Download CLEAN AIR TASK FORCE/ARCTIC 21 STATEMENT ON ARCTIC

CLEAN AIR TASK FORCE/ARCTIC 21 STATEMENT ON ARCTIC SEA ICE
REACHING RECORD LOW WINTER MAXIMUM, MARCH 19, 2015
“In an historic announcement today, the National Snow and Ice Data Center in
Boulder, CO, has declared this year’s Arctic Sea ice maximum cover the
lowest ever since measurements of a central indicator of climate change
began in 1979,” said Rafe Pomerance, former Deputy Assistant Secretary of
State and Chair of Arctic 21, an ad hoc coalition of NGOs concerned with
climate change in the Arctic. “This new data on sea ice loss sends a clear
message to the global community that the Arctic is unraveling, warming twice
as fast as the rest of the planet.”
“This melting goes beyond sea ice and includes the shrinkage of glaciers, the
loss of spring snow cover and thawing of permafrost,” added Pomerance.
“The U.S. has made the right decision to focus on climate change as it
assumes the chairmanship of the eight-country Arctic Council, starting next
month. Now the U.S. must communicate to the world the profound changes
in the Arctic to heighten the urgency of mitigating the risks of global climate
change.”
“We call on the Obama Administration, as Chair of the Arctic Council for the
next two years, to propose and implement concrete and binding steps to
begin to rein in this alarming trend,” said Lindsey Griffith of Garnet Strategies
and a consultant to Clean Air Task Force. "As we noted in a report
(http://www.catf.us/resources/publications/files/CATF_Arctic_Council_Report.
pdf) late last year, dealing with short-lived climate pollutants such as methane
and black carbon in the region would be an excellent place to start.”
The text of NSIDC’s announcement, along with supporting materials, can be
found here: http://nsidc.org/arcticseaicenews/.
Contact: Stuart C. Ross
Clean Air Task Force
914-649-5037 cell
[email protected]
Lindsey Griffith (for policy
inquiries)
Garnet Strategies/CATF
503-577-5374 cell
[email protected]
Brenda Ekwurzel (for science inquiries)
Union of Concerned Scientists
Rafe Pomerance (for
policy inquiries)
Chair, Arctic 21
18 Tremont St., Suite 530 | Boston, MA 02108 | www.catf.us | 617.624.0234
202-331-5443 office
[email protected]
202-423-6885 cell
[email protected]