date (the current one), and with an optimized sowing date according to water and thermal requirements for emergence

Climate change and urban development in southern Africa: The ...

African Journals Online (AJOL)

2013-07-24

Region Observatory a partnership between the University of ... 5CSIR Natural Resources and the Environment – Climate Studies, ..... existing stormwater networks can lead to sediment and debris ..... June 2009, Marseille, France.

Climate change governance

Energy Technology Data Exchange (ETDEWEB)

Knieling, Joerg [HafenCity Univ. Hamburg (Germany). Urban Planning and Regional Development; Leal Filho, Walter (eds.) [HAW Hamburg (Germany). Research and Transfer Centre Applications of Life Science

2013-07-01

Climate change is a cause for concern both globally and locally. In order for it to be tackled holistically, its governance is an important topic needing scientific and practical consideration. Climate change governance is an emerging area, and one which is closely related to state and public administrative systems and the behaviour of private actors, including the business sector, as well as the civil society and non-governmental organisations. Questions of climate change governance deal both with mitigation and adaptation whilst at the same time trying to devise effective ways of managing the consequences of these measures across the different sectors. Many books have been produced on general matters related to climate change, such as climate modelling, temperature variations, sea level rise, but, to date, very few publications have addressed the political, economic and social elements of climate change and their links with governance. This book will address this gap. Furthermore, a particular feature of this book is that it not only presents different perspectives on climate change governance, but it also introduces theoretical approaches and brings these together with practical examples which show how main principles may be implemented in practice.

Climate change impacts on tree ranges: model intercomparison facilitates understanding and quantification of uncertainty.

Science.gov (United States)

Cheaib, Alissar; Badeau, Vincent; Boe, Julien; Chuine, Isabelle; Delire, Christine; Dufrêne, Eric; François, Christophe; Gritti, Emmanuel S; Legay, Myriam; Pagé, Christian; Thuiller, Wilfried; Viovy, Nicolas; Leadley, Paul

2012-06-01

Model-based projections of shifts in tree species range due to climate change are becoming an important decision support tool for forest management. However, poorly evaluated sources of uncertainty require more scrutiny before relying heavily on models for decision-making. We evaluated uncertainty arising from differences in model formulations of tree response to climate change based on a rigorous intercomparison of projections of tree distributions in France. We compared eight models ranging from niche-based to process-based models. On average, models project large range contractions of temperate tree species in lowlands due to climate change. There was substantial disagreement between models for temperate broadleaf deciduous tree species, but differences in the capacity of models to account for rising CO(2) impacts explained much of the disagreement. There was good quantitative agreement among models concerning the range contractions for Scots pine. For the dominant Mediterranean tree species, Holm oak, all models foresee substantial range expansion. © 2012 Blackwell Publishing Ltd/CNRS.

International aspects of climate change: The intergovernmental panel on climate change

International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

Brydges, T.; Fenech, A.

1990-01-01

The impact of various international conferences concerning global climate change on international opinions and attitudes is discussed. A number of conferences over the past two decades have drawn attention to the large socio-economic consequences of climate change. There has been increasing attention given to the likely affect of anthropogenically derived greenhouse gases on the global climate. Some early uncertainty over the likely long term changes in global temperature have been replaced by a scientific consensus that global temperatures are increasing and will continue to do so into the next century. Public awareness of the possibility of climate change and severe socio-economic consequences has been increasing and was given a major impetus by the Toronto Conference on the Changing Atmosphere. An estimate of the possible time to solution of the climate change issue is given as 1988-2005, a span of 17 years. The Intergovernmental Panel on Climate Change has focused work into three working groups examining science, impacts and response strategies. 28 refs., 3 figs., 6 tabs

Changing climate, changing frames

International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

Vink, Martinus J.; Boezeman, Daan; Dewulf, Art; Termeer, Catrien J.A.M.

2013-01-01

Highlights: ► We show development of flood policy frames in context of climate change attention. ► Rising attention on climate change influences traditional flood policy framing. ► The new framing employs global-scale scientific climate change knowledge. ► With declining attention, framing disregards climate change, using local knowledge. ► We conclude that frames function as sensemaking devices selectively using knowledge. -- Abstract: Water management and particularly flood defence have a long history of collective action in low-lying countries like the Netherlands. The uncertain but potentially severe impacts of the recent climate change issue (e.g. sea level rise, extreme river discharges, salinisation) amplify the wicked and controversial character of flood safety policy issues. Policy proposals in this area generally involve drastic infrastructural works and long-term investments. They face the difficult challenge of framing problems and solutions in a publicly acceptable manner in ever changing circumstances. In this paper, we analyse and compare (1) how three key policy proposals publicly frame the flood safety issue, (2) the knowledge referred to in the framing and (3) how these frames are rhetorically connected or disconnected as statements in a long-term conversation. We find that (1) framings of policy proposals differ in the way they depict the importance of climate change, the relevant timeframe and the appropriate governance mode; (2) knowledge is selectively mobilised to underpin the different frames and (3) the frames about these proposals position themselves against the background of the previous proposals through rhetorical connections and disconnections. Finally, we discuss how this analysis hints at the importance of processes of powering and puzzling that lead to particular framings towards the public at different historical junctures

International colloquium challenge climate for the France: the factor 4; Colloque international defi climat pour la France: le facteur 4

Energy Technology Data Exchange (ETDEWEB)

NONE

2006-07-01

The objective factor 4 is the division by four of the greenhouse gases emission. This colloquium aims to define possible actions to reach this objective. The first part concerns presentations of personalities of the domain and offers an international panorama of the energetic and environmental policies, against the climatic change and how to reconcile economic growth with climatic change. The second part wonders on the mobilization of the actors secton a national and international framework. (A.L.B.)

Global vs climate change

International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

Watson, H.L.; Bach, M.C.; Goklany, I.M.

1991-01-01

The various agents of global change that will affect the state of natural resources 50-100 years from now are discussed. These include economic and population growth, technological progress, and climatic change. The importance of climatic change lies in its effects on natural resources and on human activities that depend on those resources. Other factors affecting those resources include the demand on those resources from an increasing population and from a growing economy, and a more efficient use of those resources that comes from technological changes and from the consequences of economic growth itself. It is shown that there is a considerable ability to adapt to climatic change, since humans already have an intrinsic ability to adapt to the wide variations in climates that already exist and since technological developments can make it easier to cope with climatic variability. It appears that agents other than climatic change are more significant to the future state of natural resources than climatic change. Criteria for selecting options for addressing climatic change are outlined. Technological change and economic growth are seen to be key response options, since the vulnerability to climatic change depends on economic resources and technological progress. Specific options to stimulate sustainable economic growth and technological progress are listed. 16 refs., 1 fig., 2 tabs

Climate for change

International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

Newell, P.

2000-01-01

Climate for Change: Non-State Actors and the Global Politics of the Greenhouse provides a challenging explanation of the forces that have shaped the international global warming debate. Unlike existing books on the politics of climate change, this book concentrates on how non-stage actors, such as scientific, environmental and industry groups, as opposed to governmental organisations, affect political outcomes in global fora on climate change. It also provides insights in to the role of the media in influencing the agenda. The book draws on a range of analytical approaches to assess and explain the influence of these non-governmental organisations in the course of global climate change politics. The book will be of interest to all researchers and policy-makers associated with climate change, and will be used on university courses in international relations, politics and environmental studies. (Author)

To widen the action tools against the climatic change by domestic projects. Evaluation report

International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

Arnaud, E.; Dominicis, A. de; Leguet, B.; Leseur, A.; Perthuis, Ch. de

2005-11-01

In the framework of the climatic change fight, each country aims to implement tools of emissions reduction. In France, the european system of CO 2 quotas exchange, applied on the more emitted installations, covers less than 30% of the national carbon emissions. The other 70% are free of taxes. The 'climate mission' realized an evaluation of the emission reduction in the case of a new policy aiming to develop domestic projects of emission control. This report presents the study and its conclusions: the domestic projects, the possibilities of these projects in the transportation agriculture and forests and building sectors, the implementing conditions

Climate change

International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

2006-01-01

This paper presented indicators of climate change for British Columbia (BC) with an emphasis on the coastal region. An overview of global effects of climate change was presented, as well as details of BC's current climate change action plan. Indicators examined in the paper for the BC coastal region included long-term trends in air temperature; long-term trends in precipitation; coastal ocean temperatures; sea levels on the BC coast; and the sensitivity of the BC coast to sea level rise and erosion. Data suggested that average air temperatures have become higher in many areas, and that Springtime temperatures have become warmer over the whole province. Winters have become drier in many areas of the province. Sea surface temperature has risen over the entire coast, with the North Coast and central Strait of Georgia showing the largest increases. Deep-water temperatures have also increased in 5 inlets on the South Coast. Results suggested that the direction and spatial pattern of the climate changes reported for British Columbia are consistent with broader trends in North America and the type of changes predicted by climate models for the region. Climate change will likely result in reduced snow-pack in southern BC. An earlier spring freshet on many snow-dominated river systems is anticipated as well as glacial retreat and disappearance. Warmer temperatures in some lakes and rivers are expected, as well as the increased frequency and severity of natural disturbances such as the pine mountain beetle. Large-scale shifts in ecosystems and the loss of certain ecosystems may also occur. BC's current climate plan includes cost effective actions that address GHG emissions and support efficient infrastructure and opportunities for innovation. Management programs for forest and agricultural lands have been initiated, as well as programs to reduce emissions from government operations. Research is also being conducted to understand the impacts of climate change on water

Climate challenge 2012: growth and climate change - Socio-economical impacts of climate change. Conference proceedings

International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

Orange-Louboutin, Mylene; Robinet, Olivier; Delalande, Daniel; Reysset, Bertrand; De Perthuis, Christian; Le Treut, Herve; Cottenceau, Jean-Baptiste; Ayong, Alain; Daubaire, Aurelien; Gaudin, Thomas

2012-01-01

The contributions of this conference session proposed comments and discussion on the relationship between climate change and 'green' growth, on the status of scientific knowledge on climate change (from global to local), on the way to perform carbon print assessment and to decide which actions to implement, on the costs and opportunity of impacts of climate change, on the economy of adaptation, on the benefits and costs of the adaptation policy, and on impacts of climate change on employment in quantitative terms and in terms of profession types

Spatial distribution of soil organic carbon stocks in France

Directory of Open Access Journals (Sweden)

M. P. Martin

2011-05-01

Full Text Available Soil organic carbon plays a major role in the global carbon budget, and can act as a source or a sink of atmospheric carbon, thereby possibly influencing the course of climate change. Changes in soil organic carbon (SOC stocks are now taken into account in international negotiations regarding climate change. Consequently, developing sampling schemes and models for estimating the spatial distribution of SOC stocks is a priority. The French soil monitoring network has been established on a 16 km × 16 km grid and the first sampling campaign has recently been completed, providing around 2200 measurements of stocks of soil organic carbon, obtained through an in situ composite sampling, uniformly distributed over the French territory.

We calibrated a boosted regression tree model on the observed stocks, modelling SOC stocks as a function of other variables such as climatic parameters, vegetation net primary productivity, soil properties and land use. The calibrated model was evaluated through cross-validation and eventually used for estimating SOC stocks for mainland France. Two other models were calibrated on forest and agricultural soils separately, in order to assess more precisely the influence of pedo-climatic variables on SOC for such soils.

The boosted regression tree model showed good predictive ability, and enabled quantification of relationships between SOC stocks and pedo-climatic variables (plus their interactions over the French territory. These relationships strongly depended on the land use, and more specifically, differed between forest soils and cultivated soil. The total estimate of SOC stocks in France was 3.260 ± 0.872 PgC for the first 30 cm. It was compared to another estimate, based on the previously published European soil organic carbon and bulk density maps, of 5.303 PgC. We demonstrate that the present estimate might better represent the actual SOC stock distributions of France, and consequently that the

Change of mobile network coverage in France from 29 August

CERN Multimedia

IT Department

2016-01-01

The change of mobile network coverage on the French part of the CERN site will take effect on 29 August and not on 11 July as previously announced.    From 29 August, the Swisscom transmitters in France will be deactivated and Orange France will thenceforth provide coverage on the French part of the CERN site.  This switch will result in changes to billing. You should also ensure that you can still be contacted by your colleagues when you are on the French part of the CERN site. Please consult the information and instructions in this official communication.

Climate change and precipitation: Detecting changes Climate change and precipitation: Detecting changes

International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

Van Boxel, John H

2001-01-01

Precipitation is one of the most, if not the most important climate parameter In most studies on climate change the emphasis is on temperature and sea level rise. Often too little attention is given to precipitation. For a large part this is due to the large spatial en temporal variability of precipitation, which makes the detection of changes difficult. This paper describes methods to detect changes in precipitation. In order to arrive at statistically significant changes one must use long time series and spatial averages containing the information from several stations. In the Netherlands the average yearly precipitation increased by 11% during the 20th century .In the temperate latitudes on the Northern Hemisphere (40-60QN) the average increase was about 7% over the 20th century and the globally averaged precipitation increased by about 3%. During the 20th century 38% of the land surface of the earth became wetter, 42% experienced little change (less than 5% change) and 20% became dryer. More important than the average precipitation is the occurrence of extremes. In the Netherlands there is a tendency to more extreme precipitations, whereas the occurrence of relatively dry months has not changed. Also in many other countries increases in heavy precipitation events are observed. All climate models predict a further increase of mean global precipitation if the carbon dioxide concentration doubles. Nevertheless some areas get dryer, others have little change and consequently there are also areas where the increase is much more than the global average. On a regional scale however there are large differences between the models. Climate models do not yet provide adequate information on changes in extreme precipitations

Climate Change, Politics and Religion: Australian Churchgoers’ Beliefs about Climate Change

Directory of Open Access Journals (Sweden)

Miriam Pepper

2016-05-01

Full Text Available A growing literature has sought to understand the relationships between religion, politics and views about climate change and climate change policy in the United States. However, little comparative research has been conducted in other countries. This study draws on data from the 2011 Australian National Church Life Survey to examine the beliefs of Australian churchgoers from some 20 denominations about climate change—whether or not it is real and whether it is caused by humans—and political factors that explain variation in these beliefs. Pentecostals, Baptist and Churches of Christ churchgoers, and people from the smallest Protestant denominations were less likely than other churchgoers to believe in anthropogenic climate change, and voting and hierarchical and individualistic views about society predicted beliefs. There was some evidence that these views function differently in relation to climate change beliefs depending on churchgoers’ degree of opposition to gay rights. These findings are of interest not only for the sake of international comparisons, but also in a context where Australia plays a role in international climate change politics that is disproportionate to its small population.

Parliamentary Office of technological and scientific choices evaluation. Document on the evaluation of climatic changes fullness, cause and foreseeable impacts on the France geography for 2025,2050 and 2100; Office parlementaire d'evaluation des choix scientifiques et technologiques. Rapport sur l'evaluation de l'ampleur des changements climatiques, de leurs causes et de leur impact previsible sur la geographie de la France a l'horizon 2025, 2050 et 2100

Energy Technology Data Exchange (ETDEWEB)

Deneux, M

2002-07-01

This comprehensive and detailed report illustrates the importance of the climatic change and the impacts on the agricultural, energetic, industrial and the transport activities, in France. The effects on the biodiversity and the people are also studied. It is presented in four main parts: the climatology where the author details the climate and the greenhouse effect; the origins and the consequences of the greenhouse effect gases and the aerosols; a socio-economical analysis of the climatic changes facing the human liabilities; solutions and stakes of these solutions. The second volume collects the sixty seven auditions of experts interviewed on the topic. It allows the reader a possible research to trump up its own opinion. (A.L.B.)

Climate changes your business

International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

2008-01-01

Businesses face much bigger climate change costs than they realise. That is the conclusion of Climate Changes Your Business. The climate change risks that companies should be paying more attention to are physical risks, regulatory risks as well as risk to reputation and the emerging risk of litigation, says the report. It argues that the risks associated with climate change tend to be underestimated

Construction of climate change scenarios from transient climate change experiments for the IPCC impacts assessment

International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

Viner, D.; Hulme, M.; Raper, S.C.B.; Jones, P.D.

1994-01-01

This paper outlines the different methods which may be used for the construction of regional climate change scenarios. The main focus of the paper is the construction of global climate change scenarios from climate change experiments carried out using General Circulation Models (GCMS) An introduction to some GCM climate change experiments highlights the difference between model types and experiments (e.g., equilibrium or transient). The latest generation of climate change experiments has been performed using fully coupled ocean-atmosphere GCMS. These allow transient simulations of climate change to be performed with respect to a given greenhouse gas forcing scenario. There are, however, a number of problems with these simulations which pose difficulties for the construction of climate change scenarios for use in climate change impacts assessment. The characteristics of the transient climate change experiments which pose difficulties for the construction of climate change scenarios are discussed. Three examples of these problems are: different climate change experiments use different greenhouse gas concentration scenarios; the 'cold-start' problem makes it difficult to link future projections of climate change to a given calendar year; a drift of the climate is noticeable in the control simulations. In order to construct climate change scenarios for impacts assessment a method has therefore to be employed which addresses these problems. At present the climate modeling and climate change impacts communities are somewhat polarized in their approach to spatial scales. Current GCMs model the climate at resolutions larger than 2.5 x 3.75 degree, while the majority of impacts assessment studies are undertaken at scales below 50km (or 0.5 degree). This paper concludes by addressing the problems in bringing together these two different modeling perspectives by presenting a number of regional climate change scenarios. 35 refs., 8 figs., 2 tabs

Document on the climate evolutions; Dossier climat ce qui va changer

Energy Technology Data Exchange (ETDEWEB)

Deque, M. [Meteo France 75 - Paris (France); Baruch, J.O.; Theodule, M.L.; Kingler, C.; Thivent, V.; Postel-Vinay, O. [La Recherche, 75 - Paris (France); Leblois, E. [Cemagref, 69 - Lyon (France); Gascard, J.C. [Centre National de la Recherche Scientifique (CNRS), 75 - Paris (France); Quadfasel, D. [Hambourg Univ., Institut d' Oceanographie (Germany)

2006-07-15

What will be the climate in 2050? From specialists, 2050 is the date of the first signs of the climatic change consequences. In France the daily life will not be very modified, but some activities which depend on the hydrology, will have to adapt. The vegetation modifications, will be little in some areas. Elsewhere, they would be radical: no more arctic ice field in summer, some island flooded by the sea. The authors show also the human activities which will be favored by the climatic change. (A.L.B.)

Rapid evolution of phenology during range expansion with recent climate change.

Science.gov (United States)

Lustenhouwer, Nicky; Wilschut, Rutger A; Williams, Jennifer L; van der Putten, Wim H; Levine, Jonathan M

2018-02-01

Although climate warming is expected to make habitat beyond species' current cold range edge suitable for future colonization, this new habitat may present an array of biotic or abiotic conditions not experienced within the current range. Species' ability to shift their range with climate change may therefore depend on how populations evolve in response to such novel environmental conditions. However, due to the recent nature of thus far observed range expansions, the role of rapid adaptation during climate change migration is only beginning to be understood. Here, we evaluated evolution during the recent native range expansion of the annual plant Dittrichia graveolens, which is spreading northward in Europe from the Mediterranean region. We examined genetically based differentiation between core and edge populations in their phenology, a trait that is likely under selection with shorter growing seasons and greater seasonality at northern latitudes. In parallel common garden experiments at range edges in Switzerland and the Netherlands, we grew plants from Dutch, Swiss, and central and southern French populations. Population genetic analysis following RAD-sequencing of these populations supported the hypothesized central France origins of the Swiss and Dutch range edge populations. We found that in both common gardens, northern plants flowered up to 4 weeks earlier than southern plants. This differentiation in phenology extended from the core of the range to the Netherlands, a region only reached from central France over approximately the last 50 years. Fitness decreased as plants flowered later, supporting the hypothesized benefits of earlier flowering at the range edge. Our results suggest that native range expanding populations can rapidly adapt to novel environmental conditions in the expanded range, potentially promoting their ability to spread. © 2017 John Wiley & Sons Ltd.

