Mar. 30-31: The National Academy of Sciences will hold a two-day summit on 'America's Climate Choices' at the request of Congress. The meeting will bring top climate change experts together with members of Congress and the Obama administration as well as business leaders and representatives of non-governmental organizations to help set the stage for national action on climate change, according to NAS officials. They said that the summit's presentations also will inform a series of reports from the National Research Council. More than 90 experts have volunteered to serve on four study panels, and the project will culminate with "an overarching committee report on how the U.S. could most effectively respond to climate change." Sessions will be in the auditorium of the NAS Building at 2100 C Street, NW. A live video webcast will be available at http://national-academies.org/. More information on the summit and reports can be found online at www.americasclimatechoices.org.
Why it matters: Organizers say they hope that the summit will jump-start an open dialogue among important voices on climate change as the country and world grapple with what to do next.. To that end, they say, presentations and discussions will focus on how to limit the magnitude of climate change and adapt to its impact. They will also consider what can be done to advance climate change science in order to increase our understanding of how human actions and nature interact to drive climate change; improve systems for modeling and observing climate change; and enhance the accuracy of warnings for regions that may be most vulnerable. Ensuring that climate change policy is informed by evidence-based advice will also be among the topics to be discussed.
Basically, this summit will be one of the few places where climate change will be discussed on a scientific basis as the 111th Congress tries to develop legislation. It therefore provides the best opportunity for experts from the oil and gas industry to have an impact on reports which could significantly shape major bills in the coming months.
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