What Climate Change will Bring to Us?

Last year environmental catastrophes and climate problems have come out on top in the lists of the leading news agencies of the world, heat waves and fires in Russia among them. However, little real action has been seen in the attempt to address the roots of the climate catastrophe.

The Russian yacht “Peter I” made the 4 months record polar circumnavigation in the Arctics. Its crew noted the catastrophic destruction of the Arctic Ocean ice cover. Will polar bears survive in such a situation?

One of the most vivid environmental problems in the world is decreasing area and thickness of ice in the Arctic Ocean. The Arctic environment is an indicator of global warming. At the same time, the Arctic natural systems contain mechanisms that can exert strong impact on the climate, unwinding "diabolical spiral" of warming. The effects of all these factors shall be studied seriously. In addition, the Arctic shelf stores huge hydrocarbon reserves. Russian Prime Minister Vladimir Putin calls for study and conservation of the Arctic resources.

At the threshold of the climate negotiations in Cancun (Mexico) Russia's state-run 1 TV channel showed a documentary about climate change, where first time presented its dangerous consequences and necessity of urgent solutions.

Peat fires like those that occurred during this summer in Russia and in the United States, pose a serious threat to the climate. Russian Social-Ecological Union notes, that there is a possibility that heat, which exacerbated the problem of forest and peat fires this summer in Russia, had links to the consequences of climate change.

Volcanic eruption in Iceland may have short-term impact on the climate. Volcanic ashes in the atmosphere prevent penetration of sunlight to the ground and thus contribute to cooling. Critics of the global warming theory have decided that they obtained another argument against the evidence of global warming. But the consequences of volcanic activity disappear within a few years, while global warming caused by deeper and more permanent effects, including emissions of greenhouse gases from human activities, continues. And the need for effective climate policies and the development of low-carbon energy remains.

The Russian Socio-Ecological Union believes that boreal forests must be reflected in the climate agreement along with tropical forests, and they should be given considerable attention, as the largest natural carbon sinks. This was the opinion of participants in the debate, which took place on 14 December Klimaforum - parallel floor of the international climate conference in Copenhagen.

The British Scientific Committee on Antarctic Research (SCAR) published a study, saying that if temperatures continued to increase at the present rate, by 2100 the sea level would rise by up to 1.4 metres — twice that predicted two years ago.

A new study has been published on possible negative consequences of climate change on the forests of Russia, Northern America and Scandinavia. According to Russian NGOs, protection of boreal forests should become one of prioritires of the international climate agreements.