Climate Change IPCC

The American Association for the Advancement of Science (AAAS) just finished its annual meeting in San Francisco. Results from the 4th Assessment on the Intergovernmental Panel on Climate Change was presented and discussed in detail.

Work on the fourth assessment report (AR4) is well underway.
The Working Group I report was published on 2 February 2007. Its key conclusions were that:
Warming of the climate system is unequivocal (greater than 90%). This is not alarmist, but matter of fact. The US is by far the biggest contributor of greenhouse gases, with China and India coming on strong.

Most of the observed increase in globally averaged temperatures since the mid-20th century is very likely due to the observed increase in anthropogenic greenhouse gas concentrations

Hotter temperatures and rises in sea level "would continue for centuries" no matter how much humans control their pollution, although the likely amount of temperature and sea level rise varies greatly depending on the fossil intensity of human activity during the next century (pages 13 and 18)

The probability that this is caused by natural climatic processes alone is less than 5%
World temperatures could rise from anywhere between 1.1 and 6.4°C (1.98 to 11.52°F) during the 21st century (table 3) and that:
Sea levels will probably rise by 18 to 59cm [table 3]
It is more than 90% certain that there will be frequent warm spells, heat waves and heavy rainfall
It is more than 66% certain that there will be an increase in droughts, tropical cyclones and extreme high tides.

Both past and future anthropogenic carbon dioxide emissions will continue to contribute to warming and sea level rise for more than a millennium.

Global atmospheric concentrations of carbon dioxide, methane and nitrous oxide have increased markedly as a result of human activities since 1750 and now far exceed pre-industrial values over the last 650,000 years. (Currently at 380 ppm, expected to reach over 500 ppm within 50 to 100 years).

Working Group II and Working Group III reports are scheduled for early April and early May, respectively. The AR4 Synthesis Report (SYR) is expected to be finalized during the last quarter of 2007.

The IPCC reviewed 30,000 published papers.

Hybrid vehicles were mentioned over the five day meeting as one part of the solution.