The climate energy conundrum: Prospects for our future
Wednesday, February 15, 2012, 03:00 PM
Lory Student Center, Room 224-226

The climate energy conundrum: prospects for our future

Dr. Robert W. Corell from the Center for Energy and Climate Solutions will present.

Earth's climate is changing, with the global temperature now rising at rates unprecedented in the experience of modern human society.

While some historical changes in climate have resulted from natural causes and variations, the strength of the trends and the patterns of change that are now emerging indicate that human influences, resulting primarily from increased emissions of carbon dioxide (CO2) from fossil fuels and other greenhouse gas sources (e.g., deforesting of the tropical rain forests) have now become the dominant factor.

Recent studies by a global team of scientists concluded that since 2000, anthropogenic CO2 emissions have been growing x4 faster than in the 1990s and are now above the worst case emission (A1FI) scenario projected by the 2007 Intergovernmental Panel on Climate Change (IPCC) Assessment. Global CO2 emission in 2010 increased by 5.9%, almost twice the rate ever recorded. Thus, exploring the inextricable connections between climate change and energy now demands that these two issues must be addressed in a more connected and integrated fashion than heretofore has been the case.

In 2007, the Global Energy Assessment (GEA) was established to assess the energy side of this conundrum by examining: (a) the major global challenges (e.g., climate, poverty, sustainability) and their linkages to energy; (b) the technologies and resources available and/or needed to provide energy services for the peoples of the world; (c) future energy systems that address the major challenges; and (d) policies and other measures to realize sustainable energy futures. The GEA will be released this spring, so this seminar will explore some of the findings and pathways that are confronting existing and emerging energy issues. Sponsors: School of Global Environmental Sustainability Environmental Governance Working Group.

More information

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Event Contact: Kerri McDemrid can be reached at (970) 492-4155

Sponsored by the School of Global Environmental Sustainability.