Model France. Efficiently achieving climate protection targets. Nuclear power phase-out scenario adapted in favour of climate protection; Vorbild Frankreich. Klimaschutzziele effizient erreichen. Ausstiegszenario Kernkraft zugunsten des Klimaschutzes angepasst

Energy Technology Data Exchange (ETDEWEB)

Leidinger, Tobias [Luther Rechtsanwaltsgesellschaft, Duesseldorf (Germany)

2017-12-15

In Germany - after an abrupt, legally controversial and in some cases unconstitutional phase-out of nuclear power (''at any price'') - the next phase-out of is now being negotiated among new coalition partners. In France, on the other hand, energy and climate protection seem to be in the clear sense of the word: the French nuclear phase-out scenario is clearly being ''stretched out'' in order to achieve the promised climate protection targets. Reason seems to have the upper hand in France: instead of ''black-and-white scenarios'', one prefers to stick to what is in reality feasible and achievable. In reality, the expansion of renewable energies, the regulation of the transport sector and electricity production from nuclear energy are not opposites, but complement each other in the interests of affordable energy and effective climate protection.

From Rio to Johannesburg : The perspectives of NGO of the Reseau Action Climat

International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

Flipo, F.

2002-01-01

The Reseau Action Climat France (RCAF) (France Climate Action Network) was founded in 1996 with the goal of fighting against the risk of climatic change and to follow the implementation of sustainable development policies at the national level. The Climate Action Network (CAN), is comprised of in excess of 360 members from all five continents. A brief historical review of climatic change is provided, starting with the risk first being recognized at the end of the nineteenth century, through to the adoption of the Kyoto Protocol in 1997. Issues are discussed, ranging from the opinion of the general population in France that climatic change is unacceptable, and economic growth must be revised without the option of reverting to nuclear energy, to the belief that profound change in the development of industrialized nations is required. The long term positions of the RCAF are examined. They can be classified under the following headings: dispatching of damages and appropriateness of commitments of Parties with regard to the objective of the Convention, allocation of emissions quotas, links to sustainable development, and other perspectives. The author concludes by indicating that the situation form Rio to Johannesburg has deteriorated and that fighting against actual trends represents our best hope to mitigate climatic change. 24 refs., 2 figs

Our changing climate

International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

Kandel, R.

1990-01-01

The author presents an overview of the changing climate. Attention is focused on the following: meteorology; weather; climate anomalies; changes in atmospheric composition and global warming; ozone; mathematical models; and climate and politics. In its conclusion, it asks researchers to stay out of a game in which, ultimately, neither science nor politics stands to gain anything

Climate change and skin disease.

Science.gov (United States)

Lundgren, Ashley D

2018-04-01

Despite commanding essentially universal scientific consensus, climate change remains a divisive and poorly understood topic in the United States. Familiarity with this subject is not just for climate scientists. The impact of climate change on human morbidity and mortality may be considerable; thus, physicians also should be knowledgeable in this realm. Climate change science can seem opaque and inferential, creating fertile ground for political polemics and undoubtedly contributing to confusion among the general public. This puts physicians in a pivotal position to facilitate a practical understanding of climate change in the public sphere by discussing changes in disease patterns and their possible relationship to a changing climate. This article provides a background on climate change for dermatologists and highlights how climate change may impact the management of skin disease across the United States.

Quality Climate Change Professional Development Translates into Quality Climate Change Education (Invited)

Science.gov (United States)

Holzer, M. A.

2013-12-01

Perhaps one of the reasons we have so many climate change deniers in the United States is that to them climate change is not occurring. This is a valid claim about climate change deniers considering that the effects of climate change in the mid-latitudes are quite subtle as compared to those found in low-latitude and high-latitude regions. A mid-latitude classroom teacher is saddled with the challenge of enlightening students about our changing climate and empowering students to assist in making necessary lifestyle changes, all the while the students don't understand the urgency in doing so. Quality climate change data and resources from the Polar Regions and low latitudes, as well as connections to researchers from these regions help to bridge the understanding of our changing climate from the extreme latitudes to the mid-latitudes. Connecting science teachers with data, resources, and researchers is one way of ensuring our mid-latitude students understand the urgency in taking appropriate actions to adapt, mitigate, and show resilience. This presentation will highlight a few of the many impacts of an authentic research experience for teachers that not only provides teachers with data, resources, and researchers, but changes the way a science teacher teaches where the methods they use mirror the methods used by scientists. National projects like PolarTREC connect educators with the science of climate change as well as the reality of impacts of climate change. For example, research expeditions in the Arctic and in Antarctica connect teachers with the content and practices of climate change science preparing them to replicate their experiences with their students. A PolarTREC experience does not end with the close of the expedition. Teachers continue their connections with the program through their educator network, the integration of PolarTREC resources into their curriculums, and communications with their principal investigators either virtually or with school

Trade and climate change

Energy Technology Data Exchange (ETDEWEB)

Tamiotti, L.; Teh, R.; Kulacoglu, V. (World Trade Organization (WTO), Geneva (Switzerland)); Olhoff, A.; Simmons, B.; Abaza, H. (United Nations Environment Programme (UNEP) (Denmark))

2009-06-15

The Report aims to improve understanding about the linkages between trade and climate change. It shows that trade intersects with climate change in a multitude of ways. For example, governments may introduce a variety of policies, such as regulatory measures and economic incentives, to address climate change. This complex web of measures may have an impact on international trade and the multilateral trading system. The Report begins with a summary of the current state of scientific knowledge on climate change and on the options available for responding to the challenge of climate change. The scientific review is followed by a part on the economic aspects of the link between trade and climate change, and these two parts set the context for the subsequent parts of the Report, which looks at the policies introduced at both the international and national level to address climate change. The part on international policy responses to climate change describes multilateral efforts to reduce greenhouse gas emissions and to adapt to the effects of climate change, and also discusses the role of the current trade and environment negotiations in promoting trade in technologies that aim to mitigate climate change. The final part of the Report gives an overview of a range of national policies and measures that have been used in a number of countries to reduce greenhouse gas emissions and to increase energy efficiency. It presents key features in the design and implementation of these policies, in order to draw a clearer picture of their overall effect and potential impact on environmental protection, sustainable development and trade. It also gives, where appropriate, an overview of the WTO rules that may be relevant to such measures. (author)

The climate is changing

International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

Alfsen, Knut H.

2001-01-01

The Intergovernmental Panel on Climate Change (IPCC) has finalized its Third Assessment Report. Among its conclusions is that we must expect continued changes in our climate, despite our efforts to reduce greenhouse gas emissions. Planning for and adapting to climate change are therefore necessary. As a starting point, CICERO has written this short note on expected impacts in Norway. The main conclusions are that (1) Adaptation to climate change is necessary (2) Substantial impacts are expected for several important sectors in Norway (3) The local and central authorities should now consider and start planning for adaptation measures. (4) There is still a need for more knowledge about potential impacts of climate change in Norway. (author)

France's energy balance for 2012: decreasing consumption in a depressed economic climate

International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

Rouquette, Celine

2013-07-01

France's final energy consumption, corrected for climate variations, dropped in 2012 (-0.7%), as a result of the slow-moving economy. Primary energy consumption by the energy sector was the most affected (-5 %), owing to lower nuclear power production and a drop in refining activities. There was also a marked drop in industry as a whole and in the tertiary sector, slightly less so in transport. This latter sector remained the main energy consuming sector, ahead of the residential sector and far ahead of industry and agriculture. The final energy consumption mix remained stable in 2012, with the exception of a sharp increase in the proportion of energy from renewable thermal sources. National primary energy production settled back at 136 Mtoe, representing a drop of 1% in relation to the record of 2011. France's energy bill in 2012 reached a new record level at around euro 69 billion, primarily because of the quasi-general increase in the prices of imported energy. The higher consumer prices also increased the bill for households. (authors)

Climate Change Portal - Home Page

Science.gov (United States)

Science Partnerships Contact Us Take Action Climate change is already having significant and widespread of climate change. Business Businesses throughout California are taking action to address climate climate change impacts and informing policies to reduce greenhouse gases, adapt to changing environments

Climate change and forest diseases

Science.gov (United States)

R.N. Sturrock; Susan Frankel; A. V. Brown; Paul Hennon; J. T. Kliejunas; K. J. Lewis; J. J. Worrall; A. J. Woods

2011-01-01

As climate changes, the effects of forest diseases on forest ecosystems will change. We review knowledge of relationships between climate variables and several forest diseases, as well as current evidence of how climate, host and pathogen interactions are responding or might respond to climate change. Many forests can be managed to both adapt to climate change and...

Climatic change

Energy Technology Data Exchange (ETDEWEB)

NONE

1977-02-15

In spite of man's remarkable advances in technology, ultimately he is still dependent on the Earth's climatic system for food and fresh water. The recent occurrences in certain regions of the world of climatic extremes such as excessive rain or droughts and unseasonably high or low temperatures have led to speculation that a major climatic change is occurring on a global scale. Some point to the recent drop in temperatures in the northern hemisphere as an indication that the Earth is entering a new ice age. Others see a global warming trend that may be due to a build-up of carbon dioxide in the atmosphere. An authoritative report on the subject has been prepared by a World Meteorological Organization Panel of Experts on Climatic Change. Excerpts from the report are given. (author)

Climatic change

International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

1977-01-01

In spite of man's remarkable advances in technology, ultimately he is still dependent on the Earth's climatic system for food and fresh water. The recent occurrences in certain regions of the world of climatic extremes such as excessive rain or droughts and unseasonably high or low temperatures have led to speculation that a major climatic change is occurring on a global scale. Some point to the recent drop in temperatures in the northern hemisphere as an indication that the Earth is entering a new ice age. Others see a global warming trend that may be due to a build-up of carbon dioxide in the atmosphere. An authoritative report on the subject has been prepared by a World Meteorological Organization Panel of Experts on Climatic Change. Excerpts from the report are given. (author)

Managing climate change refugia for climate adaptation

Science.gov (United States)

Toni Lyn Morelli; Christopher Daly; Solomon Z. Dobrowski; Deanna M. Dulen; Joseph L. Ebersole; Stephen T. Jackson; Jessica D. Lundquist; Connie Millar; Sean P. Maher; William B. Monahan; Koren R. Nydick; Kelly T. Redmond; Sarah C. Sawyer; Sarah Stock; Steven R. Beissinger

2016-01-01

Refugia have long been studied from paleontological and biogeographical perspectives to understand how populations persisted during past periods of unfavorable climate. Recently, researchers have applied the idea to contemporary landscapes to identify climate change refugia, here defined as areas relatively buffered from contemporary climate change over time that...

Climate variability and vulnerability to climate change: a review

Science.gov (United States)

Thornton, Philip K; Ericksen, Polly J; Herrero, Mario; Challinor, Andrew J

2014-01-01

The focus of the great majority of climate change impact studies is on changes in mean climate. In terms of climate model output, these changes are more robust than changes in climate variability. By concentrating on changes in climate means, the full impacts of climate change on biological and human systems are probably being seriously underestimated. Here, we briefly review the possible impacts of changes in climate variability and the frequency of extreme events on biological and food systems, with a focus on the developing world. We present new analysis that tentatively links increases in climate variability with increasing food insecurity in the future. We consider the ways in which people deal with climate variability and extremes and how they may adapt in the future. Key knowledge and data gaps are highlighted. These include the timing and interactions of different climatic stresses on plant growth and development, particularly at higher temperatures, and the impacts on crops, livestock and farming systems of changes in climate variability and extreme events on pest-weed-disease complexes. We highlight the need to reframe research questions in such a way that they can provide decision makers throughout the food system with actionable answers, and the need for investment in climate and environmental monitoring. Improved understanding of the full range of impacts of climate change on biological and food systems is a critical step in being able to address effectively the effects of climate variability and extreme events on human vulnerability and food security, particularly in agriculturally based developing countries facing the challenge of having to feed rapidly growing populations in the coming decades. PMID:24668802

The climate file

International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

2010-01-01

A series of interviews of a member of the IPCC (Intergovernmental Panel on Climate Change) and of researchers gives an overview of scientific knowledge on climate, discusses what could be a good agreement at the Copenhagen conference, outlines what is at stake in these negotiations, and proposes an overview of the French policy for the struggle against climate change. An article comments the content of a report published by the CAS (Centre d'Analyse Strategique), and more particularly the position of Russia and of the OPEC before the Copenhagen negotiations. A last article comments the results of three opinion surveys made in France about climate change, its origins and solutions, and about the representation French people have of greenhouse effect

Climate Change and Malaria

OpenAIRE

Goklany;, I. M.

2004-01-01

Sir David A. King's claim that "Climate change is the most severe problem that we are facing today—more serious even than the threat of terrorism" "Climate change is the most severe problem that we are facing today—more serious even than the threat of terrorism" ("Climate change

Climate change and Finland. Summary of the Finnish research programme on climate change (SILMU)

Energy Technology Data Exchange (ETDEWEB)

NONE

1996-12-31

Anthropogenic impacts on the Earth`s atmosphere are expected to cause significant global climate changes during the next few decades. These changes will have many consequences both in nature and on human activities. In order to investigate the implications of such changes in Finland, a six-year multidisciplinary national research programme on climate and global change, the Finnish Research Programme on Climate Change (SILMU), was initiated in 1990. The key research areas were: (1) quantification of the greenhouse effect and the magnitude of anticipated climate changes, (2) assessment of the effects of changing climate on terrestrial and aquatic ecosystems, and (3) development of mitigation and adaptation strategies

Climate change and Finland. Summary of the Finnish research programme on climate change (SILMU)

International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

1996-01-01

Anthropogenic impacts on the Earth's atmosphere are expected to cause significant global climate changes during the next few decades. These changes will have many consequences both in nature and on human activities. In order to investigate the implications of such changes in Finland, a six-year multidisciplinary national research programme on climate and global change, the Finnish Research Programme on Climate Change (SILMU), was initiated in 1990. The key research areas were: (1) quantification of the greenhouse effect and the magnitude of anticipated climate changes, (2) assessment of the effects of changing climate on terrestrial and aquatic ecosystems, and (3) development of mitigation and adaptation strategies

Chatham Islands Climate Change

International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

Mullan, B.; Salinger, J.; Thompson, C.; Ramsay, D.; Wild, M.

2005-06-01

This brief report provides guidance on climate change specific to the Chatham Islands, to complement the information recently produced for local government by the Ministry for the Environment in 'Climate Change Effects and Impacts Assessment: A guidance manual for Local Government in New Zealand' and 'Coastal Hazards and Climate Change: A guidance manual for Local Government in New Zealand'. These previous reports contain a lot of generic information on climate change, and how to assess associated risks, that is relevant to the Chatham Islands Council.

Renewable energies: it is time to choose for the France; Energie renouvelables: la France a l'heure du choix

Energy Technology Data Exchange (ETDEWEB)

NONE

2004-07-01

This colloquium takes stock on the renewable energies situation in France. What is the renewable energies place in the today french energy policy and in the developing countries? It presents also the renewable energies possibilities facing of the climatic change, their economical and environmental impact, the french people opinion and demand and the legal aspects of the renewable energies implementation. (A.L.B.)

Scaling Climate Change Communication for Behavior Change

Science.gov (United States)

Rodriguez, V. C.; Lappé, M.; Flora, J. A.; Ardoin, N. M.; Robinson, T. N.

2014-12-01

Ultimately, effective climate change communication results in a change in behavior, whether the change is individual, household or collective actions within communities. We describe two efforts to promote climate-friendly behavior via climate communication and behavior change theory. Importantly these efforts are designed to scale climate communication principles focused on behavior change rather than soley emphasizing climate knowledge or attitudes. Both cases are embedded in rigorous evaluations (randomized controlled trial and quasi-experimental) of primary and secondary outcomes as well as supplementary analyses that have implications for program refinement and program scaling. In the first case, the Girl Scouts "Girls Learning Environment and Energy" (GLEE) trial is scaling the program via a Massive Open Online Course (MOOC) for Troop Leaders to teach the effective home electricity and food and transportation energy reduction programs. The second case, the Alliance for Climate Education (ACE) Assembly Program, is advancing the already-scaled assembly program by using communication principles to further engage youth and their families and communities (school and local communities) in individual and collective actions. Scaling of each program uses online learning platforms, social media and "behavior practice" videos, mastery practice exercises, virtual feedback and virtual social engagement to advance climate-friendly behavior change. All of these communication practices aim to simulate and advance in-person train-the-trainers technologies.As part of this presentation we outline scaling principles derived from these two climate change communication and behavior change programs.

Asking about climate change

DEFF Research Database (Denmark)

Nielsen, Jonas Østergaard; D'haen, Sarah Ann Lise

2014-01-01

and the number and types of interviews conducted are, for example, not always clear. Information on crucial aspects of qualitative research like researcher positionality, social positions of key informants, the use of field assistants, language issues and post-fieldwork treatment of data is also lacking in many...... with climate change? On the basis of a literature review of all articles published in Global Environmental Change between 2000 and 2012 that deal with human dimensions of climate change using qualitative methods this paper provides some answers but also raises some concerns. The period and length of fieldwork......There is increasing evidence that climate change will strongly affect people across the globe. Likely impacts of and adaptations to climate change are drawing the attention of researchers from many disciplines. In adaptation research focus is often on perceptions of climate change...

Seasonal changes in the human alteration of fire regimes beyond the climate forcing

Science.gov (United States)

Fréjaville, Thibaut; Curt, Thomas

2017-03-01

Human activities have altered fire regimes for millennia by suppressing or enhancing natural fire activity. However, whether these anthropogenic pressures on fire activity have exceeded and will surpass climate forcing still remains uncertain. We tested if, how and the extent to which seasonal fire activity in southern France has recently (1976-2009) deviated from climate-expected trends. The latter were simulated using an ensemble of detrended fire-climate models. We found both seasonal and regional contrasts in climatic effects through a mixture of drought-driven and fuel-limited fire regimes. Dry contemporary conditions chiefly drove fire frequency and burned area, although higher fire activity was related to wetter conditions in the last three years. Surprisingly, the relative importance of preceding wet conditions was higher in winter than in summer, illustrating the strong potential dependency of regional fire-climate relationships on the human use and control of fires. In the Mediterranean mountains, warm winters and springs favour extensive fires in the following dry summer. These results highlight that increasing dryness with climate change could have antagonistic effects on fire regime by leading to larger fires in summer (moisture-limited), but lower fire activity in winter (fuel-limited fire regime). Furthermore, fire trends have significantly diverged from climatic expectations, with a strong negative alteration in fire activity in the Mediterranean lowlands and the summer burned area in the mountains. In contrast, alteration of winter fire frequency in the Mediterranean and Temperate mountains has shifted from positive to negative (or null) trends during the mid-1990s, a period when fire suppression policy underwent major revisions. Our findings demonstrate that changes in land-use and fire suppression policy have probably exceeded the strength of climate change effects on changing fire regime in southern Europe, making regional predictions of future

Climate engineering and the risk of rapid climate change

International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

Ross, Andrew; Damon Matthews, H

2009-01-01

Recent research has highlighted risks associated with the use of climate engineering as a method of stabilizing global temperatures, including the possibility of rapid climate warming in the case of abrupt removal of engineered radiative forcing. In this study, we have used a simple climate model to estimate the likely range of temperature changes associated with implementation and removal of climate engineering. In the absence of climate engineering, maximum annual rates of warming ranged from 0.015 to 0.07 deg. C/year, depending on the model's climate sensitivity. Climate engineering resulted in much higher rates of warming, with the temperature change in the year following the removal of climate engineering ranging from 0.13 to 0.76 deg. C. High rates of temperature change were sustained for two decades following the removal of climate engineering; rates of change of 0.5 (0.3,0.1) deg. C/decade were exceeded over a 20 year period with 15% (75%, 100%) likelihood. Many ecosystems could be negatively affected by these rates of temperature change; our results suggest that climate engineering in the absence of deep emissions cuts could arguably constitute increased risk of dangerous anthropogenic interference in the climate system under the criteria laid out in the United Nations Framework Convention on Climate Change.

