Forum moderator Ralph Begleiter, Rosenberg Professor of Communication and distinguished journalist in residence, and director of the Global Agenda program, gave opening remarks and introduced the three panelists: John Byrne, Distinguished Professor of Public Policy and director of UD's Center for Energy and Environmental Policy; Frederick “Fritz” Nelson, professor of geography and director of UD's Permafrost Group; and Yda Schreuder, associate professor of geography and the author of a forthcoming book on the subject of climate change.
Byrne and Nelson are Nobel Laureates, both earning recognition for their roles as members of working groups within the United Nations Intergovernmental Panel on Climate Change (IPCC). The panel was awarded the 2007 Nobel Peace Prize jointly with former Vice President Al Gore.
On Wednesday, Byrne discussed policy issues pertaining to the IPCC.
“Once you have a problem of this kind that effects virtually everything that human beings do on this planet, it's almost certain that governments are going to be involved,” Byrne said.
Byrne said two types of scientists serve as IPCC members, those who are government-appointed and those chosen by their peers in the scientific community. “It is an interesting process in which both kinds of members try their best to build a consensus around this issue,” Byrne said.
Because the implications of what is said in IPCC meetings have potential impact for all nations, it is important to have government-appointed members involved to determine how significant the evidence is on the various scientific findings, Byrne said. This helps IPCC consider both the scientific and political policy ramifications of their findings, he said.
Nelson discussed the damaging affects of human activity and climate change on permafrost, and he also discussed the importance of the scientific peer review process.
Nelson described permafrost as any subsurface earth materials that remain frozen for two consecutive years or more. Problems arise when permafrost thaws, either as a result of human actions or through sustained climactic warming, he said. Infrastructure built on permafrost can be damaged when it thaws, and there are important economic repercussions.
Nelson then discussed the value of scientific peer review, saying, “The peer review process is something that's been a lynchpin of science and has been for several hundred years.” He detailed how the process works, saying that if he has made some kind of significant scientific discovery, his first job is to “describe the discovery in words, and once I've done that, I send the results to a scientific journal.” From there, the editor who receives his paper sends it along to two or more reviewers who are experts on the topic and who will decide if the paper is publishable as it is, needs revision or just can't be used at all. This process is important, Nelson said, because it filters out erroneous results, improves the material and ensures the integrity of the scientific process.
Schreuder, author of the forthcoming book The Corporate Greenhouse: Climate Change Policy in a Globalizing World, discussed how the rapidly growing global economy affects atmospheric conditions.
The problem with increasing foreign trade among the nations and the global economy as it pertains to the environment, Schreuder said, is there is an on going debate as to who is creating the problems and who is going to pay to fix them.
The roundtable was assembled to address climate change after the originally scheduled speaker, Rajendra K. Pachauri, Nobel Peace Prize winner as chairperson of the IPCC, had his flight from India delayed and was unable to make it to UD.
For more information on upcoming talks focused on environmental issues, visit [www.udel.edu/global/].
Article by Adam Thomas
Photo by Duane Perry