Prize winner says we can do better, much better regarding our decisions to emit CO2.
Wayne Gerdes -
CleanMPG - Nov. 3, 2009
Dr Susan Solomon is one of the world's leading atmospheric chemists and is in Sweden to receive the Volvo Environment Prize 2009 on 5 November in Stockholm. The prize, this year worth approximately 210,000 USD is celebrating its 20th anniversary. It has become one of the science world's most respected environmental awards.
Ever since 1986, when as a 30-year-old researcher she led her first expedition to the Antarctic to study the ozone hole, Susan Solomon has been active in researching how the earth's climate and atmosphere react to human activity. Among other achievements, she was Co-chair of the UN's climate panel, IPCC. The panel's widely discussed report a few years ago contributed to the current global interest in climate issues. In a recent scientific article, Solomon warned that climate changes may last longer than previously thought - up to 1000 years, even if emissions diminish. This is because the oceans absorb carbon dioxide only slowly.
Susan Solomon has broad experience of atmospheric research as well as work on policy and agreements to protect the ozone layer and counteract climate change. Her achievements as an on-site researcher in the Antarctic contributed to the so-called Montreal Protocol, the international agreement for protection of the ozone layer in the stratosphere. Susan Solomon claims that many lessons from that work can be applied at the imminent climate summit in Copenhagen, COP 15, in December. She argues that a substantial opportunity exists to create a low-carbon society and that international agreements can be reached more swiftly than pessimists believe.
"It is incredibly important that we have correct scientific information when making decisions," says Susan Solomon. "I find it encouraging that so many people today, across the world, are absorbing increased knowledge about the climate issue. And when we now know how long our impact will last, I believe people and governments will make better decisions about how much carbon dioxide we emit."
Several leading international researchers are on the jury for the Volvo Environmental Prize. The jury's motivation says in part: "Dr Susan Solomon is an outstanding atmospheric chemist and physicist whose pioneering scientific contributions have had major impacts on crucial environmental policies."
During her visit, Susan Solomon will participate in seminars in Gothenburg and Stockholm.
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