Climate Expert Urges Governments to Drop Coal

A renowned expert in climate change – Dr James Hanson – has criticised the British Government's plants to build up to eight new coal-fired power stations without properly investing in ways to capture carbon dioxide emissions.

In an interview with The Independent newspaper in the UK, Hanson, who was one of the first scientists to warn about global warming 20 years ago, also criticised plans by the US and Germany to use more coal.

He says if key global reductions in CO2 emissions are to be met, nations that have previously been large coal users needed to invest in carbon-capture technology or look at new ways of generating fuel.

In a report written for the Nasa Goddard Institute for Space Studies this year, Hanson says action needs to be taken now if global warming is to be stopped, especially in the area of coal-generated power.

"I am confident we are looking at warming that is mainly due to increasing human-made greenhouse gases," Hanson says.

"If global emissions of carbon dioxide continue to rise at the rate of the past decade, research shows that there will be disastrous effects, including increasingly rapid sea level rise, increased frequency of droughts and floods, and increased stress on wildlife and plants due to rapidly shifting climate zones."

Hanson says he will present UK Prime Minister Gordon Brown with a letter regarding the issue this week.

By Penny Jones