3 February 2005

No new technologies are needed to stabilise greenhouse gas concentrations at low levels. However, Bert Metz from the Netherlands Environmental Assessment Agency (RIVM), also says cost reduction and the development and transfer of clean technologies are crucial. Addressing delegates on day three of the Avoiding Dangerous Climate Change international conference at the Met Office's Exeter headquarters this week, Mr Metz explained that effective and efficient stabilisation strategies always use a portfolio of changing options to achieve a least cost approach.

Nonetheless, he claimed that for low level stabilisation, marginal costs will increase steadily as more and more expensive measures are required. He also stressed that costs for individual countries can vary over time, and mitigation strategies have to be integrated with adaptation efforts, in order to deal with the remaining climate impacts and assist countries that would experience predominantly negative results from climate change.

The conference, organised by the Department for Environment, Food and Rural Affairs (Defra), aims to advance the scientific understanding of the long-term implications of climate change, the relevance of stabilisation goals and options to reach such goals. It also aims to encourage research and international scientific debate on these issues.

Details of the speakers and papers being presented can be found at the Avoiding Dangerous Climate Change Conference web site.

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