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-----Original Message----- From: Debbie Chapman [mailto:[log in to unmask]] Sent: 22 April 2008 17:04 To: Debbie Chapman Subject: Climate change hitting Arctic faster, harder Press release Embargoed until: 00:01 GMT Thursday 24 April 2008 Climate change hitting Arctic faster, harder Climate change is having a greater and faster impact on the Arctic than previously thought, according to a new study by WWF, the conservation organisation. The report found melting of arctic sea ice and the Greenland Ice Sheet to be severely accelerated, prompting concerns that both may be close to their "tipping point", the point where, because of climate change, natural systems may experience sudden, rapid and, in some cases, irreversible change. "When you look in detail at the science behind the recent Arctic changes it becomes painfully clear how our understanding of climate impacts lags behind the changes that we are already seeing in the Arctic," said Dr Martin Sommerkorn, one of the report's authors and Senior Climate Change Adviser at WWF International's Arctic Programme. "This is extremely dangerous, as some of these changes have the potential to substantially increase the warming of the Earth, beyond what models currently forecast." The new study found that change was occurring in all arctic systems, impacting on the atmosphere and oceans, sea ice and ice sheets, snow and permafrost, as well as species and populations, food webs, ecosystems and human societies. According to last year's reports from the Intergovernmental Panel on Climate Change, if the entire Greenland Ice Sheet were to melt, sea levels would rise 7.3 metres, making its status a global concern. While it is currently impossible to accurately predict how much of the ice sheet will be melting, and over which time, the new report shows there has been a far greater loss of ice mass in the past few years, much more than had been predicted by scientific models. Likewise, the loss of summer arctic sea ice has increased dramatically. In September 2007, the sea ice shrank to 39 per cent below its 1979-2000 mean, the lowest since satellite monitoring began in 1979 and also the lowest for the entire 20th century based on monitoring from ships and aircraft. The Arctic is not only one of the places on Earth most vulnerable to climate change, but also a place where vulnerability is of urgent global relevance. Release of greenhouse gases from its carbon sinks could further fuel global warming. Emily Lewis-Brown, Marine Climate Change Officer at WWF-UK said: "We have already passed the level of greenhouse gases in the atmosphere which is considered to be safe over the long term. It is imperative that we invest in our future by ensuring that global emissions peak by 2015 at the latest, and then fall steeply. The UK has a key role to play in demonstrating global leadership on this issue. WWF calls on the government to introduce the Climate Change Bill with a commitment to reduce all UK linked emissions by at least 80 per cent by 2050." WWF will launch the report, Arctic Climate Impact Science - An Update Since ACIA at today's meeting of the Arctic Council, the intergovernmental forum of arctic nations. "The magnitude of the physical and ecological changes in the Arctic creates an unprecedented challenge for governments, the corporate sector, community leaders and conservationists to create the conditions under which arctic natural systems have the best chance to adapt." It is now in the hand of the arctic nations to act upon this evidence for climate impacts," added Sommerkorn. "They can make a difference if they act strongly, and fast. It is not too late to throw the wheel around but is far too late for business as usual." - ends - Editor's notes If everyone used natural resources and generated carbon emissions at the rate we do in the UK we would need three planets to support us. The way we live is leading to environmental threats such as climate change, species extinction, deforestation, water shortages and the collapse of fisheries. WWF's One Planet Future Campaign is working to help people live a good quality of life within the earth's capacity. For more information visit www.wwf.org.uk/oneplanet Arctic Climate Impact Science - An Update Since ACIA, represents the most wide-ranging reviews of arctic climate impact science since the Arctic Climate Impact Assessment (ACIA) was published in 2005. PDF copies of the report can be downloaded from www.panda.org/arctic or from the pressroom dropbox at https://intranet.panda.org/documents/documents.cfm?uFolderId=61441&uDocId=12 1800 (user name is [log in to unmask] password is dropbox) For further information, images, and footage, please contact: Debbie Chapman, tel: 01483 412397, email: [log in to unmask] Jo Sargent, tel: 01483 412375, email [log in to unmask] Debbie Chapman Senior Press Officer WWF-UK Direct Line: +44 (0)1483 412 397 Mobile: +44 (0)7771 818 685 [log in to unmask] WWF - for a living planet http://wwf.org.uk Get On Board The Climate Change Bill is one of the most important pieces of legislation ever to go before the UK parliament. Add your voice for a strong and effective Bill - visit http://wwf.org.uk/getonboard WWF-UK, Panda House, Weyside Park, Godalming, Surrey, GU7 1XR. A company limited by guarantee registered in England number 4016725. WWF-UK registered charity number 1081247 VAT number 733 761821. 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