Energy Use and Climate Change: A Synthesis of the Latest Evidence

The Council of Canadian Academies Receives a New Question for Assessment about the Latest Evidence on Energy Use and Climate Change

(Ottawa) September 11, 2014 – Magna International Inc., a leading global automotive supplier, has recently asked the Council to convene an expert panel that will explore and synthesize the latest evidence on energy use and climate change with a focus on the North American context.

The nexus of energy use and climate change continues to be one of the most complex and challenging public policy issues faced by society. The global climate system is dynamic; and forecasting the environmental and social impacts of increasing concentrations of greenhouse gases in the atmosphere is difficult due to complex feedback loops. The energy system that contributes to these emissions is implicated in nearly all facets of life and is an important driver of the Canadian and global economies. A wide array of facts, opinions, and arguments are available to the public on these issues. As a result, the public, policy makers, and industry can find it difficult to know what evidence they can trust. Under the auspices of the Council, this new Expert Panel is charged with developing a clear and concise summary of recent evidence — based on the best available science — to serve as an impartial guide to these issues.

Preliminary background research is now under way. The panel will be recruited in the fall of 2014 and will consist of experts from a wide range of disciplines and backgrounds to ensure the most authoritative, credible, and independent responses to the question. A report should be complete and publicly available in the second half of 2015.

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The Council of Canadian Academies is an independent, not-for-profit organization that began operation in 2005. The Council supports independent, authoritative, and evidence-based expert assessments that inform public policy development in Canada. Assessments are conducted by multidisciplinary panels of experts from across Canada and abroad. Members of the Council’s blue-ribbon panels serve free of charge. The Council’s vision is to be a trusted voice for science in the public interest. For more information visit  www.scienceadvice.ca.

For more information, please contact:

Samantha Rae Ayoub

Communications and Publishing Director

Council of Canadian Academies

613 698-6765

samantha.rae@scienceadvice.ca