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Report: More extreme weather on the way

Sarah Gardner Nov 18, 2011
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Report: More extreme weather on the way

Sarah Gardner Nov 18, 2011
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Steve Chiotakis: A new global climate change report out today says the world should be prepared, for more hot weather in the summer and extreme weather events year round — so says the Intergovernmental Panel on Climate Change.

From the Marketplace Sustainability Desk, Sarah Gardner reports.


Sarah Gardner: The IPCC is the international group that studies climate change and its impacts. Today’s report is probably its most solution-oriented. It says extreme weather is here, expect more of it, and the world needs to get ready.

Sharlene Leurig at the non-profit investor coalition CERES says that means everything from higher seawalls to early storm warning systems.

Sharlene Leurig: We have to take steps to make sure we are not losing our shirts, losing people, losing valuable property every time a new extreme event plays out. Because there’s only going to be more of them.

Scientist Jay Gulledge at the Center for Climate and Energy Solutions says this is really about defending against known risks, just like the military does.

Jay Gulledge: Climate change should be handled in a very similar way because it is a very serious threat.

Today’s report is careful not to overstate climate predictions. The IPCC got egg on its face several years ago when it mistakenly claimed that Himalayan glaciers could disappear by 2035.

I’m Sarah Gardner for Marketplace.

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