IISD Reporting Services Coverage of U.S. Center at COP 22 - Issue #1

[IISD Reporting Services]

Title: IISD Reporting Services Coverage of U.S. Center at COP 22 - Issue #1

Having trouble viewing this email? Please try our Browser Version     U.S. Center at COP 22 Issue No. 1 - Tuesday, 8 November 2016 Event convened on Monday, 7 November 2016 Visit our IISD Coverage for Monday, 7 November 2016, at: http://www.iisd.ca/climate/cop22/us-center/7nov.html 21st Century Regional Climate in a Warming World Presented by the National Oceanic and Atmospheric Administration (NOAA) V. Ramaswamy, Geophysical Fluid Dynamics Laboratory (GFDL), moderated the session. He highlighted that modeling helps to translate science into guidance for policymakers regarding climate impacts on regional livelihoods, and explained that it is very likely that heat waves will occur more often and for longer durations in the 21st century. He noted that the need to constantly improve tools for capturing regional information to identify the occurrence and causes of extreme events, such as floods, storms, fires and droughts. Ramaswamy highlighted the knowledge gap regarding the formation of dust storms and hurricanes in Africa. Ilissa Ocko, Environment Defense Fund, said that observed climate change impacts on people’s livelihoods in Africa include: decline in fruit bearing trees; pest infestations of coffee berries; flooding; national security threats; reduced fisheries productivity; devastating droughts; increases in malaria; and retreating glaciers and forest fires. She noted that quantifying impacts is not easy due to, inter alia, uncertainty in our understanding of the climate system. She explained that climate models are used to predict future impacts on key crops yields in Africa. Ocko noted that some crops will experience negative impacts, but said opportunities may emerge for others. Michael Oppenheimer, Princeton University, focused on analyzing the relations among changes in temperature and precipitation and their connections with human migration, choice of economic crops and crop yields in South Africa. He also described scenarios for internal migration in South Africa. In the ensuing discussion, participants asked about policies to prevent extreme events and the greater need for adaptation measures to be inserted into future climate policies. This issue has been written by Karen Alvarenga de Oliveira Windham-Bellord, Ph.D. The Digital Editor is Liz Rubin. The Editor is Leila Mead <leilaiisd.org>. The Director of IISD Reporting Services is Langston James “Kimo” Goree VI <k...@iisd.org>. Funding for coverage of the U.S. Center at COP 22 has been provided by the US Department of State. The opinions expressed in this issue are those of the author and do not necessarily reflect the views of IISD and funder. Excerpts from this issue may be used in non-commercial publications only with appropriate academic citation. For permission to use this material in commercial publications, contact the Director of IISD Reporting Services at <k...@iisd.org>. Electronic versions of issues of this issue can be found on the IISD Reporting Services website at http://www.iisd.ca/climate/cop22/us-center/ You are currently subscribed to enb as: arch...@mail-archive.com View enb Forum            Membership Options / Unsubscribe Subscribe to all other IISD Reporting Services' free newsletters and lists for environment and sustainable development policy professionals at http://www.iisd.ca/email/subscribe.htm