Yohe: Scientists Press for Climate Change Action

Gary Yohe, the Huffington Foundation Professor of Economics and Environmental Studies, co-authored an op-ed published in The Hartford Courant calling on the government to take action on climate change. The op-ed follows the recent release of the Intergovernmental Panel on Climate Change’s (of which Yohe is a senior member) Synthesis Report, which ties together “in a  clear and actionable way” findings on the risks and threats climate change poses to human society.

Business leaders have shown they’re ready to take action in response to these findings, “but they’re looking to politicians to implement policies that provide the regulatory certainty they need. The sooner businesses know what policies governments will enact to reduce carbon emissions, they better they can tailor their plans and continue to spur unhindered economic growth,” write Yohe and Mindy Lubber, president of Ceres, a nonprofit organization that mobilizes businesses to embrace a sustainable future.

Read the whole piece here. Yohe, who is also chair and professor of economics, professor of environmental studies, also spoke to The Washington Post recently about the new synthesis report:

“It’s not too late, but the longer you wait, the more expensive it gets,” Gary Yohe, a Wesleyan University professor who also participated in the drafting of the report, said in an interview. Damage to the Earth’s ecosystems is “irreversible to the extent to which we have committed ourselves, but we will commit ourselves to higher and higher and higher damages and impacts” if the world’s leaders fail to act, Yohe said.

Yohe also participated in a panel discussion about the new report on KQED Radio’s “Forum with Michael Krasny.”