Scannet

Info for schools

Impacts of a Warming Climate

You need Real player (free) to
watch the video, get it here.

The film presented here is a summary of an international assessment of changes in climate and ultraviolet B radiation (UV-B) prepared by the Arctic Climate Impacts Assessment team (ACIA). ACIA is an international project of the Arctic Council (ministers of the 8 Arctic Countries Canada, Denmark-Greenland, Finland, Iceland, Norway, Russia, Sweden, and the United States of America) and the International Arctic Science Committee (IASC), which facilitates international cooperation in all aspects of arctic research. About 300 experts worked for 4 years to produce their findings which were presented in a large technical report published in 2005, a summary report published in 2004, and various media presentations such as the film presented here. The report was produced to explain the major findings of ACIA to the public and non-specialists such as politicians. Its main conclusion was:

“The Arctic is now experiencing some of the most rapid and severe climate change on earth. Over the next 100 years, climate change is expected to accelerate, contributing to major physical, ecological, social, and economic changes, many of which have already begun. Changes in arctic climate will also affect the rest of the world through increased global warming and rising sea levels.”

The summary report develops ten key findings about the nature of climate change, its consequences for the rest of the world, and it consequences for the vegetation, animals, sea ice, permanently frozen ground (permafrost), and indigenous arctic communities including people living in vulnerable arctic coastal areas. The key findings also summarise the consequences of changes in climate and UV-B radiation together with many other aspects of the arctic environment that are happening together. The film presents these 10 key findings and explains and illustrates them in non-technical language.

The film was produced by CICERO (Center for Climate and Environmental Research in Oslo) www.cicero.uio.no. If you have any questions regarding the film please contact Tove Kolset at CICERO

To learn more about ACIA and its other products visit www.ACIA.uaf.edu.