Benno Hansen's Profile

between 1980 and 2002, civil wars were significantly more likely in warmer-than-average years

The large majority of the poor in most African countries depend on agriculture for their livelihoods, and their crops are quite sensitive to small changes in temperature. So when temperatures rise, the livelihoods of many in Africa suffer greatly, and the disadvantaged become more likely to take up arms.

Climate change has already been noted as a factor in the recent increase in refugees fleeing the horn of Africa.

The deal should involve binding medium and long-term greenhouse gas reduction goals for developed countries

put the big developing economies on a cleaner and greener path to prosperity

provide assistance for the vulnerable countries

how we can work together to disseminate and develop technology and knowledge

prices are almost always imperfect for a number of reasons, ranging from lack of information to ignoring costs such as pollution

There is no mechanism for pricing in this situation because the outcomes are so asymmetrical: extinction or cash.

The theory of unintended consequences states simply that whatever we do in a complex system will have a range of consequences we did not intend and could not forecast because of our lack of knowledge.

the most important events in the future are the largest events and these we cannot forecast.

it would be stupid to discard carbon markets provided they are considered as only one innovation amongst many other areas which require innovation including education, law, business, technology etc.

arctic sea ice is melting 40 percent faster than the panel estimated just a few years ago

the global average for rising sea levels was 3.4 millimeters per year from 1993-2008. The IPCC estimated it would be 1.9 mm for that period—short by 80 percent

Over the past 25 years temperatures have increased at a rate of 0.19°C per decade, in very good agreement with predictions based on greenhouse gas increases.

acceleration in sea-level rise is consistent with a doubling in contribution from melting of glaciers, ice caps, and the Greenland and West-Antarctic ice-sheets

waiting for higher levels of scientific certainty could mean that some tipping points will be crossed before they are recognized

the average annual per-capita emissions will have to shrink to well under 1 metric ton CO2 by 2050. This is 80-95% below the per-capita emissions in developed nations in 2000

massive droughts, extinction of species and sea
level rise

the proportion of fossil fuel emissions absorbed by
the oceans since 2000 may have declined by as much as 10 per cent