Statements on Introduced Bills and Joint Resolutions

STATEMENTS ON INTRODUCED BILLS AND JOINT RESOLUTIONS -- (Senate - February 01, 2005)

By Ms. COLLINS (for herself, Ms. CANTWELL, Ms. SNOWE, Mrs. MURRAY, Mr. JEFFORDS, and Mr. DEWINE):

S. 245. A bill to provide for the development and coordination of a comprehensive and integrated United States research program that assists the people of the United States and the world to understand, assess, and predict human-induced and natural processes of abrupt climate change; to the Committee on Commerce, Science, and Transportation.

Ms. COLLINS. Mr. President, I rise to introduce the Abrupt Climate Change Research Act of 2005. This bill would authorize $10 million per year for the next six years for the National Oceanic and Atmospheric Administration, in partnership with universities across the Nation, to conduct research on abrupt climate change.

The subject of climate change remains controversial. Nevertheless, I believe there is one issue on which almost everyone can agree: A great deal more scientific research is necessary in order to better understand the potential risk of abrupt climate change.

Understanding and predicting climate change are enormous scientific challenges. The challenges are made even more difficult with the recognition that the climate system is capable of dramatic and abrupt changes. Scientists have determined that past global temperatures have swung as much as 20« F within a decade, accompanied by drought in some places and catastrophic floods in other places. An abrupt climate change triggered by the ongoing buildup of greenhouse gases in the atmosphere would also likely result in the redistribution of atmospheric moisture and rainfall, with substantial impact on the world's food supplies. Unfortunately, we have no satisfactory understanding of what triggers abrupt climate changes.

Both the National Academy of Sciences and the Administration's Strategic Climate Change Science Plan identify abrupt climate change as a key priority for additional research. In a 2002 report, the National Academy of Sciences stated that "Large, abrupt climate changes have repeatedly affected much or all of the Earth." Furthermore, the report stated that "abrupt climate changes are not only possible but likely in the future, potentially with large impacts on ecosystems and societies." The report noted that we're not doing nearly enough to identify even the threat of abrupt climate change. My bill would lay the framework and provide the funds for the United States to understand and address abrupt climate change.

One reason this funding is so urgent is that we're rapidly losing one of the greatest sources of information: Ice cores from glaciers. The University of Maine's Climate Change Institute has one of the best abrupt climate change research programs in the world. The Climate Change Institute uses ice cores from glaciers and ice sheets around the world to make discoveries that change the way we think about climate change. Unfortunately, numerous glaciers around the world are melting; and when they go, we lose the very record that has given us so much of this critical climatic history.

I recently had the opportunity to see for myself how scientists are able to use glaciers and ice sheets to understand climate change.

In August, I traveled with Senators MCCAIN, SUNUNU, and others to the northernmost community in the world. We visited Ny-Alesund on the Norwegian island of Spitsbergen. Located at 79 degrees north, Ny-Alesund lies well north of the Arctic Circle and is much closer to the North Pole than to Oslo, the country's capital. It has even served as a starting point for several polar expeditions, although thankfully, Senator MCCAIN did not include an attempt to reach the North Pole on our itinerary.

The scientists we met with told us that the global climate is changing more rapidly now than at any time since the beginning of civilization. They further state that the region of the globe changing most rapidly is the Arctic. The changes are remarkable and disturbing.

In the last 30 years, the Arctic has lost sea-ice cover over an area 10 times as large as the State of Maine. In the summer, the change is even more dramatic, with twice as much ice loss. The ice that remains is as much as 40 percent thinner than it was just a few decades ago. In addition to disappearing sea-ice, Arctic glaciers are also rapidly retreating. In Ny-Alesund, Senator MCCAIN and I witnessed massive blocks of ice falling off glaciers that had already retreated well back from the shores where they once rested.

The melting of glaciers and sea ice, the thawing of permafrost, and the increases in sea levels resulting from warming are already beginning to cause environmental, social, and economic changes. Indeed, the social and economic disruption resulting from climate change is already evident in a number of regions throughout the Arctic, including Alaska. Some coastal communities in Alaska are facing increased exposure to storms and coastal erosion as a reduction in sea ice allows higher waves and storm surges to reach shore. In other areas, thawing ground is disrupting transportation, buildings, and other infrastructure. Some indigenous communities are already facing the prospect of relocating. If these changes were to be compounded with an abrupt climate change on the scale seen in our climatic history, the result could be devastating.

I know that my colleague, the chairman of the Commerce Committee and senior Senator from Alaska, is very concerned about how Arctic climate changes are affecting his State. I know he recognizes that more research funding is necessary in order to understand future climate changes. I look forward to working with Chairman STEVENS, Ranking Member INOUYE, and other members of the Commerce Committee to address this extremely important issue in the 109th Congress.

I am grateful to my cosponsors, Senators CANTWELL, SNOWE, MURRAY, JEFFORDS, and DEWINE. I look forward to working with all of my colleagues over the coming months in order to address this important issue.

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