The effects of climate change on icecaps and polar ecosystems are being spotlighted this week on the occasion of World Environment Day. The IAEA supports international research and understanding of climate change issues through a variety of activities, ranging from water studies to energy assessments.
The main international celebrations will be held in Norway, in cooperation with the United Nations Environment Programme (UNEP) and linked to the International Polar Year in 2007. Events are being organized in the the city of Tromsø.
As part of events, UNEP is launching a new climate report - the Global Outlook for Ice and Snow - this week in Norway. Winners of UNEP´s Children´s Painting Competion also will be honoured at events. The new global report involves UNEP and a network of some 70 international experts. It builds on and in some areas extends the work of the Intergovernmental Panel on Climate Change (IPCC) whose latest assessments were issued earlier this year.
The IAEA, through its laboratories, Department of Nuclear Science and Applications and Department of Nuclear Energy, supports and contributes to climate change studies. The work includes research spearheaded by scientists at the Laboratories in Seibersdorf, Vienna, and Monaco.