SENATOR COLLINS INTRODUCES CLIMATE CHANGE LEGISLATION

Washington, DC – Senator Susan Collins (R-ME) today introduced legislation to increase federal funding for abrupt climate change research. "The Abrupt Climate Change Research Act of 2005" 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.

"Scientists have determined that the climate can change dramatically within a very short period of time. An abrupt climate change triggered by the ongoing buildup of greenhouse gases could cause catastrophic droughts and floods," Senator Collins said. "Understanding and predicting climate change are enormous scientific challenges; and it is agreed that a great deal more scientific research is necessary in order to better understand the potential risk of 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."

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. This bill would lay the framework and provide the funds for the United States to understand and address abrupt climate change.

Senator Collins introduced similar legislation in the 108th Congress which passed the Senate Commerce Committee. Senator Collins has secured a total of $1 million for Fiscal Years 2004 and 2005 for the University of Maine's Climate Change Institute for abrupt climate change research.

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