Climate Change Links

Factual Climate Change Links

Some of the websites providing reliable scientific information on Climate Change:

1. Some Q&As and FAQs on climate change and global warming
2. More information for the non-specialist
3. Some climate change news sites
4. Some policy-related websites
5. "What can I do?" websites
6. Other websites on global warming
7. Expert Links supporting the GreenFacts Digest

Other Links

• Other Views on climate change
• Sites linking to this climate change study

1. Some Q&As and FAQs on climate change and global warming

• IPCC (Intergovernmental Panel on Climate Change) "Synthesis Report": 9 Q&As for Policy Makers on http://www.grida.no/climate/ipcc_tar/
  
  
• The US Global Change Research Information Office (GCRIO) Q&As:
  http://gcrio.custhelp.com/cgi-bin/gcrio.cfg/php/enduser/home.php
  
  
• "Common Questions about Climate Change", a 1997 overview from the WMO & UNEP, published on GCRIO: www.gcrio.org/ipcc/qa/ (the source for Questions 7 to 9 of this study)
  
  
• The Pew Center on Global Climate Change presents Science, International, Business, Economics & Solutions FAQs :
  www.pewclimate.org/global-warming-basics/faq_s/glance_faq_science.cfm
  
  
• U.S. Environmental Protection Agency (EPA) global warming FAQs:
  http://yosemite.epa.gov/oar/globalwarming.nsf/content/ClimateScienceFAQ.html
  ... and FAQs for kids http://www.epa.gov/globalwarming/kids (Sept.2001)
  
  
• U.S. National Climatic Data Center (NCDC) FAQs on global warming :
  http://lwf.ncdc.noaa.gov/oa/climate/globalwarming.html (Dec.1999)
  
  
• United Nations Framework Convention on Climate Change (UNFCCC) "climate change information kit" on http://unfccc.int/essential_background/ (July 2002)

2. More information for the non-specialist

• In the IPCC (Intergovernmental Panel on Climate Change) website, see "Climate Change 2001", a speech by Bob Watson, former Chaiman of the IPCC:
  www.ipcc.ch/present/COP65/COP-6-bis.htm
  
  
• UNEP in Norway has produce a great site where climate change is well explained through excellent graphics: www.grida.no/climate/vital/index.htm
   
• The US National Academy of Sciences (NAS) has published for the White House a 45 page paper "Climate Change Science: An Analysis of Some Key Questions" :
  http://newton.nap.edu/html/climatechange/
  
  
  
• Environmental Protection Agency(U.S. EPA) global warming website:
  http://yosemite.epa.gov/oar/globalwarming.nsf/content/index.html ;
  see "What's certain, likely and unknown?":
  http://yosemite.epa.gov/oar/globalwarming.nsf/content/climateuncertainties.html (the source for Question 10 of this study)
  
  
• On the Science@NASA website, a feature article (Oct. 2000) that explores why many questions about climate change are difficult for science to answer:
  http://science.nasa.gov/headlines/y2000/ast20oct_1.htm
  
  
• Climateark.org - Climate Change Portal: www.climateark.org/
  
  
• a 1997 website of the Environmental Defense Fund (EDF) providing good explanations on global warming: http://globalwarming.enviroweb.org
  
  
• UNEP climate change website: http://climatechange.unep.net/
  
  
• The information sheets of the Climatic Research Unit (CRU) of the University of East Anglia (UK): www.cru.uea.ac.uk/cru/info/
  
  
• "The Science of Climate Change: Global and U.S. Perspectives", by the Pew Center on Global Climate Change : http://www.pewclimate.org/docUploads/env%5Fscience%2Epdfm
  
  
• Global Climate Change Briefing Books by the U.S. National Council for Science and the Environment: index in www.ncseonline.org/NLE/CRSreports/BriefingBooks/Climate/


• The Woods Hole Research Center (WHRC) proposes "a beginner's guide to understanding the issue of global warming" :
  http://whrc.org/resources/online_publications/warming_earth/index.htm


• The website of the Science Museum of the US National Academy of Sciences proposes a section entitled "Global Warming Facts & Our Future" :
  www.koshlandscience.org/exhibitgcc/index.jsp
  

3. Some climate change news sites

• United Nations Framework Convention on Climate Change (UNFCCC) Press pages:
  http://unfccc.int/press/items/2794.php.
  
  
• Center for International Climate and Environmental Research- Oslo (CICERO ):
  www.cicero.uio.no/whatsnew/index_e.asp
  
  
• World Business Council for Sustainable Development (WBCSD) Energy & Climate news:
  www.wbcsd.org/web/energynews

4. Some policy-related websites

• On United Nations Framework Convention on Climate Change (UNFCCC) site, get the full text of the Kyoto Protocol : http://unfccc.int/essential_background/convention/items/2627.php
  
  
• On the International Institute for Sustainable Development (IISD) site, see an explaination of the various organizations, bodies, conferences and protocols relating to climate change conventions: www.iisd.ca/climate/fcccintro.html (Sept. 2000)
  
  
• The EurActiv Climate Change "LinksDossier" provides information on EU policies and much more: http://www.euractiv.com/Article?tcmuri=tcm:29-137310-16&type=LinksDossier
  
  
• The White Houses Climate Change policy book published on GCRIO:
  www.gcrio.org/OnLnDoc/pdf/climatechange.pdf
  
  
• An interesting article by Professor W. Leiss: "Why Canada Should Ratify Kyoto" (April 2002).
  