Climate plan 2004

International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

2004-01-01

The Climate Plan is an action plan drawn up by the French Government to respond to the climate change challenge, first by 2010 (complying with the Kyoto Protocol target), and, secondly, beyond this date. Projections for France show that national emissions could be 10% higher than the Kyoto target in 2010 if no measures are taken. This is particularly due to increasing emissions in the sectors affecting daily life (residential-tertiary sectors, transport, etc.). For this reason, the Climate Plan contains measures affecting all sectors of the economy and the daily life of all French citizens with a view to economizing the equivalent of 54 million tonnes of CO 2 each year by the year 2010, which will help to reverse the trend significantly. Beyond 2010, the Climate Plan sets out a strategy for technological research which will enable France to meet a target of reducing greenhouse gas emissions four or fivefold by 2050. (author)

Parliamentary Office of technological and scientific choices evaluation. Document on the evaluation of climatic changes fullness, cause and foreseeable impacts on the France geography for 2025,2050 and 2100; Office parlementaire d'evaluation des choix scientifiques et technologiques. Rapport sur l'evaluation de l'ampleur des changements climatiques, de leurs causes et de leur impact previsible sur la geographie de la France a l'horizon 2025, 2050 et 2100

Energy Technology Data Exchange (ETDEWEB)

Deneux, M.

2002-07-01

This comprehensive and detailed report illustrates the importance of the climatic change and the impacts on the agricultural, energetic, industrial and the transport activities, in France. The effects on the biodiversity and the people are also studied. It is presented in four main parts: the climatology where the author details the climate and the greenhouse effect; the origins and the consequences of the greenhouse effect gases and the aerosols; a socio-economical analysis of the climatic changes facing the human liabilities; solutions and stakes of these solutions. The second volume collects the sixty seven auditions of experts interviewed on the topic. It allows the reader a possible research to trump up its own opinion. (A.L.B.)

Uncertainty and Climate Change

OpenAIRE

Berliner, L. Mark

2003-01-01

Anthropogenic, or human-induced, climate change is a critical issue in science and in the affairs of humankind. Though the target of substantial research, the conclusions of climate change studies remain subject to numerous uncertainties. This article presents a very brief review of the basic arguments regarding anthropogenic climate change with particular emphasis on uncertainty.

Climate@Home: Crowdsourcing Climate Change Research

Science.gov (United States)

Xu, C.; Yang, C.; Li, J.; Sun, M.; Bambacus, M.

2011-12-01

Climate change deeply impacts human wellbeing. Significant amounts of resources have been invested in building super-computers that are capable of running advanced climate models, which help scientists understand climate change mechanisms, and predict its trend. Although climate change influences all human beings, the general public is largely excluded from the research. On the other hand, scientists are eagerly seeking communication mediums for effectively enlightening the public on climate change and its consequences. The Climate@Home project is devoted to connect the two ends with an innovative solution: crowdsourcing climate computing to the general public by harvesting volunteered computing resources from the participants. A distributed web-based computing platform will be built to support climate computing, and the general public can 'plug-in' their personal computers to participate in the research. People contribute the spare computing power of their computers to run a computer model, which is used by scientists to predict climate change. Traditionally, only super-computers could handle such a large computing processing load. By orchestrating massive amounts of personal computers to perform atomized data processing tasks, investments on new super-computers, energy consumed by super-computers, and carbon release from super-computers are reduced. Meanwhile, the platform forms a social network of climate researchers and the general public, which may be leveraged to raise climate awareness among the participants. A portal is to be built as the gateway to the climate@home project. Three types of roles and the corresponding functionalities are designed and supported. The end users include the citizen participants, climate scientists, and project managers. Citizen participants connect their computing resources to the platform by downloading and installing a computing engine on their personal computers. Computer climate models are defined at the server side. Climate

China's response to climate change issues after Paris Climate Change Conference

Directory of Open Access Journals (Sweden)

Yun Gao

2016-12-01

Full Text Available The Paris Climate Change Conference was successfully concluded with the Paris Agreement, which is a milestone for the world in collectively combating climate change. By participating in IPCC assessments and conducting national climate change assessments, China has been increasing its understanding of the issue. For the first time, China's top leader attended the Conference of the Parties, which indicates the acknowledgement of the rationality and necessity of climate change response by China at different levels. Moreover, this participation reflects China's commitment to including climate change in its ecology improvement program and pursuing a low-carbon society and economy. In order to ensure the success of the Paris Conference, China has contributed significantly. China's constructive participation in global governance shows that China is a responsible power. These principles such as the creation of a future of win–win cooperation with each country contributing to the best of its ability; a future of the rule of law, fairness, and justice; and a future of inclusiveness, mutual learning, and common development will serve as China's guidelines in its efforts to facilitate the implementation of the Paris Agreement and participate in the design of international systems.

China's response to climate change issues after Paris Climate Change Conference

Institute of Scientific and Technical Information of China (English)

GAO Yun

2016-01-01

The Paris Climate Change Conference was successfully concluded with the Paris Agreement, which is a milestone for the world in collectively combating climate change. By participating in IPCC assessments and conducting national climate change assessments, China has been increasing its understanding of the issue. For the first time, China's top leader attended the Conference of the Parties, which indicates the acknowledgement of the rationality and necessity of climate change response by China at different levels. Moreover, this participation reflects China's commitment to including climate change in its ecology improvement program and pursuing a low-carbon society and economy. In order to ensure the success of the Paris Conference, China has contributed significantly. China's constructive participation in global governance shows that China is a responsible power. These principles such as the creation of a future of winewin cooperation with each country contributing to the best of its ability;a future of the rule of law, fairness, and justice;and a future of inclusiveness, mutual learning, and common development will serve as China's guidelines in its efforts to facilitate the implementation of the Paris Agreement and participate in the design of international systems.

Hotter and drier conditions in the near future (2010-2035) might paradoxically improve the general adaptive capacity of a viticultural social-ecological system in Roussillon, southern France, exposed to long-term climatic and economic changes

Science.gov (United States)

Lereboullet, Anne-Laure; Beltrando, Gérard

2014-05-01

Background: Wine production in Roussillon, southern France, has been subjected to deep structural changes in cultural practices since the 1970's, due to changes in demand and market organization. In this Mediterranean region, temperature and rainfall parameters have long been adapted to fortified wine production, but might be less suited to dry wine production, which is nowadays prevailing. The wine industry in Roussillon can be studied as a social-ecological system where local economical and social characteristics are strongly linked to physical inputs. Thus changes in climate, especially warming and drying trends that have been detected and projected by the IPCC in the Mediterranean basin, may disrupt the local economy and social organization in the long term. The aim of our study is to assess the role played by recent (1956-2010) and near-future (2010-2035) changes in temperature and rainfall inputs in the evolution of the system's adaptive capacity to combined long term climatic and economic changes. Methods: Our study combined quantitative and qualitative data. We first assessed recent exposure to climate change by analysing change in daily data of temperature and rainfall observed in Perpignan weather station from 1956 to 2010. Thirty-nine in-depth interviews with local producers and key stakeholders of the local wine industry helped us understand the impacts of recent climatic conditions in the system's adaptive capacity. Then, we measured future changes in temperature and rainfall based on daily data simulated by ARPEGE-Climat (SCRATCH10 dataset) at an 8-km spatial scale, for emission scenarios A2, A1B and B1, up to 2060. Based on the impacts of recent changes in the system, we inferred the possible impacts of future climate change on the system's equilibrium. Results and discussion: Climate data analyses show that changes in temperatures and rainfall patterns have occurred in Perpignan since the mid-1980's, and that current (2001-2010) conditions are

Climate - 30 questions to understand the Paris Conference

International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

Canfin, Pascal; Staime, Peter

2015-01-01

The authors, who participate in the negotiations on climate, propose an analysis and a description of the various geopolitical, economic and financial challenges which are part of the next conference on climate (Conference of Parties, COP 21) which is to take place in France in December 2015. They notably discuss to which extent France is an example, what Obama can do, why things are changing in China, who are the opponents in the struggle against climate change. While one of the main issue of this conference, and the possible cause of its failure, will be the financial issue, and particularly the promise made in 2009 to mobilise 100 billions dollars every year in favour of developing countries which are the most impacted by global warming, in an interview, one of the author evokes the content of his book: he discusses the general consensus about the human origin of climate change, evokes fossil industries and oil producing countries as opponents to an energy revolution, outlines that energy transition is at the heart of what he calls the Battle of Paris (the conference), outlines the important role France can play despite some weaknesses of its climate policy, the new momentum given by China and the USA. He considers low carbon economy as the main world challenge on the long term

Climate of Tajikistan in connection with global climate change

International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

Khakimov, F.Kh.; Mirzokhonova, S.O.; Mirzokhonava, N.A.

2006-01-01

The analysis of global climate change for different periods and its consequences on regional climate is given. The chronology of climate change in Tajikistan in various regions and the reasons leading or resulted to these changes are changes are shown as well

Communities under climate change

DEFF Research Database (Denmark)

Nogues, David Bravo; Rahbek, Carsten

2011-01-01

The distribution of species on Earth and the interactions among them are tightly linked to historical and contemporary climate, so that global climate change will transform the world in which we live. Biological models can now credibly link recent decadal trends in field data to climate change......, but predicting future impacts on biological communities is a major challenge. Attempts to move beyond general macroecological predictions of climate change impact on one hand, and observations from specific, local-scale cases, small-scale experiments, or studies of a few species on the other, raise a plethora...... of unanswered questions. On page 1124 of this issue, Harley (1) reports results that cast new light on how biodiversity, across different trophic levels, responds to climate change....

Impact of climate changes during the last 5 million years on groundwater in basement aquifers.

Science.gov (United States)

Aquilina, Luc; Vergnaud-Ayraud, Virginie; Les Landes, Antoine Armandine; Pauwels, Hélène; Davy, Philippe; Pételet-Giraud, Emmanuelle; Labasque, Thierry; Roques, Clément; Chatton, Eliot; Bour, Olivier; Ben Maamar, Sarah; Dufresne, Alexis; Khaska, Mahmoud; Le Gal La Salle, Corinne; Barbecot, Florent

2015-09-22

Climate change is thought to have major effects on groundwater resources. There is however a limited knowledge of the impacts of past climate changes such as warm or glacial periods on groundwater although marine or glacial fluids may have circulated in basements during these periods. Geochemical investigations of groundwater at shallow depth (80-400 m) in the Armorican basement (western France) revealed three major phases of evolution: (1) Mio-Pliocene transgressions led to marine water introduction in the whole rock porosity through density and then diffusion processes, (2) intensive and rapid recharge after the glacial maximum down to several hundred meters depths, (3) a present-day regime of groundwater circulation limited to shallow depth. This work identifies important constraints regarding the mechanisms responsible for both marine and glacial fluid migrations and their preservation within a basement. It defines the first clear time scales of these processes and thus provides a unique case for understanding the effects of climate changes on hydrogeology in basements. It reveals that glacial water is supplied in significant amounts to deep aquifers even in permafrosted zones. It also emphasizes the vulnerability of modern groundwater hydrosystems to climate change as groundwater active aquifers is restricted to shallow depths.

Climate change research in Canada

International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

Dawson, K.

1994-01-01

The current consensus on climatic change in Canada is briefly summarized, noting the results of modelling of the effects of a doubling of atmospheric CO 2 , the nonuniformity of climate change across the country, the uncertainties in local responses to change, and the general agreement that 2-4 degrees of warming will occur for each doubling of CO 2 . Canadian government response includes programs aimed at reducing the uncertainties in the scientific understanding of climate change and in the socio-economic response to such change. Canadian climate change programs include participation in large-scale experiments on such topics as heat transport in the ocean, and sources and sinks of greenhouse gases; development of next-generation climate models; studying the social and economic effects of climate change in the Great Lakes Basin and Mackenzie River Basin; investigation of paleoclimates; and analysis of climate data for long-term trends

Strategy for Climate Change Adaptation

DEFF Research Database (Denmark)

Rasmussen, Torben Valdbjørn

2013-01-01

. This absence of an agreement calls for adaptation to climate change. Emphasis should be put on buildings, as they play a vital economic and social role in society and are vulnerable to climate change. Therefore, the building stock deserves its own policy and implementation plans as well as tools that enable...... adequate and cost-efficient adaptation to climate change. This paper explains the need for climate change adaptation of the building stock and suggests a pattern for a strategic approach to how to reach the climate change adaptation needed. The suggested and presented need of a strategic approach is based...... on three main initiatives consisting of the need to examine the potential impacts of climate change on the building stock, the need to assess and develop a roadmap of current and future adaptation measures that can withstand the effects of climate change, and the need to engage relevant stakeholders...

Strategy for Climate Change Adaptation

DEFF Research Database (Denmark)

Rasmussen, Torben Valdbjørn

2014-01-01

. This absence of an agreement calls for adaptation to climate change. Emphasis should be put on buildings, as they play a vital economic and social role in society and are vulnerable to climate change. Therefore, the building stock deserves its own policy and implementation plans as well as tools that enable...... adequate and cost-efficient adaptation to climate change. This paper explains the need for climate change adaptation of the building stock and suggests a pattern for a strategic approach to how to reach the climate change adaptation needed. The suggested and presented need of a strategic approach is based...... on three main initiatives consisting of the need to examine the potential impacts of climate change on the building stock, the need to assess and develop a roadmap of current and future adaptation measures that can withstand the effects of climate change, and the need to engage relevant stakeholders...

Climate Change in China : Exploring Informants' Perceptions of Climate Change through a Qualitative Approach

OpenAIRE

Lipin, Tan

2016-01-01

Climate change is not only a natural phenomenon, but also a global social issue. Many studies try to explore the mechanisms behind climate change and the consequences of climate change, and provide information for developing the measures to mitigate or adapt to it. For example, the IPCC reviews and assesses climate-change-related scientific information produced worldwide, thus aiming to support decision-making from a scientific perspective. However, though various international and regional c...

The social construct of climate and climate change

International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

Stehr, N.

1994-01-01

Different time scales of climate change and their differential perception in society are discussed. A historical examination of natural climate changes during the past millennium suggests that short-term changes, especially crucial changes, trigger a significant response in and by society. Short-term changes correspond to the 'time horizon of everyday life', that is, to a time scale from days and weeks to a few years. The anticipated anthropogenic climate changes, however, are expected to occur on a longer time scale. They require a response by society not on the basis of primary experience but on the basis of scientifically constructed scenarios and ways in which such information is represented in the modern media for example. Socio-economic impact research relies on concepts that are based on the premise of perfectly informed actors for the development of optimal adaptation strategies. In contrast to such a conception, we develop the concept of a 'social construct of climate' as decisive for the public perception of scientific knowledge about climate and for public policy on climate change. The concept is illustrated using a number of examples. (orig.)

The neurobiology of climate change.

Science.gov (United States)

O'Donnell, Sean

2018-01-06

Directional climate change (global warming) is causing rapid alterations in animals' environments. Because the nervous system is at the forefront of animals' interactions with the environment, the neurobiological implications of climate change are central to understanding how individuals, and ultimately populations, will respond to global warming. Evidence is accumulating for individual level, mechanistic effects of climate change on nervous system development and performance. Climate change can also alter sensory stimuli, changing the effectiveness of sensory and cognitive systems for achieving biological fitness. At the population level, natural selection forces stemming from directional climate change may drive rapid evolutionary change in nervous system structure and function.

The neurobiology of climate change

Science.gov (United States)

O'Donnell, Sean

2018-02-01

Directional climate change (global warming) is causing rapid alterations in animals' environments. Because the nervous system is at the forefront of animals' interactions with the environment, the neurobiological implications of climate change are central to understanding how individuals, and ultimately populations, will respond to global warming. Evidence is accumulating for individual level, mechanistic effects of climate change on nervous system development and performance. Climate change can also alter sensory stimuli, changing the effectiveness of sensory and cognitive systems for achieving biological fitness. At the population level, natural selection forces stemming from directional climate change may drive rapid evolutionary change in nervous system structure and function.

Trees and Climate Change

OpenAIRE

Dettenmaier, Megan; Kuhns, Michael; Unger, Bethany; McAvoy, Darren

2017-01-01

This fact sheet describes the complex relationship between forests and climate change based on current research. It explains ways that trees can mitigate some of the risks associated with climate change. It details the impacts that forests are having on the changing climate and discuss specific ways that trees can be used to reduce or counter carbon emissions directly and indirectly.

A new flood type classification method for use in climate change impact studies

Directory of Open Access Journals (Sweden)

Thea Turkington

2016-12-01

Full Text Available Flood type classification is an optimal tool to cluster floods with similar meteorological triggering conditions. Under climate change these flood types may change differently as well as new flood types develop. This paper presents a new methodology to classify flood types, particularly for use in climate change impact studies. A weather generator is coupled with a conceptual rainfall-runoff model to create long synthetic records of discharge to efficiently build an inventory with high number of flood events. Significant discharge days are classified into causal types using k-means clustering of temperature and precipitation indicators capturing differences in rainfall amount, antecedent rainfall and snow-cover and day of year. From climate projections of bias-corrected temperature and precipitation, future discharge and associated change in flood types are assessed. The approach is applied to two different Alpine catchments: the Ubaye region, a small catchment in France, dominated by rain-on-snow flood events during spring, and the larger Salzach catchment in Austria, affected more by rainfall summer/autumn flood events. The results show that the approach is able to reproduce the observed flood types in both catchments. Under future climate scenarios, the methodology identifies changes in the distribution of flood types and characteristics of the flood types in both study areas. The developed methodology has potential to be used flood impact assessment and disaster risk management as future changes in flood types will have implications for both the local social and ecological systems in the future.

