CO2/Climate link reaffirmed

Abstract

The Carbon Dioxide/Climate Review Panel of the National Research Council (NRC) has reaffirmed the link between increases in atmospheric CO2 and the ‘greenhouse effect’ that would increase temperatures on the earth and change global climate. Furthermore, the panel found that the 1979 report by another NRC committee, which predicted a probable 3°C increase in global temperature (±1.5°) should atmospheric CO2 double, needs no ‘substantial revision.’Noting that climate models could not adequately examine the effects of CO2 increases in isolation, the panel recommended that such models be global in scope and account for such processes as atmospheric, land, and ocean storage and transfer of heat and moisture; the influence of trace gases, including nitrous oxide, methane, and ozone; and seasonal and regional effects. The panel encouraged observational studies, particularly of the long‐term interactions between the ocean and atmosphere, to validate the climate models. The recently issued report, ‘Carbon Dioxide and Climate: A Second Assessment,’ also refutes two recent studies that predict that increased CO2 will not change surface temperatures as drastically.