  
• Greenhouse gas emission trends and projections in Europe by the EEA:
  http://reports.eea.eu.int/environmental_issue_report_2003_36/en/tab_summary_RLR

5. "What can I do?" websites

• World Wide Fund for Nature (WWF) campaigns for personal greenhouse gas reduction:
  • Climate Savers, a campaign for businesses:
    www.panda.org/.../what_we_do/climate_change/our_solutions/business_industry/
    climate_savers/q_a/index.cfm
  • One Sweet Whirled, a campaign for individuals: www.onesweetwhirled.org.
    


• The US EPA advice on how to reduce carbon emissions, from the international level down to the individuals: http://yosemite.epa.gov/oar/globalwarming.nsf/content/Actions.html.
  



• The WRI site, SafeClimate.net, gives information to help people understand their contribution to greenhouse gas emissions: www.safeclimate.net/.

6. Other websites on global warming

• IPCC (Intergovernmental Panel on Climate Change): the Summaries for Policymakers of the Third Assessment Report (the source for Questions 1 to 6 of this study):
  - "The Scientific Basis" (WG1): www.ipcc.ch/ipccreports/tar/vol4/english/pdf/wg1spm.pdf
  - "Impacts, Adaptation and Vulnerability" (WG2):
  www.ipcc.ch/pub/wg2SPMfinal.pdf
  - "Mitigation" (WG3): www.ipcc.ch/pub/wg3spm.pdf
  
• OECD's pages on climate change: www.oecd.org/env/cc.
  
  
• World Health Organization (WHO's) Climate Change page:
  http://www.euro.who.int/globalchange,
  in their Climate and Health section:
  http://www.euro.who.int/globalchange/20030929_1.
  
  
• The "Country-by-country data-sets" of the Climatic Research Unit (CRU) of the University of East Anglia (UK): www.cru.uea.ac.uk/~timm/climate/countries.htm.
  
  
• The World Resource Institute (WRI) environmental database:
  http://earthtrends.wri.org.
  
  
• A lot of good scientific information on greenhouse gases in a moderate advocacy website:
  www.ghgonline.org.
  
  
• The Global Warming International Center, an international body disseminating information on global warming science and policy: www.globalwarming.net.


• Climatehotmap.org proposes a map of the world illustrating the local consequences of global warming : www.climatehotmap.org/.
  

7. Expert Links Supporting the GreenFacts Digest

• 1. Has the climate changed during the 20th century?
  
  
  • 1.1. Has the world warmed?
    
  • 1.2. What other climate changes have been observed?
    
  • 1.3. What aspects of our climate have NOT changed?
  
  
• 2. What causes this climate change?

• 2.1. Are human activities modifying the atmosphere?
  
• 2.2. How well is climate change understood?
  
• 2.3. To what extent is climate change due to human activities?
  

• 3. What climate changes are expected for the future?
  
  
  • 3.1. What emission scenarios are projected?
    
  • 3.2. What climate changes are projected for the 21st century?
    
  • 3.3. What climate changes are projected for future centuries?
    
    
• 4. What are the likely consequences of climate change?
  
  
  • 4.1. Has climate change already started to affect us?
    
  • 4.2. How potentially could Climate Change affect us?
    
  • 4.3. What other major impacts could climate change possibly have?
    
  • 4.4. What should be done?
    
    
• 5. How could Climate Change affect us in the future?
  
  
  • 5.1 What would be the effects on and vulnerability of the natural systems?
    
  • 5.2 What would be the effects on and vulnerability of the human systems?
    
  • 5.3. How does climate change vulnerability vary across regions?
    
    
• 6. How could greenhouse gas emissions be reduced?
  
  
  • 6.1. How is Climate Change a unique problem?
    
  • 6.2. What are the options for reducing greenhouse gas emissions?
    
  • 6.3. What would be the costs of implementing the Kyoto Protocol?
    
  • 6.4. What are the ways and means for mitigation?
    
  • 6.5. What in the current knowledge needs to be improved?
    
    
• 7. Are recent extreme weather events due to global warming?
  
  
  • 7.1 What extreme events could global warming explain?
    
  • 7.2 Is the occurrence of extreme temperatures increasing?
    
  • 7.3 Are precipitation levels changing?
    
  • 7.4 Are storms affected by global warming?
    
    
• 8. Do man-made greenhouse gases matter compared to water vapor?
  
  
  • 8.1 How do gases affect the earth's temperature?
    
  • 8.2 What is the human contribution?
    
  • 8.3 How could water vapor amplify global warming?
    
  • 8.4 What is the role of clouds?
    
    
• 9. Can ecosystems adapt to Climate Change?
  
  
  • 9.1 Are ecosystems less adaptable now to Climate Change?
    
  • 9.2 Is the speed of Climate Change detrimental to ecosystems?
    
  • 9.3 Has man affected the adaptability of ecosystems?
    
  • 9.4 Which ecosystems would be the most affected?
    
    
• 10. What is and is not known with certainty about climate change?
  
  
  • 10.1 What's known for certain?
    
  • 10.2 What's likely but not certain?
    
  • 10.3 What are the big unknowns?
    
  • 10.4 Living with uncertainty
    
    
• 11. Are there any different views?
  
  
  • 11.1 Is IPCC TAR a consensus report?
    
  • 11.2 Some of the sites suggesting IPCC views are overstated
    
  • 11.3 Some of the sites overstating IPCC views