The Transatlantic Climate Bridge kicked off its 2010 Climate and Energy Workshop Series with a session on climate science on July 26 presenting the arguments for taking the threat of climate change seriously.

In partnership with RGIT (the Representative of German Industry and Trade) and as part of the German government’s Transatlantic Climate Bridge initiative, the workshop’s aim was to examine how businesses are responding to climate change policies, and to look at how climate science is perceived by policy-makers.

Enlarge image Dr. Huber from the Potsdam Institute for Climate Impact Research (© RGIT)

Dr. Veronika Huber, an expert from the the Potsdam Institute for Climate Impact Research in Germany, said that with 2009 the warmest year on record, CO2 emissions must be reduced through a change in the energy mix. She called for more renewable energy, carbon storage and sequestration (CCS), and global cooperation.

Even if global CO2 emissions were to suddenly decrease now, however, the intensity of the emissions released already means that temperatures will continue to rise and remain higher for at least 1,000 years, she said, because “global warming is irreversible.”

Dr. Huber was joined in a lively debate by Stephen Eule from the US Chamber of Commerce’s Institute for 21st Century Energy, Anna-Maria Schneider from the Volkswagen Group of America, Inc. and Kenneth Green from the American Enterprise Institute for Public Policy Research.

A marked difference in opinions in whether and how to tackle climate change emerged amongst the speakers. Eule pointed out what he sees as a difference in perception between Americans and Europeans. “Americans are not Europeans. We think differently and we don’t have the tolerance for taxation that Europeans do.”

Kenneth Green questioned the validity of the climate science, stating that because the climate is chaotic in general, we can’t predict future climate trends. He also maintained that “climate science has no impact on congress or politics.”

The industry representative on the panel, Anna-Maria Schneider from the Volkswagen Group of America, Inc. explained how her company is responding to climate science, saying that because automobiles are responsible for 17 percent of global emissions, VW is boosting the share of electric vehicles in annual sales to 3 percent by 2018 and is expanding battery technology.

“We know fossil fuels are a finite resource and we have to do our part to reduce global emissions,” she said.

The German government has no doubts about the validity of climate science and takes the threat of climate change seriously. Germany has positioned itself as a leader in the global efforts to reduce CO2 emissions and has proven that a progressive climate and energy policy creates economic growth and jobs – more than 300,000 jobs have been created in Germany’s renewable energy industry alone.

This climate science workshop was part of the 2010 Climate and Energy Workshop Series which will host a variety of German experts tackling topics such as green jobs, Desertec and the International Climate Negotiations in Mexico.

For a detailed overview of the discussion at the event by RGIT, please click here:  Climate Science Workshop re-cap [pdf, 330,03k]