Climate Change Action Fund: public education and outreach. Change: think climate

International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

2001-05-01

This illustrated booklet provides a glimpse of the many creative approaches being adopted by educators, community groups, industry associations and governments at all levels to inform Canadians about the causes and effects of climate change. It also provides suggestions about how each individual person can contribute to reduce greenhouse gas emissions through residential energy efficiency, by participating in ride-share programs, by planting trees and a myriad of other community action projects and public awareness campaigns. The booklet describes educational resources and training available to teachers, science presentations, climate change workshops, public awareness initiatives, community action on climate change, and sector-specific actions underway in the field of transportation and in improving energy efficiency in residential and large buildings. Descriptive summaries of the activities of organizations involved in climate change advocacy and promotion, and a list of contacts for individual projects also form part of the volume

Changing Climates @ Colorado State: 100 (Multidisciplinary) Views of Climate Change

Science.gov (United States)

Campbell, S.; Calderazzo, J.; Changing Climates, Cmmap Education; Diversity Team

2011-12-01

We would like to talk about a multidisciplinary education and outreach program we co-direct at Colorado State University, with support from an NSF-funded STC, CMMAP, the Center for Multiscale Modeling of Atmospheric Processes. We are working to raise public literacy about climate change by providing information that is high quality, up to date, thoroughly multidisciplinary, and easy for non-specialists to understand. Our primary audiences are college-level students, their teachers, and the general public. Our motto is Climate Change is Everybody's Business. To encourage and help our faculty infuse climate-change content into their courses, we have organized some 115 talks given by as many different speakers-speakers drawn from 28 academic departments, all 8 colleges at CSU, and numerous other entities from campus, the community, and farther afield. We began with a faculty-teaching-faculty series and then broadened our attentions to the whole campus and surrounding community. Some talks have been for narrowly focused audiences such as extension agents who work on energy, but most are for more eclectic groups of students, staff, faculty, and citizens. We count heads at most events, and our current total is roughly 6,000. We have created a website (http://changingclimates.colostate.edu) that includes videotapes of many of these talks, short videos we have created, and annotated sources that we judge to be accurate, interesting, clearly written, and aimed at non-specialists, including books, articles and essays, websites, and a few items specifically for college teachers (such as syllabi). Pages of the website focus on such topics as how the climate works / how it changes; what's happening / what might happen; natural ecosystems; agriculture; impacts on people; responses from ethics, art, literature; communication; daily life; policy; energy; and-pulling all the pieces together-the big picture. We have begun working on a new series of very short videos that can be

Climate change

NARCIS (Netherlands)

Marchal, V.; Dellink, R.; Vuuren, D.P. van; Clapp, C.; Chateau, J.; Magné, B.; Lanzi, E.; Vliet, J. van

2012-01-01

This chapter analyses the policy implications of the climate change challenge. Are current emission reduction pledges made in Copenhagen/Cancun enough to stabilise the climate and limit global average temperature increase to 2 oC? If not, what will the consequences be? What alternative growth

Changes in the Perceived Risk of Climate Change: Evidence from Sudden Climatic Events

Science.gov (United States)

Anttila-Hughes, J. K.

2009-12-01

In the course of the past two decades the threat of anthropogenic climate change has moved from a scientific concern of relative obscurity to become one of the largest environmental and public goods problems in history. During this period public understanding of the risk of climate change has shifted from negligible to quite large. In this paper I propose a means of quantifying this change by examining how sudden events supporting the theory of anthropogenic climate change have affected carbon intensive companies' stock prices. Using CAPM event study methodology for companies in several carbon-intensive industries, I find strong evidence that markets have been reacting to changes in the scientific evidence for climate change for some time. Specifically, the change in magnitude of response over time seems to indicate that investors believed climate change was a potentially serious risk to corporate profits as early as the mid 1990s. Moreover, market reaction dependence on event type indicates that investors are differentiating between different advances in the scientific knowledge. Announcements by NASA GISS that the previous year was a “record hot year” for the globe are associated with negative excess returns, while news of ice shelf collapses are associated with strong positive excess returns. These results imply that investors are aware of how different aspects of climate change will affect carbon intensive companies, specifically in terms of the link between warming in general and polar ice cover. This implies that policy choices based on observable public opinion have lagged actual private concern over climate change's potential threat.

Chemistry and climate change

International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

Bernier, Jean-Claude; Brasseur, Guy; Brechet, Yves; Candel, Sebastien; Cazenave, Anny; Courtillot, Vincent; Fontecave, Marc; Garnier, Emmanuel; Goebel, Philippe; Legrand, Jack; Legrand, Michel; Le Treut, Herve; Mauberger, Pascal; Dinh-Audouin, Minh-Thu; Olivier, Daniele; Rigny, Paul; Bigot, Bernard

2016-01-01

In its first part, this collective publication addresses the decennial and centuries-old variations of climate: perspectives and implications of climate change for the 21. century, questions remaining about the understanding of climate change from its sources to its modelling, extreme climate variations and societies during the last millennium. The contributions of the second part outline how chemistry is a tool to study climate change: ice chemistry as an archive of our past environment, observations and predictions on sea level rise, relationship between atmosphere chemistry and climate. The third set of contributions discusses the transformation of the energy system for a cleaner atmosphere and the management of the climate risk: the chemical processing of CO_2, actions of chemical companies to support the struggle against climate change, relationship between barrel price and renewable energies, relationship between grid complexity and green energy. The last part outlines the role chemistry can have to be able to do without fossil fuels: chemistry in front of challenges of transformation of the energy system, the use of micro-algae, the use of hydrogen as a vector of energy transition

Climate change refugia as a tool for climate adaptation

Science.gov (United States)

Climate change refugia, areas relatively buffered from contemporary climate change so as to increase persistence of valued physical, ecological, and cultural resources, are considered as potential adaptation options in the face of anthropogenic climate change. In a collaboration ...

Climate change. Climate in Medieval time.

Science.gov (United States)

Bradley, Raymond S; Hughes, Malcolm K; Diaz, Henry F

2003-10-17

Many papers have referred to a "Medieval Warm Period." But how well defined is climate in this period, and was it as warm as or warmer than it is today? In their Perspective, Bradley et al. review the evidence and conclude that although the High Medieval (1100 to 1200 A.D.) was warmer than subsequent centuries, it was not warmer than the late 20th century. Moreover, the warmest Medieval temperatures were not synchronous around the globe. Large changes in precipitation patterns are a particular characteristic of "High Medieval" time. The underlying mechanisms for such changes must be elucidated further to inform the ongoing debate on natural climate variability and anthropogenic climate change.

Papers of the CWRA climate change symposium : understanding climate change impacts on Manitoba's water resources

International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

2003-01-01

This symposium provided an opportunity for discussions on climate change issues with particular reference to the impacts on Manitoba's water resources. The presentations addressed issues of importance to governments, scientists, academics, managers, consultants and the general public. Topics of discussion ranged from climate change impacts on water quality, wetlands, hydropower, fisheries and drought, to adaptation to climate change. Recent advances in global and regional climate modelling were highlighted along with paleo-environmental indicators of climate change. The objective was to provide a better understanding of the science of climate change. The conference featured 16 presentations of which 1 was indexed separately for inclusion in this database. refs., tabs., figs

Data base of climatic change simulations for the impact studies. Final report; Base de donnees des simulations de changement climatique a l'usage des etudes d'impact. Rapport final

Energy Technology Data Exchange (ETDEWEB)

Polcher, J.; Leboucher, V.; Planton, S.; Valcke, S

2003-12-15

Data used for the study of the climatic change impact on the environment and the society come from climate models and are affected by uncertainties. It is necessary to quantify the resulting errors in the models. The data base provides a comparison of simulations of climatic change in France. The final report presents the project methodology. Three projects using the distributed simulations are also presented. (A.L.B.)

Climate change and human health

DEFF Research Database (Denmark)

Warren, John A; Berner, James E; Curtis, Tine

2005-01-01

In northern regions, climate change can include changes in precipitation magnitude and frequency, reductions in sea ice extent and thickness, and climate warming and cooling. These changes can increase the frequency and severity of storms, flooding, or erosion; other changes may include drought...... or degradation of permafrost. Climate change can result in damage to sanitation infrastructure resulting in the spread of disease or threatening a community's ability to maintain its economy, geographic location and cultural tradition, leading to mental stress. Through monitoring of some basic indicators...... communities can begin to develop a response to climate change. With this information, planners, engineers, health care professionals and governments can begin to develop approaches to address the challenges related to climate change....

Climate Change Adaptation

DEFF Research Database (Denmark)

Hudecz, Adriána

The European Union ROADEX Project 1998 – 2012 was a trans-national roads co-operation aimed at developing ways for interactive and innovative management of low traffic volume roads throughout the cold climate regions of the Northern Periphery Area of Europe. Its goals were to facilitate co......-operation and research into the common problems of the Northern Periphery. This report is an output of the ROADEX “Implementing Accessibility” project (2009-2012). It gives a summary of the results of research into adaptation measures to combat climate change effects on low volume roads in the Northern Periphery...... causes changes in other climatic variables such as rainfall, humidity and wind speed that impact on the functioning of infrastructure such road networks. This paper discusses the climate changes predicted by the world’s meteorological organisations and considers how these may impact on the public...

Analysis and detection of climate change

International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

Thejll, P.; Stendel, M.

2001-01-01

The authors first discuss the concepts 'climate' and 'climate change detection', outlining the difficulties of the latter in terms of the properties of the former. In more detail they then discuss the analysis and detection, carried out at the Danish Climate Centre, of anthropogenic climate change and the nonanthropogenic changes regarding anthropogenic climate change the emphasis is on the improvement of global and regional climate models, and the reconstruction of past climates regarding non-anthropogenic changes the authors describe two case studies of potential solar influence on climate. (LN)

Yukon Government climate change action plan

International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

2009-02-01

This Climate Change Action Plan described the measures that are being taken by the Yukon Government to adapt to, understand, and reduce contributions to climate change. The action plan is the result of input received from more than 100 individuals and organizations and provides clear direction for a strategy that will minimize the negative impacts of climate change and provide economic, social and other environmental benefits through climate change mitigation. The Yukon government has already taken many actions that respond to climate change, such as: developing the Yukon Cold Climate Innovation Centre; supporting the Northern Climate Exchange for public education and outreach; funding community recycling depots and other groups that reduce waste generation, promote public awareness and divert solid waste; and working with provincial and territorial counterparts to enhance national building standards. The main objectives of the climate change actions are to enhance knowledge and understanding of climate change; adapt to climate change; reduce greenhouse gas emissions; and lead Yukon action in response to climate change. tabs., figs.

Climate change and nutrition: creating a climate for nutrition security.

Science.gov (United States)

Tirado, M C; Crahay, P; Mahy, L; Zanev, C; Neira, M; Msangi, S; Brown, R; Scaramella, C; Costa Coitinho, D; Müller, A

2013-12-01

Climate change further exacerbates the enormous existing burden of undernutrition. It affects food and nutrition security and undermines current efforts to reduce hunger and promote nutrition. Undernutrition in turn undermines climate resilience and the coping strategies of vulnerable populations. The objectives of this paper are to identify and undertake a cross-sectoral analysis of the impacts of climate change on nutrition security and the existing mechanisms, strategies, and policies to address them. A cross-sectoral analysis of the impacts of climate change on nutrition security and the mechanisms and policies to address them was guided by an analytical framework focused on the three 'underlying causes' of undernutrition: 1) household food access, 2) maternal and child care and feeding practices, 3) environmental health and health access. The analytical framework includes the interactions of the three underlying causes of undernutrition with climate change,vulnerability, adaptation and mitigation. Within broad efforts on climate change mitigation and adaptation and climate-resilient development, a combination of nutrition-sensitive adaptation and mitigation measures, climate-resilient and nutrition-sensitive agricultural development, social protection, improved maternal and child care and health, nutrition-sensitive risk reduction and management, community development measures, nutrition-smart investments, increased policy coherence, and institutional and cross-sectoral collaboration are proposed as a means to address the impacts of climate change to food and nutrition security. This paper proposes policy directions to address nutrition in the climate change agenda and recommendations for consideration by the UN Framework Convention on Climate Change (UNFCCC). Nutrition and health stakeholders need to be engaged in key climate change adaptation and mitigation initiatives, including science-based assessment by the Intergovernmental Panel on Climate Change (IPCC

Future health impact assessment of air pollution at the global, European and Ile-de-France scales: the Air Pollution Climate Health Impact Assessment (A-C HIA) project

International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

Likhvar, Victoria; Hauglustaine, Didier; Kinney, Patrick; Colette, Augustin; Valari, Myrto; Markakis, Konstandinos; Pascal, Mathilde; Medina, Sylvia

2016-01-01

Ozone and fine particles are current risk factors for premature death all over the globe. In coming decades, substantial improvements in public health may be achieved by reducing air pollution. The overall objective of the A-C HIA project (2011-2014) was to apply state of the art climate, air quality, and health modelling tools to assess future health impacts of O 3 and PM2.5 under different scenarios of emissions for the period 2030-2050. A-C HIA created an interdisciplinary team to study the impacts of climate change on health through air quality changes, and to establish longer-term collaborations between communities. This question has been explored at three spatial scales: global, regional (Europe), and urban (ile-de-France). We f ind that 1.5 millions of cardio-vascular deaths could be delayed each year in 2030 compared to 2010. In Europe, air-pollution-related mortality should decrease in 2030 compared to 2010. At the finer scale (ile-de-France) we found that the respiratory mortality should increase over the highly populated area of Paris. In the coming years, substantial benefits to public health could be achieved through coordinated strategies to reduce emissions of greenhouse gases and improving air quality. (authors)

An overview of climate change

International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

Masson-Delmotte, V.; Paillard, D.

2004-01-01

We describe briefly here the main mechanisms and time scales involved in natural and anthropogenic climate variability, based on quantitative paleo-climatic reconstructions from natural archives and climate model simulations: the large glacial-interglacial cycles of the last million years (the Quaternary), lasting typically a hundred thousand years, triggered by changes in the solar radiation received by the Earth due to its position around the Sun; the century-long climatic changes occurring during last glacial period and triggered by recurrent iceberg discharges of the large northern hemisphere ice caps, massive freshwater flux to the north Atlantic, and changes in the ocean heat transport. We show the strong coupling between past climatic changes and global biogeochemical cycles, namely here atmospheric greenhouse gases. We also discuss the decadal climatic fluctuations during the last thousand years, showing an unprecedented warming attributed to the anthropogenic greenhouse gas emissions. We show the range of atmospheric greenhouse concentrations forecasted for the end of the 21. century and the climate model predictions for global temperature changes during the 21. century. We also discuss the possible climatic changes at longer time scales involving the possibility of north Atlantic heat transport collapse (possibility of abrupt climate change), and the duration of the current interglacial period. (author)

Document on the climate evolutions

International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

Deque, M.; Baruch, J.O.; Theodule, M.L.; Kingler, C.; Thivent, V.; Postel-Vinay, O.; Leblois, E.; Gascard, J.C.; Quadfasel, D.

2006-01-01

What will be the climate in 2050? From specialists, 2050 is the date of the first signs of the climatic change consequences. In France the daily life will not be very modified, but some activities which depend on the hydrology, will have to adapt. The vegetation modifications, will be little in some areas. Elsewhere, they would be radical: no more arctic ice field in summer, some island flooded by the sea. The authors show also the human activities which will be favored by the climatic change. (A.L.B.)

CO2 and energy. France and the World. Edition 2009

International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

2009-01-01

While providing many graphs, tables and drawings, this report gives an overview of climate change (greenhouse effect, influence of human activity, greenhouse gases tanks and fluxes, increase of greenhouse gas atmospheric stock, greenhouse gas concentration and temperatures, climate warming and its consequences), of greenhouse gases in Europe and in the world, of CO 2 emissions related to energy production and combustion in the world, in Europe and in France (globally and by transports, industry and buildings). The authors present the different economic tools designed for the struggle against climate change: the Kyoto protocol, the clean development mechanism, the joint implementation mechanism, the negotiable emission permit market, the European Union commitments, the European emission trade system, the emergence of CO 2 ton price, and other emission reduction initiatives

Early signs of range disjunction of submountainous plant species: an unexplored consequence of future and contemporary climate changes.

Science.gov (United States)

Kuhn, Emilien; Lenoir, Jonathan; Piedallu, Christian; Gégout, Jean-Claude

2016-06-01

Poleward and upward species range shifts are the most commonly anticipated and studied consequences of climate warming. However, these global responses to climate change obscure more complex distribution change patterns. We hypothesize that the spatial arrangement of mountain ranges and, consequently, climatic gradients in Europe, will result in range disjunctions. This hypothesis was investigated for submountainous forest plant species at two temporal and spatial scales: (i) under future climate change (between 1950-2000 and 2061-2080 periods) at the European scale and (ii) under contemporary climate change (between 1914-1987 and 1997-2013 periods) at the French scale. We selected 97 submountainous forest plant species occurring in France, among which distribution data across Europe are available for 25 species. By projecting future distribution changes for the 25 submountainous plant species across Europe, we demonstrated that range disjunction is a likely consequence of future climate change. To assess whether it is already taking place, we used a large forest vegetation-plot database covering the entire French territory over 100 years (1914-2013) and found an average decrease in frequency (-0.01 ± 0.004) in lowland areas for the 97 submountainous species - corresponding to a loss of 6% of their historical frequency - along with southward and upward range shifts, suggesting early signs of range disjunctions. Climate-induced range disjunctions should be considered more carefully since they could have dramatic consequences on population genetics and the ability of species to face future climate changes. © 2016 John Wiley & Sons Ltd.

Using Web GIS "Climate" for Adaptation to Climate Change

Science.gov (United States)

Gordova, Yulia; Martynova, Yulia; Shulgina, Tamara

2015-04-01

A work is devoted to the application of an information-computational Web GIS "Climate" developed by joint team of the Institute of Monitoring of Climatic and Ecological Systems SB RAS and Tomsk State University to raise awareness about current and future climate change as a basis for further adaptation. Web-GIS "Climate» (http://climate.scert.ru/) based on modern concepts of Web 2.0 provides opportunities to study regional climate change and its consequences by providing access to climate and weather models, a large set of geophysical data and means of processing and visualization. Also, the system is used for the joint development of software applications by distributed research teams, research based on these applications and undergraduate and graduate students training. In addition, the system capabilities allow creating information resources to raise public awareness about climate change, its causes and consequences, which is a necessary step for the subsequent adaptation to these changes. Basic information course on climate change is placed in the public domain and is aimed at local population. Basic concepts and problems of modern climate change and its possible consequences are set out and illustrated in accessible language. Particular attention is paid to regional climate changes. In addition to the information part, the course also includes a selection of links to popular science network resources on current issues in Earth Sciences and a number of practical tasks to consolidate the material. These tasks are performed for a particular territory. Within the tasks users need to analyze the prepared within the "Climate" map layers and answer questions of direct interest to the public: "How did the minimum value of winter temperatures change in your area?", "What are the dynamics of maximum summer temperatures?", etc. Carrying out the analysis of the dynamics of climate change contributes to a better understanding of climate processes and further adaptation

Climates Past, Present, and Yet-to-Come Shape Climate Change Vulnerabilities.

Science.gov (United States)

Nadeau, Christopher P; Urban, Mark C; Bridle, Jon R

2017-10-01

Climate change is altering life at multiple scales, from genes to ecosystems. Predicting the vulnerability of populations to climate change is crucial to mitigate negative impacts. We suggest that regional patterns of spatial and temporal climatic variation scaled to the traits of an organism can predict where and why populations are most vulnerable to climate change. Specifically, historical climatic variation affects the sensitivity and response capacity of populations to climate change by shaping traits and the genetic variation in those traits. Present and future climatic variation can affect both climate change exposure and population responses. We provide seven predictions for how climatic variation might affect the vulnerability of populations to climate change and suggest key directions for future research. Copyright © 2017 Elsevier Ltd. All rights reserved.

The Inuit and climate change

Energy Technology Data Exchange (ETDEWEB)

Fenge, T.

2001-12-31

Marked climate change has been forecast for regions in high latitudes by global climate models presented by the Intergovernmental Panel on Climate Change. Observations and reports of significant alterations to the natural environment of Canada's north have been reported by Inuit and other indigenous peoples using their traditional ecological knowledge as a reference. Global climate change appears to be the cause for the changes noted. Many aspects of climate change need to be addressed, such as research, outreach, impacts, adaptations and international negotiations. Based on the strong partnership that had been developed between the Inuit and four federal agencies, three territorial governments and four indigenous people's organizations in support of the Northern Contaminants Program, Inuit are now seeking a partnership with the federal government to address the issues mentioned above concerning climate change. refs., 1 tab.

Adapting to climate change

DEFF Research Database (Denmark)

Arndt, Channing; Strzepek, Kenneth; Tarp, Finn

2011-01-01

Mozambique, like many African countries, is already highly susceptible to climate variability and extreme weather events. Climate change threatens to heighten this vulnerability. In order to evaluate potential impacts and adaptation options for Mozambique, we develop an integrated modeling...... framework that translates atmospheric changes from general circulation model projections into biophysical outcomes via detailed hydrologic, crop, hydropower and infrastructure models. These sector models simulate a historical baseline and four extreme climate change scenarios. Sector results are then passed...... down to a dynamic computable general equilibrium model, which is used to estimate economy-wide impacts on national welfare, as well as the total cost of damages caused by climate change. Potential damages without changes in policy are significant; our discounted estimates range from US2.3 to US2.3toUS7...

