This panel will address the question:
"What can be done to limit the magnitude of future climate change?"
The panel will describe, analyze, and assess strategies for reducing the net future human influence on climate, including both technology and policy options (this is sometimes referred to as "mitigation of climate change"). The panel will focus on actions to reduce domestic greenhouse gas emissions and other human drivers of climate change, such as changes in land use, but will also consider the international dimensions of climate stabilization. The costs, benefits, limitations, tradeoffs, and uncertainties associated with different options and strategies should be assessed qualitatively and, to the extent practicable, quantitatively, using the scenarios of future climate change and vulnerability develped by the Climate Change Study Committee. The panel will also strive to keep abreast of the wide range of proposals currently being advanced by policymakers at a number of levels to limit the future magnitude of climate change, and strive to frame their recommendations in the context of these developments.
The following are sample sub-questions that illustrate the range of issues the panel will address:
- What are the most effective and feasible technology and policy options for reducing or offsetting domestic greenhouse gas emissions and other climate forcings?
- What are the risks, opportunities, costs, uncertainties associated with each of these options, which have been the most effective to date?
- What factors determine the degree to which these options produce their intended results?
- What interactions and synergies exist with actions being taken to address other national priorities, such as energy independence and security, food security, as well as other environmental priorities like clean air and water?
- What synergies exist with efforts to limit climate change being taken by other countries, and what steps could be taken to ensure that the U.S. emerges as a leader in developing and encouraging worldwide adoption of climate-friendly technologies and policies?
The panel should also provide input to the Climate Change Study Committee on the following integrating questions:
- What short-term actions can be taken to limit the magnitude of future climate change?
- What promising long-term strategies, investments, and opportunities could be pursued to limit the magnitude of future climate change?
- What are the major scientific and technological advances (e.g., new observations, improved models, research priorities, etc.) needed to limit the magnitude of future climate change?
- What are the major impediments (e.g., practical, institutional, economic, ethical, intergenerational, etc.) to limiting the magnitude of future climate change, and what can be done to overcome these impediments?
- What can be done to limit the magnitude of future climate change at different levels (e.g., local, state, regional, national, and in collaboration with the international community) and in different sectors (e.g., nongovernmental organizations, the business community, the research and academic communities, individuals and households, etc.)?
The Panel on Limiting the Magnitude of Future Climate Change will include approximately 14 members drawn from a range of communities including academia, business and industry, different levels of government, nongovernmental organizations, and the international community. The panel will include experts familiar with the technological and policy options for reducing or offsetting greenhouse gas emissions and other climate forcings; ways to promote the development and adoption of low-carbon and efficient energy technologies among key sectors (e.g. transportation, industrial, commercial, residential) and end-user groups; relevant land use policies and practices (e.g. urban planning, agriculture, forestry); relevant decision-making processes of individuals and organizations (e.g. behavioral change, investments, technology adoption); the economic, political, and social complexities associated with reducing or offsetting emissions; the international dimensions of climate stabilization; and other relevant fields.
