The recently released Inter-governmental Panel on Climate Change (IPCC) report – ' Climate Change 2014: Impacts, Adaptation, and Vulnerability' – finds that the effects of climate change are already occurring on all continents and across the oceans. It also underlines that the prediction of ice-free periods in the Arctic Ocean is generally underestimated. Relevant maritime-focused excerpts from the report follow:
Shipping from major European ports to Shanghai is some 40 percent shorter via the Northern Sea Route compared with the Suez Canal. Shorter shipping distance cuts emissions, but increases the probability of shipping accidents with severe consequences for the fragile Arctic environment.
A total of 309 coordinating lead authors, lead authors, and review editors, drawn from 70 countries, were selected to produce the report. They enlisted the help of 436 contributing authors, and a total of 1,729 expert and government reviewers.
The report and other related information can be accessed at: http://www.ipcc.ch/