AsianScientist (Mar. 13, 2018) – In an unprecedented show of solidarity, 22 Commonwealth academies of science have issued a consensus statement on climate change ahead of the Commonwealth Heads Of Government Meeting in the United Kingdom from 16-20 April 2018. Sustainability is expected to feature strongly at the meeting, with a particular focus on the resilience of developing and vulnerable countries to climate change.

Despite the Paris Agreement, which aims to keep global warming below 2°C, global temperatures are still on track to rise by 3°C by the end of the 21st century. There is an urgent need for governments to step up efforts to reduce greenhouse gas emissions.

The consensus statement on climate change is thus a call for governments of the Commonwealth nations to use the best available science to guide policy and action on climate change. It is signed by 22 national academies and societies of science from around the Commonwealth, including those of Bangladesh, India, Malaysia, Pakistan, Singapore and Sri Lanka.

In the statement, which represents the consensus views of tens of thousands of scientists on climate change, signatories noted that with climate change, “impacts such as higher rainfall and increased plant growth will be beneficial in some cases. However, others will be detrimental and felt more widely, changing ecosystems and weather patterns, and disrupting industries, economies, food supplies and livelihoods.”

Hence, “a range of approaches including pre-emptive and responsive mitigation and adaptation” will be required to meet the 2030 commitments under the Paris accord and achieve net-zero greenhouse gas emissions during the second half of the century.



The statement can be found at: Commonwealth Academies Consensus Statement on Climate Change.

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