Scientists to warn of flooding, COP 15
Release Date: 2009-03-11
A scientific conference with 2,000 participants from 80 countries opens tomorrow in Copenhagen. Top of the agenda will be updating the most recent UN report with data that indicate sea levels are rising at increasing rates.
One of the world's largest conferences on climate change starts tomorrow in the Danish capital, which will also host the UN conference on climate change later this year. According to several media, rising sea levels will be a main topic as data from the last few years indicate sea levels rising faster than assumed in the latest report from the UN Intergovernmental Panel on Climate Change (IPCC).
"It is now clear that there are going to be massive flooding disasters around the globe. Populations are shifting to the coast, which means that more and more people are going to be threatened by sea-level rise," Dr. David Vaughan, of the British Antarctic Survey tells The Observer.
While the latest IPCC report estimate sea levels to rise between 20 and 60 centimeters by 2100, the scientists meeting in Copenhagen are believed to agree to an estimate around 1 metre. Since the IPCC report's publication in 2007, new satellite data points to Arctic and Antarctic ice melting faster than previously known.
Tomorrow's conference is hosted by the University of Copenhagen.
| Type: | NORMAL |
| Company: | COP 15 |
| Country: | Denmark |
| Url: | http://en.cop15.dk/news/view+news?newsid=842 |