UN IPCC climate chief Pachauri says don't pin Oklahoma tornado on climate change, is 'scientifically not valid,' AFP

5/22/13, "Don't pin US tornado on climate change: UN panel head," AFP, Geneva
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"Pinning the deadly tornado in the US state of Oklahoma on climate change is wrongheaded, even though the world is set to see a rise in high-profile weather disasters due to global warming, the leader of a UN body said Tuesday.

Rajendra Pachauri, head of the UN-backed Intergovernmental Panel on Climate Change, said data was still coming in about Monday's massive tornado which tore through a suburb of Oklahoma City, killing at least 24 people.
"Could there be better preparedness in general? Yes. What could better preparedness have been? Well it's very difficult to say at this stage," Pachauri told reporters in Geneva.

"But one really cannot relate an event of this nature to human-induced climate change. It's just not possible. Scientifically, that's not valid," he said.

The tornado followed roughly the same track as a May 1999 twister that killed 44 people, injured hundreds and destroyed thousands of homes.

Tornadoes frequently touch down on Oklahoma's plains, but Monday's twister struck a populated urban area.

Because of the hard ground, few homes are built with basements or storm shelters where residents can take cover.

Oklahoma City lies inside the so-called "Tornado Alley" stretching from South Dakota to central Texas, an area particularly vulnerable to tornadoes.

Experts warn that other extreme weather events -- like last year's Hurricane Sandy in the Caribbean and United States -- could strike more often due to climate change, as global temperatures rise and governments struggle to rein in emissions of greenhouse gases which are blamed for the phenomenon.

"Changes that are taking place, and that we're concerned about, include an increase in heatwaves, both in intensity and frequency, increase in extreme precipitation events and also extreme sea-level related impacts because of the increase in Arctic sea level," Pachauri said." via Junk Science

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UN IPCC chief notes current 17 year pause in global warming: 

2/21/13, "IPCC Head Pachauri Acknowledges Global Warming Standstill," The Australian, Graham Lloyd 

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US leads the world in CO2 reduction:

6/4/12, "Climate change stunner: USA leads world in CO2 cuts since 2006," Vancouver Observer, Saxifrage 



 
"Not only that, but as my top chart shows, US CO2 emissions are falling even faster than what President  Obama pledged in the global Copenhagen Accord....Here is the biggest shocker of all: the average American's CO2 emissions are down to levels not seen since 1964 --  over half a century ago.... It is exactly America's historical role of biggest and dirtiest that makes their sharp decline in CO2 pollution so noteworthy and potentially game changing at the global level."...    

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News of US CO2 plunge has been described as:

• “Surprising,“ 
• “little noticed,“ 
• “dramatic,“  
• “stunner,“ 
• “most people are surprised to learn,“ 
• “quiet but tremendous progress,”  
•  “major long term implications,” 
• “game changing,”  
• “shocker,” 
• “huge contrast to the forecast.” 

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Overwhelming scientific consensus says global warming has paused:

1/18/13, “Climate change: scientists puzzle over halt in global warming,” Der Spiegel, by Axel Bojanowski (translation from German by google). Chart below by UK Met Office, via Der Spiegel:

 

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China's increasing emissions render US reductions meaningless globally:
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"China was the biggest contributor (in 2011), with carbon dioxide output growing 9.3 percent." (3rd parag.)

5/25/12, "U.S. cut its carbon emissions in 2011 — but China erased the gains," Washington Post, Brad Plumer

"Yes, it’s true: Americans are slowly starting to tackle global warming. U.S. carbon emissions dropped 1.7 percent last year, according to the International Energy Agency. But that only went so far. Thanks to China’s fast growth, the world’s greenhouse-gas emissions hit record highs in 2011....

China was the biggest contributor, with carbon dioxide output growing 9.3 percent — thanks in large part to a rise in coal consumption."...

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China emitted 4 billion tons more CO2 than the US in 2011, per AP:

12/2/12, "Carbon pollution up to 2 million pounds per second," AP, Seth Borenstein

"The overwhelming majority of the increase (in 2011) was from China, the world’s biggest carbon dioxide polluter. Of the planet’s top 10 polluters, the United States and Germany were the only countries that reduced their carbon dioxide emissions....

The 2011 figures for the biggest polluters:

1. China, up 10 percent to 10 billion tons.
2. United States, down 2 percent to 5.9 billion tons
3. India, up 7 percent to 2.5 billion tons.
4. Russia, up 3 percent to 1.8 billion tons.
5. Japan, up 0.4 percent to 1.3 billion tons.
6. Germany, down 4 percent to 0.8 billion tons.
7. Iran, up 2 percent to 0.7 billion tons.
8. South Korea, up 4 percent to 0.6 billion tons.
9. Canada, up 2 percent to 0.6 billion tons.
10. South Africa, up 2 percent to 0.6 billion tons."





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