Climate change research - Danish contributions

International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

Joergensen, A.M.K.; Fenger, J.; Halsnaes, K.

2001-01-01

The book describes a series of Danish scientific and technical studies. They broadly reflect the fields and disciplines embraced by assessments of the Intergovernmental Panel on Climate Change (IPCC), but with an emphasis on natural sciences (i.e. climate investigations and impact studies). After the general introduction, that presents the issue and gives a summary of the content of the book, the chapters are organised in four parts: 1. The Climate System and Climate Variations. 2. Climate Change Scenarios. 3. Impacts of Climate Change. 4. Policy Aspects. Each chapter is indexed separately. (LN)

Climate induced changes on the hydrology of Mediterranean basins - assessing uncertainties and quantifying risks

Science.gov (United States)

Ludwig, Ralf

2014-05-01

According to current climate projections, the Mediterranean area is at high risk for severe changes in the hydrological budget and extremes. With innovative scientific measures, integrated hydrological modeling and novel field geophysical field monitoring techniques, the FP7 project CLIMB (Climate Induced Changes on the Hydrology of Mediterranean Basins; GA: 244151) assessed the impacts of climate change on the hydrology in seven basins in the Mediterranean area, in Italy, France, Turkey, Tunisia, Egypt and the Gaza Strip, and quantified uncertainties and risks for the main stakeholders of each test site. Intensive climate model auditing selected four regional climate models, whose data was bias corrected and downscaled to serve as climate forcing for a set of hydrological models in each site. The results of the multi-model hydro-climatic ensemble and socio-economic factor analysis were applied to develop a risk model building upon spatial vulnerability and risk assessment. Findings generally reveal an increasing risk for water resources management in the test sites, yet at different rates and severity in the investigated sectors, with highest impacts likely to occur in the transition months. Most important elements of this research include the following aspects: • Climate change contributes, yet in strong regional variation, to water scarcity in the Mediterranean; other factors, e.g. pollution or poor management practices, are regionally still dominant pressures on water resources. • Rain-fed agriculture needs to adapt to seasonal changes; stable or increasing productivity likely depends on additional irrigation. • Tourism could benefit in shoulder seasons, but may expect income losses in the summer peak season due to increasing heat stress. • Local & regional water managers and water users, lack, as yet, awareness of climate change induced risks; emerging focus areas are supplies of domestic drinking water, irrigation, hydropower and livestock. • Data

Postglacial dispersal of Phlebotomus perniciosus into France

Directory of Open Access Journals (Sweden)

Perrotey S.

2005-12-01

Full Text Available Phlebotomus perniciosus was identified morphologically in samples from France and northeast Spain, and individuals were then characterized at three polymorphic isoenzyme loci (by isoelectrofocusing and at the mitochondrial DNA locus (by comparative DNA sequence analysis of a fragment of the Cytochrome b gene. The four polymorphic loci gave conflicting patterns of population relationships, which can be explained by hypothesizing different amounts of gene introgression at each locus when two distinctive lineages met in southern France or northeast Spain after isolation in southern Italy and Spain during the Pleistocene Ice Ages. P. perniciosus is an important vector of Leishmania infantum and so these population differentiation studies are relevant for predicting the emergence and spread of leishmaniasis in relation to environmental changes, including climate.

Climate engineering research : A precautionary response to climate change?

NARCIS (Netherlands)

Reynolds, J.L.; Fleurke, F.M.

2013-01-01

In the face of dire forecasts for anthropogenic climate change, climate engineering is increasingly discussed as a possible additional set of responses to reduce climate change’s threat. These proposals have been controversial, in part because they – like climate change itself – pose uncertain risks

Climate change, conflict and health.

Science.gov (United States)

Bowles, Devin C; Butler, Colin D; Morisetti, Neil

2015-10-01

Future climate change is predicted to diminish essential natural resource availability in many regions and perhaps globally. The resulting scarcity of water, food and livelihoods could lead to increasingly desperate populations that challenge governments, enhancing the risk of intra- and interstate conflict. Defence establishments and some political scientists view climate change as a potential threat to peace. While the medical literature increasingly recognises climate change as a fundamental health risk, the dimension of climate change-associated conflict has so far received little attention, despite its profound health implications. Many analysts link climate change with a heightened risk of conflict via causal pathways which involve diminishing or changing resource availability. Plausible consequences include: increased frequency of civil conflict in developing countries; terrorism, asymmetric warfare, state failure; and major regional conflicts. The medical understanding of these threats is inadequate, given the scale of health implications. The medical and public health communities have often been reluctant to interpret conflict as a health issue. However, at times, medical workers have proven powerful and effective peace advocates, most notably with regard to nuclear disarmament. The public is more motivated to mitigate climate change when it is framed as a health issue. Improved medical understanding of the association between climate change and conflict could strengthen mitigation efforts and increase cooperation to cope with the climate change that is now inevitable. © The Royal Society of Medicine.

Final report of the project CARBOFOR. Carbon sequestration in the big forest ecosystems in France. Quantification, spatialization, vulnerability and impacts of different climatic and forestry scenario

International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

Loustau, D.

2004-06-01

The main outcomes of the project allowed to revise the carbon stock estimate of the national french forests, to clarify the interactions between climate and sylviculture according to the ecological profile of main species, to describe the changes in species area distribution for forest trees and pathogens. Different approaches for estimating the national carbon stock in forest biomass were investigated such as biomass equations and architectural models. Some conclusions in terms of adaptation scenario can be drawn. The global production potential of the french forest will be changed. This change is rapid and will occur a time interval shorter than average tree life duration. Species substitution and changing practices must be considered from now. The soil water holding capacity and the nutrient availability interact strongly with the climate effects and are therefore target factors for adapting forest stands to future changes. The dramatic change in the potential area distribution of most pathogens over France lead to recommend strong regulations for avoiding dissemination of fungal diseases and to anticipate the pathogen risks through species distribution. (A.L.B.)

Climate change: what perspectives for the development of renewable energies in France and in Europe?

International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

Mousel, M.; Kandel, R.; Connor, H.

2000-01-01

The greatest challenge facing the world at the beginning of the century, according to hundreds of business and government leaders is climate change. Different propositions can help fighting against a global warming. The development of renewable energy sources, ( wind power, geothermal power) the market of carbon dioxide, the reduction of greenhouse gases emissions, path by path, the building and the heat network are so possibilities that are studied. (N.C.)

Forestry Canada's perspectives on climate change

International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

Hall, J.P.; Carlson, L.W.

1990-01-01

The impacts of climatic change on Canada's forestry sector are discussed, in the context of major research priorities relating to forecasting climate, forecasting forest responses, monitoring changes, mitigating effects, and understanding the forest carbon balance. There are five major concerns that affect policy decisions: effects of climatic change on forests; adaptation to climate change; impacts of changing crops on forestry; changing forestry values in changing sociological settings; and international implications of the changing climate. A scientific program to respond to climate change issues is required, and should include the following concentrations of research effort. Planning requires projections of likely future climates, and efforts should concern relations between pre-historic climates and forest ecosystems and integrating data into predictive models. Forecasting of response of forests should include tree physiology, factors controlling reforestation, variations in forest trees, effects of pollutants, damage to forests, and forest decline

Climate Change Indicators

Science.gov (United States)

Presents information, charts and graphs showing measured climate changes across 40 indicators related to greenhouse gases, weather and climate, oceans, snow and ice, heath and society, and ecosystems.

When climate science became climate politics: British media representations of climate change in 1988.

Science.gov (United States)

Jaspal, Rusi; Nerlich, Brigitte

2014-02-01

Climate change has become a pressing environmental concern for scientists, social commentators and politicians. Previous social science research has explored media representations of climate change in various temporal and geographical contexts. Through the lens of Social Representations Theory, this article provides a detailed qualitative thematic analysis of media representations of climate change in the 1988 British broadsheet press, given that this year constitutes an important juncture in this transition of climate change from the domain of science to that of the socio-political sphere. The following themes are outlined: (i) "Climate change: a multi-faceted threat"; (ii) "Collectivisation of threat"; (iii) "Climate change and the attribution of blame"; and (iv) "Speculative solutions to a complex socio-environmental problem." The article provides detailed empirical insights into the "starting-point" for present-day disputes concerning climate change and lays the theoretical foundations for tracking the continuities and discontinuities characterising social representations of climate change in the future.

Our knowledge on climate change

International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

Turkenburg, W.C.; Van Wijk, A.J.M.

1991-01-01

A workshop was organised to evaluate and discuss the report 'Scientific Assessment of Climate Change (1990)' of the Intergovernmental Panel on Climate Change (IPCC). Thirty prominent Dutch experts in the field attended the workshop. The introductions and discussions held on our knowledge of climatic change as a result of the growth of the greenhouse effect caused by the emission of greenhouse gases from human actions are presented. It is concluded that the IPCC-report shows in a clear and balanced way the certainties and uncertainties in our knowledge of climate change. There is a large chance that the earth's climate will change considerably, if the policy remains unamended. 15 figs., 2 apps

Climate change: biological and human aspects

Energy Technology Data Exchange (ETDEWEB)

Jonathan Cowie

2007-07-15

The textbook provides a broad review of past, present and likely future climate change from the viewpoints of biology, ecology and human ecology. Contents are: 1. An introduction to climate change; 2. Principal indicators of past climates; 3. Past climate change; 4. The Oligocene to the Quaternary: climate and biology; 5. Present climate and biological change; 6. Current warming and likely future impacts; 7. Human ecology of climate change; 8. Sustainability and policy; Appendix 1. Glossary and acronyms; Appendix 2. Bio-geological timescale; Appendix 3. Calculations of energy demand/supply, and orders of magnitude; Index. 69 figs.

Our Changing Climate: A Brand New Way to Study Climate Science

Science.gov (United States)

Brey, J. A.; Kauffman, C.; Geer, I.; Nugnes, K. A.; Mills, E. W.

2014-12-01

Earth's climate is inherently variable, but is currently changing at rates unprecedented in recent Earth history. Human activity plays a major role in this change and is projected to do so well into the future. This is the stance taken in Our Changing Climate, the brand new climate science ebook from the American Meteorological Society (AMS). Our Changing Climate investigates Earth's climate system, explores humans' impact on it, and identifies actions needed in response to climate change. Released in August 2014, Our Changing Climate is the result of a year's worth of intensive research and writing, incorporating the latest scientific understandings of Earth's climate system from reports such as IPCC AR5 and the Third National Climate Assessment. To encourage additional exploration of climate science information, scientific literature, from which chapter content was derived, is cited at the conclusion of each chapter. In addition, Topic In Depth sections appear throughout each chapter and lead to more extensive information related to various topics. For example, a Topic In Depth in Chapter 11 describes the effect of climate extremes on ranching enterprises in Nebraska. Climate science is multi-disciplinary and therefore Our Changing Climate covers a breadth of topics. From understanding basic statistics and geospatial tools used to investigate Earth's climate system to examining the psychological and financial reasons behind climate change denial, the AMS believes that a multi-disciplinary approach is the most effective way to increase climate literacy. Our Changing Climate is part of the AMS Climate Studies course which is intended for undergraduate-level students. Other course materials include an eInvestigations Manual and access to the RealTime Climate Portal, both of which provide weekly activities corresponding to that week's chapter content. The RealTime Climate Portal also has links to climate data as well as societal interactions and climate policy

Climate change and One Health.

Science.gov (United States)

Zinsstag, Jakob; Crump, Lisa; Schelling, Esther; Hattendorf, Jan; Maidane, Yahya Osman; Ali, Kadra Osman; Muhummed, Abdifatah; Umer, Abdurezak Adem; Aliyi, Ferzua; Nooh, Faisal; Abdikadir, Mohammed Ibrahim; Ali, Seid Mohammed; Hartinger, Stella; Mäusezahl, Daniel; de White, Monica Berger Gonzalez; Cordon-Rosales, Celia; Castillo, Danilo Alvarez; McCracken, John; Abakar, Fayiz; Cercamondi, Colin; Emmenegger, Sandro; Maier, Edith; Karanja, Simon; Bolon, Isabelle; de Castañeda, Rafael Ruiz; Bonfoh, Bassirou; Tschopp, Rea; Probst-Hensch, Nicole; Cissé, Guéladio

2018-06-01

The journal The Lancet recently published a countdown on health and climate change. Attention was focused solely on humans. However, animals, including wildlife, livestock and pets, may also be impacted by climate change. Complementary to the high relevance of awareness rising for protecting humans against climate change, here we present a One Health approach, which aims at the simultaneous protection of humans, animals and the environment from climate change impacts (climate change adaptation). We postulate that integrated approaches save human and animal lives and reduce costs when compared to public and animal health sectors working separately. A One Health approach to climate change adaptation may significantly contribute to food security with emphasis on animal source foods, extensive livestock systems, particularly ruminant livestock, environmental sanitation, and steps towards regional and global integrated syndromic surveillance and response systems. The cost of outbreaks of emerging vector-borne zoonotic pathogens may be much lower if they are detected early in the vector or in livestock rather than later in humans. Therefore, integrated community-based surveillance of zoonoses is a promising avenue to reduce health effects of climate change.

Predominant mycotoxins, mycotoxigenic fungi and climate change related to wine.

Science.gov (United States)

Paterson, R Russell M; Venâncio, Armando; Lima, Nelson; Guilloux-Bénatier, Michèle; Rousseaux, Sandrine

2018-01-01

Wine is a significant contributor to the economies of many countries. However, the commodity can become contaminated with mycotoxins produced by certain fungi. Most information on mycotoxins in wine is from Spain, Italy and France. Grapes can be infected by mycotoxigenic fungi, of which Aspergillus carbonarius producing ochratoxin A (OTA) is of highest concern. Climate is the most important factor in determining contamination once the fungi are established, with high temperatures being a major factor for OTA contamination: OTA in wine is at higher concentrations in warmer southern Europe than northern. Contamination by fumonisins is a particular concern, related to Aspergillus niger producing these compounds and the fungus being isolated frequently from grapes. Aflatoxins can be present in wine, but patulin is seldom detected. Alternaria mycotoxins (e.g. alternariol) have been frequently observed. There are indications that T-2 toxin may be common. Also, the combined effects of mycotoxins in wine require consideration. No other mycotoxins are currently of concern. Accurate fungal identifications and mycotoxin detection from the fungi are important and a consideration of practical methods are required. There is a diversity of wines that can be contaminated (e.g. red, white, sweet, dry and fortified). The occurrence of OTA is higher in red and sweet than white wines. Steps to control mycotoxins in wine involve good agriculture practices. The effect of climate change on vines and mycotoxins in wine needs urgent consideration by well-constructed modelling studies and expert interpretation of existing data. Reliable models of the effect of climate change on vines is a priority: the health of vines affects mycotoxin contamination. A modelling study of OTA in grapes at higher temperatures over 100years is required. Progress has been made in reducing OTA in wine. The other mycotoxins require consideration and the effects of climate change will become crucial. Copyright �

Deducing Climatic Elasticity to Assess Projected Climate Change Impacts on Streamflow Change across China

Science.gov (United States)

Liu, Jianyu; Zhang, Qiang; Zhang, Yongqiang; Chen, Xi; Li, Jianfeng; Aryal, Santosh K.

2017-10-01

Climatic elasticity has been widely applied to assess streamflow responses to climate changes. To fully assess impacts of climate under global warming on streamflow and reduce the error and uncertainty from various control variables, we develop a four-parameter (precipitation, catchment characteristics n, and maximum and minimum temperatures) climatic elasticity method named PnT, based on the widely used Budyko framework and simplified Makkink equation. We use this method to carry out the first comprehensive evaluation of the streamflow response to potential climate change for 372 widely spread catchments in China. The PnT climatic elasticity was first evaluated for a period 1980-2000, and then used to evaluate streamflow change response to climate change based on 12 global climate models under Representative Concentration Pathway 2.6 (RCP2.6) and RCP 8.5 emission scenarios. The results show that (1) the PnT climatic elasticity method is reliable; (2) projected increasing streamflow takes place in more than 60% of the selected catchments, with mean increments of 9% and 15.4% under RCP2.6 and RCP8.5 respectively; and (3) uncertainties in the projected streamflow are considerable in several regions, such as the Pearl River and Yellow River, with more than 40% of the selected catchments showing inconsistent change directions. Our results can help Chinese policy makers to manage and plan water resources more effectively, and the PnT climatic elasticity should be applied to other parts of the world.

Europeans' attitudes towards climate change

International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

2009-07-01

This report presents the results of a survey on Europeans' attitudes towards climate change which was carried out in January and February 2009. The survey focuses on: Citizens' perceptions of climate change in relation to other world problems; Citizens' perceptions of the seriousness of climate change; The extent to which citizens feel informed about climate change - its causes, consequences and ways of fighting it; Citizens' attitudes towards alternative fuels and CO2 emissions; Whether citizens feel that climate change is stoppable or has been exaggerated, and what impact it has on the European economy; Whether citizens have taken personal action to fight climate change. This Eurobarometer survey was carried out by TNS Opinion and Social network between 16 January and 22 February 2009. The interviews were conducted among 26,718 citizens in the 27 Member States of the European Union, the three candidate countries for accession to the European Union (Croatia, Turkey and the Former Yugoslav Republic of Macedonia) and in the Turkish Cypriot Community.

Climate change and climate policy; Klimaendringer og klimapolitikk

Energy Technology Data Exchange (ETDEWEB)

Alfsen, Knut H.; Kolshus, Hans H.; Torvanger, Asbjoern

2000-08-01

The climate issue is a great political and scientific challenge for several reasons: (1) There are many uncertain aspects of the climate problem, such as future emission of climate gases, the response of the climate system upon these gases, and the effects of climate changes. (2) It is probable, however, that anthropogenic emission of climate gases, deforestation etc. will cause noticeable climate changes in the future. This might be observed as increased frequency of extreme weather situations. This appears to be a greater threat than a gradual increase of temperature and precipitation. (3) Since the climate system is large and react only relatively slowly on changes in for instance the emission of climate gases, the climate problem can only be solved by means of long-term measures. (4) The climate changes may be irreversible. A rational short-term strategy is to ensure maximum flexibility, which can be done by ''slowing down'' (curtailing emissions) and by avoiding irreversible actions as much as possible. The long-term challenge is to develop an economically responsible alternative to the present fossil-based energy system that permits carbon-efficient technologies to compete on price with coal and unconventional oil and gas. Norway is in a special position by being a large exporter of fossil fuel and at the same time wanting to appear responsible in environmental matters. This combination may incur considerable expenses upon Norway and it is therefore important that environmental commitments like the Kyoto agreement can be honoured to the lowest possible cost. The costs can be minimized by: (1) minimizing the measure costs in Norway, (2) working to make the international quota price as low as possible, and (3) reducing the loss of petroleum income as much as possible. This report describes the earth's climate history, the forces behind climatic changes and what the prospects for the future look like. It also reviews what is being done

The international perception of scientific discourse about the climate threat by public in six countries: South Africa, Brazil, China, United States, France, India. Investigation report

International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

Baecher, Cedric; Dutreix, Nicolas; Buick, Rebecca; Ioualalen, Romain; Guyot, Paul; Campagne, Jean-Charles; Collomb, Etienne

2012-01-01

Based on a bibliographic study, a web-based study, qualitative interviews, a quantitative field survey, a study of some results from the ScenaRio 2012 project, this investigation aimed at highlighting the perception that people of different countries and cultural backgrounds (South Africa, Brazil, China, United States, France, India) have from the scientific discourse on climate change threat. The authors first give an overview of the sources of scientific discourse on climate change (primary sources like scientific institutions, GIEC, secondary sources), then analyse how this discourse is relayed by the media (media operation principles, recent trends, Internet, messages and tools to communicate with public opinions). They analyse and comment the behaviour of the different public opinions, outline the determining factors of public opinions, the diversity of noticed profiles, and the behaviour of young generations. They also propose a comparison between countries and a synthesis of results for each country

Climate change: against despair

OpenAIRE

McKinnon, Catriona

2014-01-01

In the face of accelerating climate change and the parlous state of its politics, despair is tempting. This paper analyses two manifestations of despair about climate change related to (1) the inefficacy of personal emissions reductions, and (2) the inability to make a difference to climate change through personal emissions reductions. On the back of an analysis of despair as a loss of hope, the paper argues that the judgements grounding each form of despair are unsound. The paper concludes w...

