The new COSPAR Task Group on Global Climate Change
- Paper number
GLOC-2023,T,IP,x75225
- Author
Dr. Jean-Claude Worms, Committee on Space Research - Council for Science, France
- Coauthor
Dr. Ralph A. Kahn, National Aeronautics and Space Administration (NASA), Goddard Space Flight Center, United States
- Coauthor
Dr. Jérôme Benveniste, European Space Agency (ESA/ESRIN), Italy
- Year
2023
- Abstract
The climate of Earth is changing due to the emission of greenhouse gases from our civilization. The evidence of climate change is obvious to most. Fortunately, there is a growing recognition of the need for remediation, including action from the general public, industry, and decision-makers. Society is gradually taking more seriously warnings from the international science community, which has provided, over four decades, increasingly strong evidence of the pending climate crisis. Further, it is evident that the climate is changing even more rapidly and with more immediately pending disasters than were envisioned at first. Space researchers, using fleets of orbiting satellites, improving modeling capabilities, and internationally coordinated research programs provide unique contributions by predicting with growing accuracy the regional consequences of climate change. Such work will be essential to help guide the inevitable adaptations that will be required. The space science community can also provide guidance about the effectiveness of mitigating actions, and can help ensure that intended mitigations do not have adverse, unintended consequences. To support this call to action, COSPAR is forming a Task Group on Global Climate Change (TG2C2), aimed at coordinating the contributions from the space science community toward addressing the threat posed by global climate change. The TG2C2 will showcase the contributions brought by space research to the international efforts of many scientific disciplines, colleagues and interest groups world-wide. It will build upon and push ahead other COSPAR efforts, including the 2016-2025 Roadmap on Earth System Science commissioned by COSPAR, and the COSPAR participation in the GEO Program Board. The presentation will discuss the purpose, methodology and foreseen activities of the TG2C2, with a view to extend its reach, constituency and impact.
- Abstract document
- Manuscript document
(absent)