December 7th marked the first day of the United Nations Framework Conventionon Climate Change in Copenhagen (UNFCCC). The UNFCCC was officially begun in 1994, and now has 192 countries ratified within the organization. This is a globally important issue, and one that PRI offers substantial outreach on here.

The UNFCC states that "Climate change is one of the most fundamental challenges ever to confront humanity. Its impacts are already showing and will intensify over time if left unchecked. There is overwhelming scientific evidence, as shown in the Fourth Assessment Report of the Intergovernmental Panel on Climate Change (IPCC), that climate change will threaten economic growth and long-term prosperity, as well as the very survival of the most vulnerable populations. IPCC projections indicate that if emissions continue to rise at their current pace and are allowed to double from their pre-industrial level, the world will face an average temperature rise of around 3°C this century. Serious impacts are associated with this scenario, including sea-level rise, shifts in growing seasons, and an increasing frequency and intensity of extreme weather events such as storms, floods and droughts."

A deal in Copenhagen will help lead the globe in mitigating and adapting to impacts felt by climate change, and will encourage economic growth in green energies. PRI supports the UNFCCC statement above, and will be watching for updates of activities in Copenhagen. Please follow our blog post for these updates here!

For general information on these topics and their history, please visit these sites.

Climate change skeptic criticisms answered
http://news.bbc.co.uk/2/hi/science/nature/8376286.stm

The Environmental and Energy Study Institute
http://www.eesi.org/

The official site of the United Nations Framework Convention on ClimateChange
http://unfccc.int/2860.php

To What Degree: What Science Is Telling Us About Climate Change
http://links.govdelivery.com:80/track?type=clickenid=bWFpbGluZ2lkPTY1NT
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Cornell's Climate Change Blog
http://blogs.cornell.edu/climatechange/