Climate change in China and China’s policies and actions for addressing climate change

Directory of Open Access Journals (Sweden)

Luo Y.

2010-12-01

Full Text Available Since the first assessment report (FAR of Inter-Governmental Panel on Climate Change (IPCC in 1990, the international scientific community has made substantial progresses in climate change sciences. Changes in components of climate system, including the atmosphere, oceans and cryosphere, indicate that global warming is unequivocal. Instrumental records demonstrate that the global mean temperature has a significant increasing trend during the 20th century and in the latest 50 years the warming become faster. In the meantime, the global sea level has a strong increasing trend, as well as the snow coverage of Northern Hemisphere showed an obvious downward trend. Moreover, the global warming plays a key role in significantly affecting the climate system and social-economy on both global and regional scales, such as sea level rise, melting of mountain glaciers and ice sheets, desertification, deforestation, increase of weather extremes (typhoon, hurricane and rainstorm and so on. The state of the art understanding of IPCC Fourth Assessment Report (AR4 was most of the observed increase in global average temperatures since the mid-20th century is very likely due to the observed increase in the concentrations of anthropogenic greenhouse gases. Climate change issues, as a grave challenge to the sustainable development of the human society, have received ever greater attention from the international community. Deeply cognizant of the complexity and extensive influence of these issues and fully aware of the arduousness and urgency of the task of addressing climate change, the Chinese government is determined to address climate change in the process of pursuing sustainable development. The facts of climate change in China and its impacts, and China’s policies and actions for addressing climate change are introduced in this paper.

Climate change matters.

Science.gov (United States)

Macpherson, Cheryl Cox

2014-04-01

One manifestation of climate change is the increasingly severe extreme weather that causes injury, illness and death through heat stress, air pollution, infectious disease and other means. Leading health organisations around the world are responding to the related water and food shortages and volatility of energy and agriculture prices that threaten health and health economics. Environmental and climate ethics highlight the associated challenges to human rights and distributive justice but rarely address health or encompass bioethical methods or analyses. Public health ethics and its broader umbrella, bioethics, remain relatively silent on climate change. Meanwhile global population growth creates more people who aspire to Western lifestyles and unrestrained socioeconomic growth. Fulfilling these aspirations generates more emissions; worsens climate change; and undermines virtues and values that engender appreciation of, and protections for, natural resources. Greater understanding of how virtues and values are evolving in different contexts, and the associated consequences, might nudge the individual and collective priorities that inform public policy toward embracing stewardship and responsibility for environmental resources necessary to health. Instead of neglecting climate change and related policy, public health ethics and bioethics should explore these issues; bring transparency to the tradeoffs that permit emissions to continue at current rates; and offer deeper understanding about what is at stake and what it means to live a good life in today's world.

Climate Change and Natural Disasters

NARCIS (Netherlands)

Merkouris, Panos; Negri, Stefania; Maljean-Dubois, Sandrine

2014-01-01

Only 21 years ago, in 1992, the first ever convention on climate change, the United Nations Framework Convention on Climate Change (UNFCCC) was signed. The science behind studying climate change and its effects on the environment is not only mind-boggling but still in its infancy. It should come

Can molluscan assemblages give insights into Holocene environmental changes other than sea level rise? A case study from a macrotidal bay (Marennes-Oleron, France)

OpenAIRE

Poirier, Clement; Sauriau, Pierre-guy; Chaumillon, Eric; Allard, Jonathan

2009-01-01

During the Late Holocene, the rate of sea level rise decreased and climate changes, hydrodynamic processes or anthropogenic impacts became predominant parameters governing the sedimentary infill of estuarine environments. The aim of this study is to describe the response of past benthic mollusc communities to these forcing factors. Mollusc skeletal remains were sampled from three 8000, 5500 and 2600 year-long sedimentary records in the Marennes-Oleron Bay (Atlantic Coast, France), where envir...

The British Climate Change Act: a critical evaluation and proposed alternative approach

International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

Pielke Jr, Roger A

2009-01-01

This paper evaluates the United Kingdom's Climate Change Act of 2008 in terms of the implied rates of decarbonization of the UK economy for a short-term and a long-term target established in law. The paper uses the Kaya identity to structure the evaluation, employing both a bottom up approach (based on projections of future UK population, economic growth, and technology) and a top down approach (deriving implied rates of decarbonization consistent with the targets and various rates of projected economic growth). Both approaches indicate that the UK economy would have to achieve annual rates of decarbonization in excess of 4 or 5%. To place these numbers in context, the UK would have to achieve the 2006 carbon efficiency of France by about 2015, a level of effort comparable to the building of about 30 new nuclear power plants, displacing an equivalent amount of fossil energy. The paper argues that the magnitude of the task implied by the UK Climate Change Act strongly suggests that it is on course to fail, and discusses implications.

Climate change, climatic variation and extreme biological responses.

Science.gov (United States)

Palmer, Georgina; Platts, Philip J; Brereton, Tom; Chapman, Jason W; Dytham, Calvin; Fox, Richard; Pearce-Higgins, James W; Roy, David B; Hill, Jane K; Thomas, Chris D

2017-06-19

Extreme climatic events could be major drivers of biodiversity change, but it is unclear whether extreme biological changes are (i) individualistic (species- or group-specific), (ii) commonly associated with unusual climatic events and/or (iii) important determinants of long-term population trends. Using population time series for 238 widespread species (207 Lepidoptera and 31 birds) in England since 1968, we found that population 'crashes' (outliers in terms of species' year-to-year population changes) were 46% more frequent than population 'explosions'. (i) Every year, at least three species experienced extreme changes in population size, and in 41 of the 44 years considered, some species experienced population crashes while others simultaneously experienced population explosions. This suggests that, even within the same broad taxonomic groups, species are exhibiting individualistic dynamics, most probably driven by their responses to different, short-term events associated with climatic variability. (ii) Six out of 44 years showed a significant excess of species experiencing extreme population changes (5 years for Lepidoptera, 1 for birds). These 'consensus years' were associated with climatically extreme years, consistent with a link between extreme population responses and climatic variability, although not all climatically extreme years generated excess numbers of extreme population responses. (iii) Links between extreme population changes and long-term population trends were absent in Lepidoptera and modest (but significant) in birds. We conclude that extreme biological responses are individualistic, in the sense that the extreme population changes of most species are taking place in different years, and that long-term trends of widespread species have not, to date, been dominated by these extreme changes.This article is part of the themed issue 'Behavioural, ecological and evolutionary responses to extreme climatic events'. © 2017 The Authors.

Accounting for multiple climate components when estimating climate change exposure and velocity

Science.gov (United States)

Nadeau, Christopher P.; Fuller, Angela K.

2015-01-01

The effect of anthropogenic climate change on organisms will likely be related to climate change exposure and velocity at local and regional scales. However, common methods to estimate climate change exposure and velocity ignore important components of climate that are known to affect the ecology and evolution of organisms.We develop a novel index of climate change (climate overlap) that simultaneously estimates changes in the means, variation and correlation between multiple weather variables. Specifically, we estimate the overlap between multivariate normal probability distributions representing historical and current or projected future climates. We provide methods for estimating the statistical significance of climate overlap values and methods to estimate velocity using climate overlap.We show that climates have changed significantly across 80% of the continental United States in the last 32 years and that much of this change is due to changes in the variation and correlation between weather variables (two statistics that are rarely incorporated into climate change studies). We also show that projected future temperatures are predicted to be locally novel (using climate overlap compared to 1·4 km yr−1 when estimated using traditional methods.Our results suggest that accounting for changes in the means, variation and correlation between multiple weather variables can dramatically affect estimates of climate change exposure and velocity. These climate components are known to affect the ecology and evolution of organisms, but are ignored by most measures of climate change. We conclude with a set of future directions and recommend future work to determine which measures of climate change exposure and velocity are most related to biological responses to climate change.

Biodiversity and Climate Change

International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

Onyango, J.C.O.; Ojoo-Massawa, E.; Abira, M.A.

1997-01-01

Biological diversity or biodiversity is crucial for ecological stability including regulation of climate change, recreational and medicinal use; and scientific advancement. Kenya like other developing countries, especially, those in Sub-Saharan Africa, will continue to depend greatly on her biodiversity for present and future development. This important resource must, therefore be conserved. This chapter presents an overview of Kenya's biodiversity; its importance and initiatives being undertaken for its conservation; and in detail, explores issues of climate change and biodiversity, concentrating on impacts of climate change

Panel established to revise position statement on climate change

Science.gov (United States)

President Robert Dickinson has appointed a panel to review the current AGU position statement on climate change and greenhouse gases, and to consider revising the statement to reflect scientific progress over the last four years. Marvin Geller of the State University of New York-Stonybrook chairs the panel.Other panel members include: Andre Berger, George Lemaître Catholic University of Louvain, Belgium; Anny Cazenave, Observatoire Midi-Pyrénées, Toulouse, France; John Christy, University of Alabama, Huntsville; Ellen Druffel, University of California, Irvine; Jack Fellows, University Consortium for Atmospheric Research, Boulder; Hiroshi Kanzawa, Nagoya University, Japan; William Schlesinger, Duke University, Durham; William (Jim) Shuttleworth, University of Arizona; Eric Sundquist, U.S. Geological Survey, Woods Hole; Richard Turco, University of California, Los Angeles; Ilana Wainer, Universidade Cidade Sao Paulo, Brazil.

Climate change experiments in Hamburg

Energy Technology Data Exchange (ETDEWEB)

Gubasch, U [DKRZ, Hamburg (Germany)

1996-12-31

Nowadays the anthropogenic climate change is been simulated world wide with a fair number of coupled ocean atmosphere general circulation models (IPCC, 1995). Typical model problems do not only blur the estimates of the anthropogenic climate change, but they also cause errors in the estimates of the natural variability. An accurate representation of the natural variability of the climate system is, however, essential for the detection of the anthropogenic climate change. All model simulations world wide show, even though they differ considerably in their technical details and the experimental setup and the forcing data, similar amplitudes and pattern of the predicted climate change. In the model world it is already at the beginning of the next century possible to detect the anthropogenic climate change in the global mean. If the model results are applied in a `fingerprint analysis`, then it is possible to prove that the climate change during the last 30 years is with a significance of 95 % larger than any other climate change during the last 100 years. The experiments performed in Hamburg show that the experimental conditions are of great importance for the estimate of the future climate. The usual starting point of most of the simulations with present day conditions (1980-1990) is too late, because then a considerable part of the warming since the beginning of the industrialization (ca. 1750) has been neglected. Furthermore it has only recently become clear that the sulphat-aerosols play an important role in the present day climate and in the future climate. The effect of the sulphat aerosols has first been simulated in a number of equilibrium simulations with mixed layer models, but nowadays with globally coupled ocean-atmosphere circulation models

Climate change experiments in Hamburg

Energy Technology Data Exchange (ETDEWEB)

Gubasch, U. [DKRZ, Hamburg (Germany)

1995-12-31

Nowadays the anthropogenic climate change is been simulated world wide with a fair number of coupled ocean atmosphere general circulation models (IPCC, 1995). Typical model problems do not only blur the estimates of the anthropogenic climate change, but they also cause errors in the estimates of the natural variability. An accurate representation of the natural variability of the climate system is, however, essential for the detection of the anthropogenic climate change. All model simulations world wide show, even though they differ considerably in their technical details and the experimental setup and the forcing data, similar amplitudes and pattern of the predicted climate change. In the model world it is already at the beginning of the next century possible to detect the anthropogenic climate change in the global mean. If the model results are applied in a `fingerprint analysis`, then it is possible to prove that the climate change during the last 30 years is with a significance of 95 % larger than any other climate change during the last 100 years. The experiments performed in Hamburg show that the experimental conditions are of great importance for the estimate of the future climate. The usual starting point of most of the simulations with present day conditions (1980-1990) is too late, because then a considerable part of the warming since the beginning of the industrialization (ca. 1750) has been neglected. Furthermore it has only recently become clear that the sulphat-aerosols play an important role in the present day climate and in the future climate. The effect of the sulphat aerosols has first been simulated in a number of equilibrium simulations with mixed layer models, but nowadays with globally coupled ocean-atmosphere circulation models

Inventory of greenhouse effect gases in France under the united nation framework convention on climatic change; Inventaire des emissions de gaz a effet de serre en France au titre de la convention cadre des nations unies sur le changement climatique

Energy Technology Data Exchange (ETDEWEB)

NONE

2001-12-01

The present report supplies emission data, for France and for the period 1990 - 2000 concerning all the substances involved in the increase in the greenhouse effect and covered under the United Nations' Framework Convention on Climate Change (UNFCCC). The substances are the six direct greenhouse gases covered by the Kyoto protocol: carbon dioxide (CO{sub 2}), methane (CH{sub 4}), nitrous oxide (N{sub 2}O), the two species of halogenous substances - hydro-fluorocarbons (HFCs) and per-fluorocarbons (PFCs), and sulphur hexafluoride (SF{sub 6}). Emissions of sulphur dioxide (SO{sub 2}), nitrogen oxides (NO{sub x}), non methane volatile organic compounds (NMVOCs), and carbon monoxide (CO), gases which indirectly make a significant contribution to the greenhouse effect, are reported under the Convention. For the period 1990 - 1999 as a whole, estimates provided in the previous inventories have been reviewed and corrected to take into account updated statistics, improved knowledge, possible changes in methodology and specifications contained in the guidelines (FCCC/CP/1999/7) defined by the UNFCCC on reporting for inventories of emissions, in particular the use of the Common Reporting Format (CRF). (author)

Evaluation of forestry strategies for climate change mitigation in continental France. Scientific literature and main actors' positioning review

International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

Buitrago Esquinas, Miriam

2012-01-01

This work contributes to the current scientific debate regarding the optimization of the forest sector's contribution to mitigating climate change. A scientific literature review has pointed out some uncertainties on the contribution to emission reduction objectives in the short to medium-term of an increasing harvest of forest resources for wood construction and energy generation. Timing of mitigation benefits for a managed forest depends on forestry upstream characteristics(forest and soil type and silviculture method) and downstream characteristics (transport distance, use of wood, efficiency of wood based energy production, fossil-fuel based reference system that is substituted,etc). A survey conducted among national forest experts points out debates concerning optimal silviculture practices to mitigating climate change. These discussions are due to the trades-off between sequestering carbon in forest ecosystems and climatic benefits obtained by sustainable forest harvesting and use of wood products to displace fossil emissions. (author) [fr

Ozone, air quality and climatic change

International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

Van Noije, T.

2008-01-01

Changes in climate due to increased greenhouse gas emissions differ per region. Regional climate changes can also be caused by regional changes in air quality, though. On the other hand, global and regional changes in climate also lead to changes in air quality without any changes in sources of pollution. This article discusses the various aspects of the interaction between air quality and climate change with extra focus on the role of ozone. [mk] [nl

Greenland climate change

DEFF Research Database (Denmark)

Masson-Delmotte, Valérie; Swingedouw, Didier; Landais, Amaëlle

2012-01-01

Climate archives available from deep-sea and marine shelf sediments, glaciers, lakes and ice cores in and around Greenland allow us to place the current trends in regional climate, ice sheet dynamics, and land surface changes in a broader perspective. We show that during the last decade (2000s......), atmospheric and sea-surface temperatures are reaching levels last encountered millennia ago when northern high latitude summer insolation was higher due to a different orbital configuration. Concurrently, records from lake sediments in southern Greenland document major environmental and climatic conditions...... regional climate and ice sheet dynamics. The magnitude and rate of future changes in Greenland temperature, in response to increasing greenhouse gas emissions, may be faster than any past abrupt events occurring under interglacial conditions. Projections indicate that within one century Greenland may...

Climate changes over the past millennium: Relationships with Mediterranean climates

International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

Mann, M.E.

2006-01-01

Evidence is reviewed for climate change and its causes over the interval spanning roughly the past millennium. Particular emphasis is placed on patterns of climate change influencing Mediterranean climates of the Northern Hemisphere. The evidence is taken from studies using high-resolution climate proxy data sources, and climate modeling simulations. The available evidence suggests that forced changes in dynamical modes of variability including the North Atlantic Oscillation (NAO) and El Nino/Southern Oscillation (ENSO) have played a key role in the patterns of climate variability in Mediterranean regions over the past millennium

Climate Change and Health

Science.gov (United States)

... Home / News / Fact sheets / Detail WHO /A. Craggs Climate change and health 1 February 2018 ","datePublished":"2018-02- ... in improved health, particularly through reduced air pollution. Climate change Over the last 50 years, human activities – particularly ...

Adaptability and climate change

International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

Sprague, M.W.

1991-01-01

The potential social, economic and environmental impacts of climate change are reviewed, with emphasis on agricultural implications. Impact analyses must be done on the scale of watersheds or river basins. For agriculture, climate change effects on water resources are likely to be more important than temperature changes, and climatic variability is also equally important. Another set of critical climatic variables are the frequencies, magnitudes and timing of extreme events such as floods, droughts, etc. A carbon dioxide enriched atmosphere will increase water use efficiency and confer increased tolerance to drought, salinity and air pollution. Better understanding and accounting is required for the effects of increased carbon dioxide on all plant life, including crops. Adaptability of agriculture to change must be taken into account in predicting impacts of climate change, with technological innovation and infrastructure giving agriculture a dynamic nature. Limitations and adaptations must be considered when formulating public policy, to ensure that marginal costs do not exceed marginal benefits. Monoculture plantation forests may be the most efficient sinks of atmospheric carbon dioxide, yet widespread reliance on them may harm biological diversity. Actions the U.S. is currently taking under a no-regrets policy are summarized

Challenges and solutions for climate change

CERN Document Server

Gaast, Wytze

2012-01-01

The latest scientific knowledge on climate change indicates that higher greenhouse gas concentrations in the atmosphere through unchecked emissions will provoke severe climate change and ocean acidification threatening environmental structures on which humanity relies. Climate change therefore poses major socio-economic, technical and environmental challenges which will have serious impacts on countries’ pathways towards sustainable development. As a result, climate change and sustainable development have increasingly become interlinked. A changing climate makes achieving Millennium Development Goals more difficult and expensive, so there is every reason to achieve development goals with low greenhouse gas emissions. This leads to the following five challenges discussed by Challenges and Solutions for Climate Change: To place climate negotiations in the wider context of sustainability, equity and social change so that development benefits can be maximised at the same time as decreasing greenhouse gas emissi...

