National science academies urge implementation of Kyoto Protocol
Some 17 national science academies, including seven from EU Member States, have signed a statement urging politicians to implement the Kyoto Protocol on climate change. The statement, published in the journal 'Science', asserts that human activities are worsening the problem, and that the academies see no reason to question the growing consensus on the science of climate change or the work of the Intergovernmental Panel on Climate Change (IPCC). The IPCC 'represents the consensus of the international scientific community,' claims the statement. 'We recognise the IPCC as the world's most reliable source of information on climate change and its causes, and we endorse its method of achieving this consensus. 'Despite increasing consensus, doubts have been expressed recently about the need to mitigate the risks posed by global climate change. We do not consider such doubts justified,' the statement continues. 'We support the IPCC's conclusion that it is at least 90 per cent certain that temperatures will continue to rise, with average global surface temperature projected to increase by between 1.4 and 5.8 degrees Celsius above 1990 levels by 2100'. The US National Academy of Sciences (NAS) refused to sign the statement, but is currently conducting a review of this area. They will present their own statement in June.