Hundreds of scientists are meeting in Bangkok this week on practical steps to combat climate change.
By the of the week, delegates from the Intergovernmental Panel on Climate Change are expected to come up with technological options to curb rising levels of carbon dioxide, methane and other heat-trapping gases.
“The time to act is now,” Chartree Chueyprasit, a deputy secretary in Thailand’s ministry of natural resources and environment, told delegates. “Global warming has increasingly become a hot (issue) which requires harmonised cooperating between all nations. The IPCC has realised the scientific knowledge to provide the necessary solutions.”
A draft report, to be amended following comments from dozens of governments, says emissions can be cut below current levels if the world shifts away from fossil fuels such as coal. It also calls for investment in energy efficiency and agricultural reform.
“The science certainly provides a lot of compelling reasons for action,” said Rajendra Pachauri, chairman of the climate change panel. “But what action and when is what the government will have to decide.”
However, the usual suspects – the US, China and Saudi Arabia are likely to weaken any action.
No change there then.