Struggle against climate change

International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

2009-01-01

This document first proposes a presentation of the cross-cutting policy defined for the struggle against climate change. It notably presents its various programs. It describes the implemented strategy which aims at reducing on a short term greenhouse gas emissions with the available technologies, at making the climate challenge a driver for economic competitiveness, at developing the knowledge on climatic change and at preparing the necessary adaptation measures, and at stating on the international scene the French commitment and its dynamic role in front of the climate challenge

Climate change issues in China

Energy Technology Data Exchange (ETDEWEB)

Ye Ruqiu (China National Environmental Protection Agency, Beijing (China))

China is vulnerable to global climate change because of its specific geographical and climatic conditions. Recent climate change trends in China are briefly described. To deal with climate change and reduce the increase in greenhouse gas emissions, a set of strategic measures aimed at harmonizing environmental protection and economic development have been worked out. Special attention has been given to the analysis of problems of energy efficiency and energy structure. Preliminary policy consideration is discussed. 8 refs., 3 tabs.

Climate change and the biosphere

Science.gov (United States)

F. Stuart Chapin

2008-01-01

Scientific assessments now clearly demonstrate the ecologic and societal consequences of human induced climate change, as detailed by the most recent Intergovernmental Panel on Climate Change (IPCC) report. Global warming spells danger for Earth's biomes, which in turn play an important role in climate change. On the following pages, you will read about some of...

Climate change: Recent findings

International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

Hesselmans, G.H.F.M.

1993-08-01

In the late eighties several reports have been published on climate change and sea level rise. In the meantime insights may have changed due to the availability of better and more observations and/or more advanced climate models. The aim of this report is to present the most recent findings with respect to climate change, in particular of sea level rise, storm surges and river peak flows. These climate factors are important for the safety of low-lying areas with respect to coastal erosion and flooding. In the first chapters a short review is presented of a few of the eighties reports. Furthermore, the predictions by state of the art climate models at that time are given. The reports from the eighties should be considered as 'old' information, whereas the IPCC supplement and work, for example, by Wigley should be considered as new information. To assess the latest findings two experts in this field were interviewed: dr J. Oerlemans and dr C.J.E. Schuurmans, a climate expert from the Royal Netherlands Meteorological Institute (KNMI). Their views are presented together with results published in recent papers on the subject. On the basis of this assessment, the report presents current knowledge regarding predictions of climate change (including sea-level rise) over the next century, together with an assessment of the uncertainties associated with these predictions. 14 figs., 11 tabs., 24 refs

Exploring adaptations to climate change with stakeholders: A participatory method to design grassland-based farming systems.

Science.gov (United States)

Sautier, Marion; Piquet, Mathilde; Duru, Michel; Martin-Clouaire, Roger

2017-05-15

Research is expected to produce knowledge, methods and tools to enhance stakeholders' adaptive capacity by helping them to anticipate and cope with the effects of climate change at their own level. Farmers face substantial challenges from climate change, from changes in the average temperatures and the precipitation regime to an increased variability of weather conditions and the frequency of extreme events. Such changes can have dramatic consequences for many types of agricultural production systems such as grassland-based livestock systems for which climate change influences the seasonality and productivity of fodder production. We present a participatory design method called FARMORE (FARM-Oriented REdesign) that allows farmers to design and evaluate adaptations of livestock systems to future climatic conditions. It explicitly considers three climate features in the design and evaluation processes: climate change, climate variability and the limited predictability of weather. FARMORE consists of a sequence of three workshops for which a pre-existing game-like platform was adapted. Various year-round forage production and animal feeding requirements must be assembled by participants with a computerized support system. In workshop 1, farmers aim to produce a configuration that satisfies an average future weather scenario. They refine or revise the previous configuration by considering a sample of the between-year variability of weather in workshop 2. In workshop 3, they explicitly take the limited predictability of weather into account. We present the practical aspects of the method based on four case studies involving twelve farmers from Aveyron (France), and illustrate it through an in-depth description of one of these case studies with three dairy farmers. The case studies shows and discusses how workshop sequencing (1) supports a design process that progressively accommodates complexity of real management contexts by enlarging considerations of climate change

Geopolitics of climate change: A review

Directory of Open Access Journals (Sweden)

Bošnjaković Branko

2012-01-01

Full Text Available The paper reviews the geopolitical elements of the emerging discourse on how to control, and cope with climate change. Two complementary approaches may be distinguished: the actor-related approach analyses the positioning of states and interest groups, which develop strategies on coping with climate change; the other approach addresses processes and problem areas (physical, economic, demographic… emerging in the geographic space as a consequence of, or linked to climate change. With failing mitigation policies and instruments, the urgency of adaptation to climate change is increasing. Assessment of regional consequences of climate change includes the perceptions and motivations of presumed losers or winners. New security implications related to climate change are emerging in the Arctic, South-East Asia, Africa and the Pacific. Energy supply security is a dominant factor in geopolitical considerations. The geopolitics of climate change is inextricably linked to many other issues of globalization. Significant shift of global power raises the discussion of ethical responsibility. Climate change is evolving as a testing ground for competitiveness and innovation potential of political and economic models in achieving sustainability.

Responsible investors acting on climate change. Investors acting on climate change. Climate: Investors take action

International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

Simon, Marie; Blanc, Dominique; Husson-Traore, Anne-Catherine; Amiell, Alison; Barochez, Aurelie de; Conti, Sophie; Kamelgarn, Yona; Bonnet, Olivier; Braman, Stuart; Chenet, Hugues; Fisher, Remco; Hellier, Mickael; Horster, Maximilian; Kindelbacher, Sophie; Leaton, James; Lieblich, Sebastien; Neuneyer, Dustin; Lenoel, Benjamin; Smart, Lauren; Torklep Meisingset, Christine

2015-02-01

Some investors are willing to lower the carbon emission financed by their investment, recognizing that climate change has financial impacts. At first they measure the carbon footprint of their portfolio, than initiate shareholder engagement actions at oil and gas companies, publish list of exclusion composed of the most carbon-intensive companies and ask for ex fossil fuels indices. In June 2015, Novethic launches the first actualisation of its study released on February 2015 on the mobilisation of investors on climate change over the whole 2015 year. The trend is gaining momentum since more than 200 additional investors publicly disclosed commitments to integrate climate risk into their investment and management practices. In September 2015, for its second update of the report on how investors are taking action on climate change, more than 800 entities were screened. As a key result, investor's actions gain momentum: approaches are growing in number and becoming more expert, divestments are widespread in Europe, and green investments promises are more ambitious. The last edition of November 2015 highlights and scans an exclusive panel of 960 investors worth Euro 30 trillion of assets who have made steps forward to tackle climate change. During the last 8 months, their number has almost increased twofold. This document brings together the first edition of Novethic's study and its three updates

Global climate change and international security

Energy Technology Data Exchange (ETDEWEB)

Rice, M.

1991-01-01

On May 8--10, 1991, the Midwest Consortium of International Security Studies (MCISS) and Argonne National Laboratory cosponsored a conference on Global Climate Change and International Security. The aim was to bring together natural and social scientists to examine the economic, sociopolitical, and security implications of the climate changes predicted by the general circulation models developed by natural scientists. Five themes emerged from the papers and discussions: (1) general circulation models and predicted climate change; (2) the effects of climate change on agriculture, especially in the Third World; (3) economic implications of policies to reduce greenhouse gas emissions; (4) the sociopolitical consequences of climate change; and (5) the effect of climate change on global security.

Climate Change Through a Poverty Lens

Science.gov (United States)

Rozenberg, J.; Hallegatte, S.

2017-12-01

Analysis of the economic impact of climate change typically considers regional or national economies and assesses its impact on macroeconomic aggregates such as gross domestic product. These studies therefore do not investigate the distributional impacts of climate change within countries or the impacts on poverty. This Perspective aims to close this gap and provide an assessment of climate change impacts at the household level to investigate the consequences of climate change for poverty and for poor people. It does so by combining assessments of the physical impacts of climate change in various sectors with household surveys. In particular, it highlights how rapid and inclusive development can reduce the future impact of climate change on poverty.

Climate change in Nova Scotia : a background paper to guide Nova Scotia's climate change action plan

International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

2007-10-01

Climate change causes changes in the temperature of the earth, the level of the sea, and the frequency of extreme weather conditions. The province of Nova Scotia recently released an act related to environmental goals and sustainable prosperity. Addressing climate change is a key element in achieving Nova Scotia's sustainable prosperity goals outlined in the act. The Nova Scotia Department of Energy is working towards developing both policy and action, to help meet its target of a 10 per cent reduction in greenhouse gases from 1990 levels by the year 2020. Two major plans are underway, notably a climate change action plan and a renewed energy strategy. This report provided background information on Nova Scotia's climate change action plan. It discussed climate change issues affecting Nova Scotia, air pollutants, energy sources in Nova Scotia, energy consumers in the province, and Nova Scotia's approach to climate change. The report also discussed actions underway and funding sources. It was concluded that in order for the climate change action plan to be successful, Nova Scotians must use energy more efficiently; use renewable energy; use cleaner energy; and plan for change. 13 refs., 2 tabs., 6 figs., 4 appendices

Energy and climatic change: within 30 years, divide France's emissions of greenhouse gases in three

International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

Prevot, H.

2003-01-01

Fighting against global warming means cutting down on greenhouse gases. France can significantly reduce its emissions by seriously modifying life-styles without disrupting them. The population will accept this all the better as far as it is deeply concerned with the issues. (author)

Capturing Tweets on Climate Change: What is the role of Twitter in Climate Change Communication?

Science.gov (United States)

Ngo, A. M.; McNeal, K.; Luginbuhl, S.; Enteen, J.

2015-12-01

Climate change is a major environmental issue that is often discussed throughout the world using social media outlets such as Twitter. This research followed and collected tweets about climate change as they related to two events: (i) the June 18, 2015 release of the Encyclical by Pope Francis which included content about climate change and (ii) the upcoming COP21 conference, a United Nations climate change conference, to be held on Dec. 7-8, 2015 in Paris. Using a Twitter account and Ncapture we were able to collect tens of thousands of climate change related tweets that were then loaded into a program called Nvivo which stored the tweets and associated publically available user information. We followed a few major hashtags such as COP21, UNFCCC, @climate, and the Pope. We examined twitter users, the information sources, locations, number of re-tweets, and frequency of tweets as well as the category of the tweet in regard to positive, negative, and neutral positions about climate. Frequency analysis of tweets over a 10 day period of the Encyclical event showed that ~200 tweets per day were made prior to the event, with ~1000 made on the day of the event, and ~100 per day following the event. For the COP21 event, activity ranged from 2000-3000 tweets per day. For the Encyclical event, an analysis of 1100 tweets on the day of release indicated that 47% of the tweets had a positive perspective about climate change, 50% were neutral, 1% negative, and 2% were unclear. For the COP21 event, an analysis of 342 tweets randomly sampled from 31,721 tweets, showed that 53% of the tweets had a positive perspective about climate change, 12% were neutral, 13% negative, and 22% were unclear. Differences in the frequency and perspectives of tweets were likely due to the nature of the events, one a long-term and recurring international event and the other a single international religious-oriented event. We tabulated the top 10 tweets about climate change as they relate to these two

Prospects for future climate: A special US/USSR report on climate and climate change

International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

MacCracken, M.C.; Budyko, M.I.; Hecht, A.D.; Izrael, Y.A.

1990-01-01

Starting with the US-USSR Agreement on Protection of the Environment signed in 1972, the two nations have cooperated in joint research on atmospheric and environmental problems. The result of these efforts has been an innovative approach to projecting future climate change based on what has been learned about past warm periods and what can be learned from models. The chapters in this document explore the following: past changes in climate, both paleoclimatology and changes in the recent past; changes in atmospheric composition; estimates of greenhouse-induced change including the use of both empirical methods and climate models; impacts of climate change on water resources and agriculture in the two countries; and prospects for future climate changes

Global Climate Change Pilot Course Project

Science.gov (United States)

Schuenemann, K. C.; Wagner, R.

2011-12-01

In fall 2011 a pilot course on "Global Climate Change" is being offered, which has been proposed to educate urban, diverse, undergraduate students about climate change at the introductory level. The course has been approved to fulfill two general college requirements, a natural sciences requirement that focuses on the scientific method, as well as a global diversity requirement. This course presents the science behind global climate change from an Earth systems and atmospheric science perspective. These concepts then provide the basis to explore the effect of global warming on regions throughout the world. Climate change has been taught as a sub-topic in other courses in the past solely using scientific concepts, with little success in altering the climate change misconceptions of the students. This pilot course will see if new, innovative projects described below can make more of an impact on the students' views of climate change. Results of the successes or failures of these projects will be reported, as well as results of a pre- and post-course questionnaire on climate change given to students taking the course. Students in the class will pair off and choose a global region or country that they will research, write papers on, and then represent in four class discussions spaced throughout the semester. The first report will include details on the current climate of their region and how the climate shapes that region's society and culture. The second report will discuss how that region is contributing to climate change and/or sequestering greenhouse gases. Thirdly, students will discuss observed and predicted changes in that region's climate and what impact it has had, and could have, on their society. Lastly, students will report on what role their region has played in mitigating climate change, any policies their region may have implemented, and how their region can or cannot adapt to future climate changes. They will also try to get a feel for the region

Examining the potential impacts of climate change on international security: EU-Africa partnership on climate change.

Science.gov (United States)

Dodo, Mahamat K

2014-01-01

Climate Change like many global problems nowadays is recognized as a threat to the international security and cooperation. In theoretical terms, it is being securitized and included in the traditional security studies. Climate change and its accompanying environmental degradation are perceived to be a threat that can have incalculable consequences on the international community. The consequences are said to have more effects in small island developing nations and Africa where many States are fragile and overwhelmed with mounting challenges. In recent years, the security implications of the climate change are being addressed from national, regional and multilateral level. Against this backdrop, this paper intends to contribute to the debate on climate change and international security and present a broader perspective on the discussion. The paper will draw from the EU-Africa partnership on climate change and is structured as follows: the first part introduces the background of the international climate change policy and its securitization, the second part covers the EU-Africa relations and EU-Africa partnership on climate change, and the third part discusses the Congo Basin Forest Partnership as a concrete example of EU-Africa Partnership on Climate Change. Lastly, the paper concludes by drawing some conclusions and offers some policy perspectives and recommendations. Q54; 055; 052; 01;

Politics of climate change belief

Science.gov (United States)

2017-01-01

Donald Trump's actions during the election and his first weeks as US president-elect send a strong message about his belief in climate change, or lack thereof. However, these actions may reflect polarization of climate change beliefs, not climate mitigation behaviour.

Eye tracking and climate change: How is climate literacy information processed?

Science.gov (United States)

Williams, C. C.; McNeal, K. S.

2011-12-01

The population of the Southeastern United States is perceived to be resistant to information regarding global climate change. The Climate Literacy Partnership in the Southeast (CLiPSE) project was formed to provide a resource for climate science information. As part of this project, we are evaluating the way that education materials influence the interpretation of climate change related information. At Mississippi State University, a study is being conducted examining how individuals from the Southeastern United States process climate change information and whether or not the interaction with such information impacts the interpretation of subsequent climate change related information. By observing the patterns both before and after an educational intervention, we are able to evaluate the effectiveness of the climate change information on an individual's interpretation of related information. Participants in this study view figures describing various types of climate change related information (CO2 emissions, sea levels, etc.) while their eye movements are tracked to determine a baseline for the way that they process this type of graphical data. Specifically, we are examining time spent viewing and number of fixations on critical portions of the figures prior to exposure to an educational document on climate change. Following the baseline period, we provide participants with portions of a computerized version of Climate Literacy: The Essential Principles of Climate Sciences that the participants read at their own pace while their eye movements are monitored. Participants are told that they will be given a test on the material after reading the resource. After reading the excerpt, participants are presented with a new set of climate change related figures to interpret (with eye tracking) along with a series of questions regarding information contained in the resource. We plan to evaluate changes that occur in the way that climate change related information is

Climate change issues in China

International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

Ye Ruqiu

1994-01-01

China is vulnerable to global climate change because of its specific geographical and climatic conditions. Recent climate change trends in China are briefly described. To deal with climate change and reduce the increase in greenhouse gas emissions, a set of strategic measures aimed at harmonizing environmental protection and economic development have been worked out. Special attention has been given to the analysis of problems of energy efficiency and energy structure. Preliminary policy consideration is discussed. (author). 8 refs, 3 tabs

Climate Trends and Farmers' Perceptions of Climate Change in Zambia.

Science.gov (United States)

Mulenga, Brian P; Wineman, Ayala; Sitko, Nicholas J

2017-02-01

A number of studies use meteorological records to analyze climate trends and assess the impact of climate change on agricultural yields. While these provide quantitative evidence on climate trends and the likely effects thereof, they incorporate limited qualitative analysis of farmers' perceptions of climate change and/or variability. The present study builds on the quantitative methods used elsewhere to analyze climate trends, and in addition compares local narratives of climate change with evidence found in meteorological records in Zambia. Farmers offer remarkably consistent reports of a rainy season that is growing shorter and less predictable. For some climate parameters-notably, rising average temperature-there is a clear overlap between farmers' observations and patterns found in the meteorological records. However, the data do not support the perception that the rainy season used to begin earlier, and we generally do not detect a reported increase in the frequency of dry spells. Several explanations for these discrepancies are offered. Further, we provide policy recommendations to help farmers adapt to climate change/variability, as well as suggestions to shape future climate change policies, programs, and research in developing countries.

Climate change with Korea as the center

International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

Kim, Yeon Ok

1998-04-01

This book deals with climate change with Korea as the center, which is divided into ten chapters. It explain climate change by human life. The contents of this book are climate change, climate before human period, great ice age of prehistoric period, prehistoric times of last glacial era, climate change in historical era, change during observation time for 100 years, warming period, global environment period, the cause of climate change and climate and human. It has reference and an index.

Quantitative approaches in climate change ecology

DEFF Research Database (Denmark)

Brown, Christopher J.; Schoeman, David S.; Sydeman, William J.

2011-01-01

Contemporary impacts of anthropogenic climate change on ecosystems are increasingly being recognized. Documenting the extent of these impacts requires quantitative tools for analyses of ecological observations to distinguish climate impacts in noisy data and to understand interactions between...... climate variability and other drivers of change. To assist the development of reliable statistical approaches, we review the marine climate change literature and provide suggestions for quantitative approaches in climate change ecology. We compiled 267 peer‐reviewed articles that examined relationships...

Creationism & Climate Change (Invited)

Science.gov (United States)

Newton, S.

2009-12-01

Although creationists focus on the biological sciences, recently creationists have also expanded their attacks to include the earth sciences, especially on the topic of climate change. The creationist effort to deny climate change, in addition to evolution and radiometric dating, is part of a broader denial of the methodology and validity of science itself. Creationist misinformation can pose a serious problem for science educators, who are further hindered by the poor treatment of the earth sciences and climate change in state science standards. Recent changes to Texas’ science standards, for example, require that students learn “different views on the existence of global warming.” Because of Texas’ large influence on the national textbook market, textbooks presenting non-scientific “different views” about climate change—or simply omitting the subject entirely because of the alleged “controversy”—could become part of K-12 classrooms across the country.

International colloquium challenge climate for the France: the factor 4

International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

2006-01-01

The objective factor 4 is the division by four of the greenhouse gases emission. This colloquium aims to define possible actions to reach this objective. The first part concerns presentations of personalities of the domain and offers an international panorama of the energetic and environmental policies, against the climatic change and how to reconcile economic growth with climatic change. The second part wonders on the mobilization of the actors sectors in a national and international framework. (A.L.B.)

Cover crops mitigate direct greenhouse gases balance but reduce drainage under climate change scenarios in temperate climate with dry summers.

