19 June 2009: According to a new report titled “Global Climate Change Impacts in the US,” there is evidence that patterns of erratic and often extreme weather conditions that have recently affected the US are attributable to climate change.

The 200-page US study was announced by two members of President Obama’s “green team,” Science Advisor John Holdren and the Head of the National Oceanic and Atmospheric Administration (NOAA), Jane Lubchenco.
The latter qualified the report as “a game changer,” explaining that it would change the perception of climate change in the US, which is responsible for “much of the foot-dragging in addressing” this challenge. According to UNEP, Lubchenco’s statements lend a sense of urgency to the US ratification of a decisive climate deal in Copenhagen in December, at the UN climate change conference. Significantly, the report states that climate change cannot be viewed in isolation and is part of a global trend of warming.
UNEP notes that the US Climate Change report is one of several recent calls for urgent action against climate change. The Asian Development Bank (ADB) recently urged Asia-Pacific countries to draw long-term solutions and increase investments in green technology to combat the adverse effects of climate change and the UK recently released its UK Climate Projections 2009 report. [ UNEP Press Release][Global Climate Change Impacts in the US]