A draft report by the Intergovernmental Panel on Climate Change (IPCC) is making waves.
The leaked report, which was described at length by the Daily Mail, makes some controversial claims, including some rosy predictions about the future of arctic tourism. Among its claims, it speculates that climate change could be beneficial to grey and orca whale populations, thereby helping whale-watching tour operators.
The report also predicted a dramatic increase in the number of ice-free days for both the Northwest Passage and the Northern Sea Route, increasing from the current average of 50 per year, to 125 by 2050. This would create the potential for dramatic expansion of the arctic cruise industry. But it’s a pity that climate change could also mean there’s less of the things that attract passengers to the arctic in the first place.
The official IPCC report is still being drafted and is expected to be released at a later date. One economist who participated in drafting the document now refuses to have his name on the report. Professor Richard Tol has accused his colleagues of being “alarmist” by using dramatic terms such as “apocalyptic” to describe their findings on the potential impacts of climate change.
