WWF Says Alarming New Climate Data Underscores Need For Urgent U.S. Action


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June 9, 1998


WASHINGTON -- Warning that the latest meteorological data underscores the urgency of responding to the threat of global warming, the WWF called on Congress Monday to pass the Clinton Administration's proposed package of research and financial incentives to reduce the emission of greenhouse gases.

"The heat is on -- and many more species than Man alone are feeling it," said Adam Markham, WWF's director of Energy and Climate Policy. "Climate change is affecting the environment on a global scale. Documented changes include everything from changes in the timing of bird and mammal migrations to the bleaching of coral reefs and alterations in the distribution of plants."

According to new figures released by the National Climatic Data Center, global warming combined with the effects of El Nino to set record-high temperatures in each of the first five months of 1998. Overall, the period from January through May, 1998, was the warmest ever recorded since reliable record-keeping began in 1880, with the Earth's surface temperature jumping 0.5 degrees over the same period a year earlier.

Although the El Nino phenomenon may have contributed to this alarming increase, it is also apparent that the overall warming trend has exacerbated the effects of El Nino itself. As Vice President Al Gore said in a White House statement: "This is a reminder that global warming is real and that, unless we act, we can expect more extreme weather in the years ahead."

Global warming, however, does more than just affect the weather patterns that produce tornadoes, hurricanes and floods. It also profoundly affects plant and animal wildlife, accelerating the extinction of species and altering natural habitats as diverse as polar ice caps and tropical coral reefs.

Prompt action by the United States, which alone produces more than 20% of all the carbon dioxide emissions released into the atmosphere every year, is essential to global efforts to slow global warming. The Administration has taken a first step by proposing a five-year, $6.3 billion package of research and incentives aimed at reducing the emissions of CO2 and other gases that are responsible for global warming.

"We expect the Administration to fight vigorously for this package and we urge Congress to pass it without delay," Markham said. "Last year, global warming made headlines when 1997 turned out to be the warmest year in recorded history. Now, we hear that the first five months of this year were even warmer than they were last year. We have to put the brakes on global warming before it is too late."

Contacts:
Adam Markham (202) 861-8388
Michael Ross (202) 778-9565