Special Report: Fight against global warming

GINOWAN, Japan, June 16 (Xinhua) -- Putting a price on carbon dioxide could lead to less emission of greenhouse gas and help to solve global warming, chairman of the Intergovernmental Panel on Climate Change (IPCC) said here Saturday.

"An efficient carbon-pricing signal could realize significant mitigation potential in all sectors," said Dr. Rajendra K. Pachauri at an open symposium on energy and environment held in Okinawa of southern Japan.

Policies that provide a real or implicit price of carbon could create incentives for producers and consumers to significantly invest in products, technologies and processes of which the greenhouse gas emissions are low, Pachauri said.

The chief of the international organization on assessing global climate change called on governments to introduce such policies which could be economic instruments, government funding and regulation, in an effort to curb global warming.

Of the 12 warmest years from 1860 to 2006, 11 were in the last two decades, Pachauri said, warning that there have been evidences of systemic changes in precipitation, and that more floods and droughts can be expected in future.

It is widely agreed among international scholars that most of the observed increase in global averaged temperatures since the mid-20th century is very likely to be caused by human activities.

Between 1970 to 2004, global greenhouse gas emissions have risen by 70 percent, the chairman said, warning of high risk of extinction of some plants and animals, as well as damage to human society.

The IPCC, established by the World Meteorological Organization (WMO) and the United Nations Environment Program (UNEP) in 1988, aims to assess the scientific, technical and socio-economic information relevant to understanding the scientific basis of risk of human-induced climate change, its potential impacts and options for adaptation and mitigation.