SCAR Antarctic Climate Change and the Environment Report
The Representatives,
Recognising that the Antarctic region offers a unique environment for the study of climate change;
Recalling the Washington Ministerial Declaration on the fiftieth anniversary of the signing of the Antarctic Treaty, in which Ministers from all Antarctic Treaty Consultative Parties noted their concern over the implications of global environmental change, in particular climate change, for the Antarctic environment and dependent and associated ecosystems and confirmed their intention to work together to better understand changes to the Earth’s climate and to actively seek ways to address the effects of climate and environmental change on the Antarctic environment and dependent and associated ecosystems;
Welcoming the report on Antarctic Climate Change and the Environment (ACCE) by the Scientific Committee on Antarctic Research (SCAR) as a first step in compiling a comprehensive assessment of scientific information on the climate system in the Antarctic region;
Concerned by the findings of the ACCE report that effects of climate change are already occurring in the Antarctic region;
Recommend that their Governments:
1) forward copies of the SCAR ACCE report to their respective departments and agencies engaged in climate change negotiations;
2) encourage dissemination of the findings of the SCAR ACCE report and of ongoing Antarctic climate change research to the general public and the media;
3) forward copies of the SCAR ACCE report to their national Antarctic science and research bodies, and encourage them to consider fully the findings and recommendations from the report; and
4) welcome regular updates by SCAR on Antarctic climate change and its implications.
The Representatives,
Recognising that the Antarctic region offers a unique environment for the study of climate change;
Recalling the Washington Ministerial Declaration on the fiftieth anniversary of the signing of the Antarctic Treaty, in which Ministers from all Antarctic Treaty Consultative Parties noted their concern over the implications of global environmental change, in particular climate change, for the Antarctic environment and dependent and associated ecosystems and confirmed their intention to work together to better understand changes to the Earth’s climate and to actively seek ways to address the effects of climate and environmental change on the Antarctic environment and dependent and associated ecosystems;
Welcoming the report on Antarctic Climate Change and the Environment (ACCE) by the Scientific Committee on Antarctic Research (SCAR) as a first step in compiling a comprehensive assessment of scientific information on the climate system in the Antarctic region;
Concerned by the findings of the ACCE report that effects of climate change are already occurring in the Antarctic region;
Recommend that their Governments:
1) forward copies of the SCAR ACCE report to their respective departments and agencies engaged in climate change negotiations;
2) encourage dissemination of the findings of the SCAR ACCE report and of ongoing Antarctic climate change research to the general public and the media;
3) forward copies of the SCAR ACCE report to their national Antarctic science and research bodies, and encourage them to consider fully the findings and recommendations from the report; and
4) welcome regular updates by SCAR on Antarctic climate change and its implications.