Science.gov (United States)

Tribouillois, Hélène; Constantin, Julie; Justes, Eric

2018-02-14

Cover crops provide ecosystem services such as storing atmospheric carbon in soils after incorporation of their residues. Cover crops also influence soil water balance, which can be an issue in temperate climates with dry summers as for example in southern France and Europe. As a consequence, it is necessary to understand cover crops' long-term influence on greenhouse gases (GHG) and water balances to assess their potential to mitigate climate change in arable cropping systems. We used the previously calibrated and validated soil-crop model STICS to simulate scenarios of cover crop introduction to assess their influence on rainfed and irrigated cropping systems and crop rotations distributed among five contrasted sites in southern France from 2007 to 2052. Our results showed that cover crops can improve mean direct GHG balance by 315 kg CO 2 e ha -1  year -1 in the long term compared to that of bare soil. This was due mainly to an increase in carbon storage in the soil despite a slight increase in N 2 O emissions which can be compensated by adapting fertilization. Cover crops also influence the water balance by reducing mean annual drainage by 20 mm/year but increasing mean annual evapotranspiration by 20 mm/year compared to those of bare soil. Using cover crops to improve the GHG balance may help to mitigate climate change by decreasing CO 2 e emitted in cropping systems which can represent a decrease from 4.5% to 9% of annual GHG emissions of the French agriculture and forestry sector. However, if not well managed, they also could create water management issues in watersheds with shallow groundwater. Relationships between cover crop biomass and its influence on several variables such as drainage, carbon sequestration, and GHG emissions could be used to extend our results to other conditions to assess the cover crops' influence in a wider range of areas. © 2018 John Wiley & Sons Ltd.

Forest management and biodiversity - France at a crossroads

International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

Lefevre, Francois; Vallauri, Daniel; Neyroumande, Emmanuelle

2011-01-01

The way seemed to be promisingly open for the decade 2000 to become a period of the rich and shared implementation of practical and key developments in terms of forest biodiversity. Some steps forward have been made, especially in terms of protected areas both in overseas and mainland France, development of certification schemes and decentralisation. However, the emergence of the climate issue and the reduction in public funds and human resource allocations, among other reasons, slowed down the expected improvements. The 1999 and 2009 storms highlighted the low resilience of the dominant silvicultural model. In the area of climate change, short-term mitigation policies tend to overshadow guidelines aimed at long term adaptation and call on a partial approach that does not take into account the forest ecosystem as a whole. In fact, France's commitments in respect of the EU and the resolutions that arose from the Grenelle consultations have strongly reintroduced the question of increasing wood harvesting into public debate, creating sharp new tensions in many forests, especially public ones. It was a difficult task to implement Natura 2000 on 10% of the forested area. This article is a review of 10 years of debate and practice relating to the introduction of biodiversity concerns into forest management in France. It describes some avenues for moving forward in the current decade. (authors)

Climate Change and Transportation

OpenAIRE

Yevdokimov, Yuri

2010-01-01

As stated at the beginning of this chapter, the relationship between transportation and climate is two-directional. Based on our statistical analysis performed for Canada, we can make some general conclusions about this relationship. On the one hand, transportation is one of the largest contributors to GHG emissions which, in turn, cause various changes in climate. On the other hand, these climate changes negatively affect transportation in terms of its infrastructure and operations. Therefor...

Adapting agriculture to climate change.

Science.gov (United States)

Howden, S Mark; Soussana, Jean-François; Tubiello, Francesco N; Chhetri, Netra; Dunlop, Michael; Meinke, Holger

2007-12-11

The strong trends in climate change already evident, the likelihood of further changes occurring, and the increasing scale of potential climate impacts give urgency to addressing agricultural adaptation more coherently. There are many potential adaptation options available for marginal change of existing agricultural systems, often variations of existing climate risk management. We show that implementation of these options is likely to have substantial benefits under moderate climate change for some cropping systems. However, there are limits to their effectiveness under more severe climate changes. Hence, more systemic changes in resource allocation need to be considered, such as targeted diversification of production systems and livelihoods. We argue that achieving increased adaptation action will necessitate integration of climate change-related issues with other risk factors, such as climate variability and market risk, and with other policy domains, such as sustainable development. Dealing with the many barriers to effective adaptation will require a comprehensive and dynamic policy approach covering a range of scales and issues, for example, from the understanding by farmers of change in risk profiles to the establishment of efficient markets that facilitate response strategies. Science, too, has to adapt. Multidisciplinary problems require multidisciplinary solutions, i.e., a focus on integrated rather than disciplinary science and a strengthening of the interface with decision makers. A crucial component of this approach is the implementation of adaptation assessment frameworks that are relevant, robust, and easily operated by all stakeholders, practitioners, policymakers, and scientists.

Climate change in China and China’s policies and actions for addressing climate change

OpenAIRE

Luo Y.; Qin D.; Huang J.

2010-01-01

Since the first assessment report (FAR) of Inter-Governmental Panel on Climate Change (IPCC) in 1990, the international scientific community has made substantial progresses in climate change sciences. Changes in components of climate system, including the atmosphere, oceans and cryosphere, indicate that global warming is unequivocal. Instrumental records demonstrate that the global mean temperature has a significant increasing trend during the 20th century and in the latest 50 years the warmi...

Hard choices : climate change in Canada

Energy Technology Data Exchange (ETDEWEB)

Coward, H.; Weaver, A.J. (eds.)

2004-07-01

This book explains the nature of climate change, the options to respond to it and the virtues of Canada's commitment to the Kyoto Protocol. It includes a collection of essays by prominent Canadian scientists and scholars who discuss the impacts of climate change on Canada from physical, social, technological, economic and political perspectives. Climate change assessments have been made possible by monitoring and recording changes in atmospheric concentrations of greenhouse gases. As a result of these assessments, climate change has become an issue on policy agendas. Advanced computer models have convinced much of the scientific community that climate change will bring with it droughts, floods, hurricanes, forest fires, ice storms, blackouts, and increased warming in countries in high latitudes, including Canada, despite remaining uncertainties about how human activities will affect the climate. The authors cautioned that climate change response strategies can only be refined once these uncertainties are significantly reduced. refs., tabs., figs.

Climate change and marine life

DEFF Research Database (Denmark)

Richardson, Anthony J.; Brown, Christopher J.; Brander, Keith

2012-01-01

A Marine Climate Impacts Workshop was held from 29 April to 3 May 2012 at the US National Center of Ecological Analysis and Synthesis in Santa Barbara. This workshop was the culmination of a series of six meetings over the past three years, which had brought together 25 experts in climate change...... ecology, analysis of large datasets, palaeontology, marine ecology and physical oceanography. Aims of these workshops were to produce a global synthesis of climate impacts on marine biota, to identify sensitive habitats and taxa, to inform the current Intergovernmental Panel on Climate Change (IPCC......) process, and to strengthen research into ecological impacts of climate change...

Financing climate change adaptation

NARCIS (Netherlands)

Bouwer, L.M.; Aerts, J.C.J.H.

2006-01-01

This paper examines the topic of financing adaptation in future climate change policies. A major question is whether adaptation in developing countries should be financed under the 1992 United Nations Framework Convention on Climate Change (UNFCCC), or whether funding should come from other sources.

Research Advances of Impacts of Climate Changes on Crop Climatic Adaptability

Institute of Scientific and Technical Information of China (English)

无

2011-01-01

Agriculture received most direct influences from climate changes. Because of climate changes, agricultural climate resources changed and thus influenced climate adaptability of agricultural products. The growth and output of crops were finally affected. The calculation method and application of agricultural products in recent years were summarized. Several questions about the response of agricultural crops to climate elements were proposed for attention.

[Vector transmitted diseases and climate changes in Europe].

Science.gov (United States)

Rossati, Antonella; Bargiacchi, Olivia; Kroumova, Vesselina; Garavelli, Pietro Luigi

2014-09-01

The increase in temperatures recorded since the mid-nineteenth century is unprecedented in the history of mankind. The consequences of climate changes are numerous and can affect human health through direct (extreme events, natural disasters) or indirect (alteration of the ecosystem) mechanisms. Climate changes have repercussions on ecosystems, agriculture, social conditions, migration, conflicts and the transmission mode of infectious diseases. Vector-borne diseases are infections transmitted by the bite of infected arthropods such as mosquitoes, ticks, triatomines, sand flies and flies. Epidemiological cornerstones of vector-borne diseases are: the ecology and behaviour of the host, the ecology and behaviour of the vector, and the population's degree of immunity. Mosquito vectors related to human diseases mainly belong to the genus Culex, Aedes and Mansonia. Climate changes in Europe have increased the spread of new vectors, such as Aedes albopictus, and in some situations have made it possible to sustain the autochthonous transmission of some diseases (outbreak of Chukungunya virus in northern Italy in 2007, cases of dengue in the South of France and in Croatia). Despite the eradication of malaria from Europe, anopheline carriers are still present, and they may allow the transmission of the disease if the climatic conditions favour the development of the vectors and their contacts with plasmodium carriers. The tick Ixodes ricinus is a vector whose expansion has been documented both in latitude and in altitude in relation to the temperature increase; at the same time the related main viral and bacterial infections have increased. In northern Italy and Germany, the appearance of Leishmaniasis has been associated to climatic conditions that favour the development of the vector Phlebotomus papatasi and the maturation of the parasite within the vector, although the increase of cases of visceral leishmaniasis is also related to host immune factors, particularly

Technology and climate change

International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

Morrison, R.; Layzedl, D.; McLean, G.

2002-01-01

This paper was the major one of the opening plenary session at the Climate Change 2 conference. The paper provides a context for assessing the needs for technologies to reduce the concentration of GHG in the atmosphere. It looks at sources, sinks and trends for GHG, in the world at large and in Canada, and at efforts to develop new technologies to achieve the goals of climate change policy. The paper focusses on transport, electricity and biomass as sectors of interest, both because of their potential for contributing to climate change policy goals within Canada, and also because of research interests

Talks and status of the national conference of the national program of fight against climate change

International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

2001-01-01

In order to fulfill its commitments in the Kyoto protocol for the abatement of greenhouse gases emissions, France has started important environmental actions: the creation of the national program of fight against climate change (validated in January 2000), the integration of the problem of climate change in government actions (collective services and state-region contracts), creation of a national laboratory of global warming effects, creation of a research council on climate change and durable development, presentation of an annual status of the actions carried out in the framework of the national program. This last point was the aim of the conference held in Paris in June 2001. Debates were organized around four main sectors: industry, energy, buildings and transportation systems. The topics approached during the round-tables raised several essential questions for the fight against climate change: which practice changes are needed in the industry and energy production activities? Which actions need to be carried out in new and existing buildings to save energy? Which consistent transportation policies need to be implemented in urban areas? Is a rail-road traffic re-balancing possible? Which importance can have the territory organizations? What are the public expectations in front of the climate change risk? This document brings together the talks of Mrs D. Voynet, Minister of national development and environment, the talk of Mr R.G. Schwartzenberg, Minister of research, the talk of Mr C. Pierret, State Secretary of Industry, and a sectoral status (transports, industry, energy, buildings and mastery of electricity demand) of the first year of the program presented by Mr M. Mousel, head of the inter-ministry mission on greenhouse effect. The document ends with a presentation of the British and European climate change programs. (J.S.)

Impact of climate change on heavy precipitation events of the Mediterranean basin; Impact du changement climatique sur les evenements de pluie intense du bassin mediterraneen

Energy Technology Data Exchange (ETDEWEB)

Ricard, D.; Beaulant, A.L.; Deque, M.; Ducrocq, V.; Joly, A.; Joly, B.; Martin, E.; Nuissier, O.; Quintana Segui, P.; Ribes, A.; Sevault, F.; Somot, S. [Meteo-France et CNRS, Groupe d' Etude de l' Atmosphere Meteorologique (GAME), 31 - Toulouse (France); Boe, J. [California Univ., Dept. of Atmospheric and Oceanic Sciences, Los Angeles, CA (United States)

2009-11-15

A second topic covered by the CYPRIM project aims to characterize the evolution of heavy precipitation events in Mediterranean in the context of climate change. To this end, a continuous climate simulation from 1960 to 2099 has been run using a regional ocean-atmosphere coupled model under IPCC A2 emission scenario. Various techniques of down-scaling, down to the very fine 2 km scale, and methods to highlight synoptic environments favourable to heavy rain, have been used to estimate the impact of climate change on precipitation and hydrology over South-East France, both for the whole autumn season and the heavy rain events. (authors)

The development of climatic scenarios for assessing impacts of climate change

Energy Technology Data Exchange (ETDEWEB)

Carter, T; Tuomenvirta, H [Finnish Meteorological Inst., Helsinki (Finland); Posch, M [National Inst. of Public Health and the Environment, Bilthoven (Netherlands)

1996-12-31

There is a growing recognition that mitigation measures for limiting future global changes in climate due to the enhanced greenhouse effect are unlikely to prevent some changes from occurring. Thus, if climate changes appear to be unavoidable, there is an increased need to evaluate their likely impacts on natural systems and human activities. Most impacts of climate change need to be examined at a regional scale, and their assessment requires up-to-date information on future regional climate changes. Unfortunately, accurate predictions of regional climate are not yet available. Instead, it is customary to construct climatic scenarios, which are plausible representations of future climate based on the best available information. This presentation outlines seven principles of climatic scenario development for impact studies, briefly describing some of the strengths and weaknesses of available methods and then illustrating one approach adopted in Finland

The development of climatic scenarios for assessing impacts of climate change

International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

Carter, T.; Tuomenvirta, H.; Posch, M.

1995-01-01

There is a growing recognition that mitigation measures for limiting future global changes in climate due to the enhanced greenhouse effect are unlikely to prevent some changes from occurring. Thus, if climate changes appear to be unavoidable, there is an increased need to evaluate their likely impacts on natural systems and human activities. Most impacts of climate change need to be examined at a regional scale, and their assessment requires up-to-date information on future regional climate changes. Unfortunately, accurate predictions of regional climate are not yet available. Instead, it is customary to construct climatic scenarios, which are plausible representations of future climate based on the best available information. This presentation outlines seven principles of climatic scenario development for impact studies, briefly describing some of the strengths and weaknesses of available methods and then illustrating one approach adopted in Finland

The development of climatic scenarios for assessing impacts of climate change

Energy Technology Data Exchange (ETDEWEB)

Carter, T.; Tuomenvirta, H. [Finnish Meteorological Inst., Helsinki (Finland); Posch, M. [National Inst. of Public Health and the Environment, Bilthoven (Netherlands)

1995-12-31

There is a growing recognition that mitigation measures for limiting future global changes in climate due to the enhanced greenhouse effect are unlikely to prevent some changes from occurring. Thus, if climate changes appear to be unavoidable, there is an increased need to evaluate their likely impacts on natural systems and human activities. Most impacts of climate change need to be examined at a regional scale, and their assessment requires up-to-date information on future regional climate changes. Unfortunately, accurate predictions of regional climate are not yet available. Instead, it is customary to construct climatic scenarios, which are plausible representations of future climate based on the best available information. This presentation outlines seven principles of climatic scenario development for impact studies, briefly describing some of the strengths and weaknesses of available methods and then illustrating one approach adopted in Finland

Climate Change and Agricultural Vulnerability

International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

Fischer, G.; Shah, M.; Van Velthuizen, H.

2002-08-01

After the introduction Chapter 2 presents details of the ecological-economic analysis based on the FAO/IIASA agro-ecological zones (AEZ) approach for evaluation of biophysical limitations and agricultural production potentials, and IIASA's Basic Linked System (BLS) for analyzing the world's food economy and trade system. The BLS is a global general equilibrium model system for analyzing agricultural policies and food system prospects in an international setting. BLS views national agricultural systems as embedded in national economies, which interact with each other through trade at the international level. The combination of AEZ and BLS provides an integrated ecological-economic framework for the assessment of the impact of climate change. We consider climate scenarios based on experiments with four General Circulation Models (GCM), and we assess the four basic socioeconomic development pathways and emission scenarios as formulated by the Intergovernmental Panel on Climate Change (IPCC) in its Third Assessment Report. Chapter 3 presents the main AEZ results of the impact of climate change on agriculture. Results comprise environmental constraints to crop agriculture; climate variability and the variability of rain-fed cereal production; changes in potential agricultural land; changes in crop-production patterns; and the impact of climate change on cereal-production potential. Chapter 4 discusses the AEZ-BLS integrated ecological-economic analysis of climate change on the world food system. This includes quantification of scale and location of hunger, international agricultural trade, prices, production, land use, etc. It assesses trends in food production, trade, and consumption, and the impact on poverty and hunger of alternative development pathways and varying levels of climate change. Chapter 5 presents the main conclusions and policy implications of this study

Fair adaptation to climate change

International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

Paavola, Jouni; Adger, W. Neil

2006-01-01

This article identifies social justice dilemmas associated with the necessity to adapt to climate change, examines how they are currently addressed by the climate change regime, and proposes solutions to overcome prevailing gaps and ambiguities. We argue that the key justice dilemmas of adaptation include responsibility for climate change impacts, the level and burden sharing of assistance to vulnerable countries for adaptation, distribution of assistance between recipient countries and adaptation measures, and fair participation in planning and making decisions on adaptation. We demonstrate how the climate change regime largely omits responsibility but makes a general commitment to assistance. However, the regime has so far failed to operationalise assistance and has made only minor progress towards eliminating obstacles for fair participation. We propose the adoption of four principles for fair adaptation in the climate change regime. These include avoiding dangerous climate change, forward-looking responsibility, putting the most vulnerable first and equal participation of all. We argue that a safe maximum standard of 400-500 ppm of CO 2 concentrations in the atmosphere and a carbon tax of $20-50 per carbon equivalent ton could provide the initial instruments for operationalising the principles. (author)

DTU climate change technologies. Recommendations on accelerated development and deployment of climate change technologies

Energy Technology Data Exchange (ETDEWEB)

Larsen, Hans; Halsnaes, K [Technical Univ. of Denmark, Risoe National Lab. for Sustainable Energy, System Analysis Div., Roskilde (Denmark); Nielsen, Niels Axel; Moeller, J S; Hansen, Jakob Fritz; Froekjaer Strand, I [Technical Univ. of Denmark, Kgs. Lyngby (Denmark)

2009-09-15

During 2009, the Technical University of Denmark (DTU) has held a number of international workshops for climate change. Participants came from industry, research institutions and government. The workshops focused on sustainable energy systems and climate change adaptation. The summary of conclusions and recommendations from the workshops constitutes a comprehensive set of technology tracks and recommended actions towards accelerated development and deployment of technology within these two key areas. The workshop process has led to three main conclusions. A. Radical changes are needed to develop sustainable energy systems. B. Tools and processes that climate-proof societal planning and management are needed in order to adapt to climate change. C. Partnerships concerning innovation and deployment (research, development and deployment) are required to meet time constraints.

The economics of climate change

International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

Jones, T.

1992-01-01

Perhaps the most startling aspect of the debate on climate change is the speed with which it has climbed the international political agenda. In 1985, climate change was viewed almost entirely as a scientific issue. Only seven years later, most industrialized countries have made some sort of political pledge to abate their emissions of greenhouse gases over a specific timetable. And earlier this year, 154 countries signed a Framework Convention on Climate Change at the UN Conference on Environment and Development in Rio de Janeiro. What is the present 'state of play' in the economics of climate change. And what priorities are now emerging in 'post-Rio' policy. 11 ref

Research on climate effects. Effects of climate changes. Proceedings

International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

Fischer, W.; Stein, G.

1991-01-01

Global changes affecting the earth are at the forefront of public interest, possibly caused by climate alterations amongst other things. The public expects appropriate measures from politics to successfully adapt to unavoidable climate changes. As well as an investigation into the causes of climatic changes and the corollaries between the different scientific phenomena, the effects on the economy and society must also be examined. The Federal Minister for Research and Technology aims to make a valuable German contribution to international Global Change Research with the focal point ''Effects of Climate Changes on the Ecological and Civil System''. The aim of the workshop was to give an outline of current scientific knowledge, sketch out research requirements and give recommendations on the focal point with regard to the BMFT. (orig.) [de

Climate change, environment and development