Study: Metrics demonstrate climate change is happening at a faster pace - KITV Honolulu
Study: Metrics demonstrate climate change is happening at a faster pace | News | kitv.com
Study: Metrics demonstrate climate change is happening at a faster pace
HONOLULU (ISLAND NEWS) – While climate change isn’t a new concern, a recent study shows how measurable impacts are growing even faster than originally known.
That’s part of the results shown in the US National Climate Assessment, a study on actions to combat climate change and compilation of data demonstrating effects of climate change. Five researchers from the University of Hawaii were among those participating in this study, including Dr. Kirsten Oleson who stopped by Good Morning Hawaii to share some of the important though discouraging revelations.
Dr. Kirsten Oleson visits with Good Morning Hawaii to share recent findings from new climate report
Related Knowledge Center: Climate economics
Climate change is now a driver of the world’s economy. The impact is profound:
- Catastrophic weather events — hurricanes, floods, droughts, high temperatures — are more frequent and more extreme. The cost can be measured in both the initial damage caused and the longer-term impact on the economy.
- Vulnerable communities are increasing climate-related investments, hardening infrastructure and taking other protective measures.
- Investment in carbon capture and storage technologies is increasingly rapidly.
- Governments are making investments and crafting regulations to reduce emissions of carbon dioxide and other greenhouse gases.
On top of all of this is the cost of uncertainty. As the Fourth National Climate Assessment, released in 2018 by the U.S. Global Change Research Program, says, “The assumption that current and future climate conditions will resemble the recent past is no longer valid.”