The PA Environmentalist: The Global Race To Halt Climate Change

The January edition of The PA Environmentalist is now available from the PA Environmental Council entitled, “Deep Decarbonization And The Global Race To Halt Climate Change.”

This issue of The PA Environmentalist serves as an introduction to PEC’s Achieving Deep Carbon Reductions: Paths for Pennsylvania’s Electricity Future Conference to be held March 15-16 in Pittsburgh.

“The debate about global climate change is over.  No longer merely a prediction, it is already happening.

“There, we said it.

“So if you are among the 30% of Americans or three percent of climate scientists who don’t believe that the Earth’s climate is changing due to human activity, then you can probably stop reading here.

“But if you are like most Americans and nearly all of the scientific community, read on.

“Climate scientists now believe that it is already too late to prevent all of the impacts of climate change, as some impacts are already being seen and felt across the globe. However, with global resolve to mitigate the current rate of warming, a potential full-scale climate disaster might still be avoided.

“Now, within the climate change community, there is a new debate that foreshadows the race to halt these dire trends.

“This new debate is not over whether climate change is real or not. It is about how massive the global effort needs to be to curb emissions of greenhouse gases.

“So urgent and overwhelming is the threat of climate change, says one camp, that the only comparison in world history that comes close is the allied effort in World War II.  The other camp, weary of the WWII metaphor, prefers other comparisons.

“But M. Granger Morgan, co-director of the Center for Climate and Energy Decision Making at Carnegie Mellon University in Pittsburgh, says that the WWII metaphor not only fits, it doesn’t go far enough.

“It’s going to take a WWII-like effort across the board,” says Morgan. “It can be done, but it’s going to take that kind of effort all around the world.”

“In the end, both sides of this debate agree on one fundamental point: climate change is real and the clock is rapidly ticking against a deadline to do something about it.”

The article goes on to provide helpful background information not only on the status of climate science, but also describes the case for deep decarbonization as a way to deal with climate change issues.

Click Here to read the entire edition and back issues of The PA Environmentalist.

PEC Decarbonization Conference

The PA Environmental Council and other partners are hosting the Achieving Deep Carbon Reductions: Paths for Pennsylvania’s Electricity Future Conference to be held March 15-16 at the David L. Lawrence Convention Center in Pittsburgh.

Deep decarbonization refers to reductions in greenhouse gas emissions of at least 80 percent by mid-century, which are in line with what has been advised by the scientific community to avoid the worst consequences of climate change.

This Conference will explore how such a strategy, instead of smaller, incremental targets, would work and what technologies it might include, in order to unlock the most cost-effective, beneficial pathway towards climate protection.

In particular, this event will focus on deep decarbonization of Pennsylvania’s electricity sector. National and Pennsylvania-based speakers will explore four key areas: renewable energy, energy efficiency, nuclear power, and carbon capture and storage.

For more details, including an up-to-date agenda, speaker bios, and early bird registration prices, visit PEC’s Achieving Deep Carbon Reductions Conference webpage.

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