Webinar: Facts & Future of Climate Change — What Energy Leaders Need to Know with Dr. Guy Brasseur

In this OpenMinds webinar, climate scientist Dr. Guy Brasseur, former director of the Max Planck Institute for Meteorology in Hamburg and a coordinating lead author for the IPCC, talks with OpenMinds Executive Director David Baldwin about what energy leaders need to know about the state of climate science. He separates what is well understood from the key uncertainties, and explains why IPCC reports are policy relevant but not policy prescriptive.

Key points

• The Earth is about 1.4 to 1.5 degrees warmer than in pre-industrial times, and greenhouse gas concentrations are at a record high.
• The biggest open questions are regional and local impacts and possible tipping points, such as rapid ice melt or loss of the Amazon rainforest.
• Underestimated risks include cascading effects, such as stress on the electric grid, and irreversibility.
• Options are mitigation, adaptation and geoengineering. He is relatively optimistic because the problem is solvable and the private sector is now engaged.