RFF Launches Internet Site Devoted to Climate Change Policy

WASHINGTON, July 14 /U.S. Newswire/ -- As policymakers preparefor the upcoming meeting of the Conference of the Parties, Resourcesfor the Future (RFF) today launches WEATHERVANE, an internetforum dedicated to climate change policy. Its aim is to providethe news media, legislators, opinion leaders and the interestedpublic with neutral analysis and commentary on U.S. andinternationalpolicy initiatives designed to reduce emissions of greenhousegases.

RFF published the first edition of Weathervane today, Monday,July 14, at http://www.weathervane.rff.org. Subsequent issueswill be published on the first and third Monday of each month.

"Just as a traditional weathervane tracks the direction of thewind, Weathervane tracks the developments in climate change policy,both internationally and within the United States," WeathervaneEditor Michael Tebo says. "And, just as one of the basic rules fordesigning a weather vane is that there must be equal mass on eitherside of its center, our editorial aim is to present balanced andobjective information, with no one perspective or viewpointdominating our analysis and reporting."Each issue includes a number of feature articles written byWeathervane staff, RFF researchers, and invited policymakers andopinion leaders. In the inaugural issue, features include:-- How to Think About Climate Change, an overview of keyissues and principles in the climate change debate written byMichael Toman, director of RFF's Climate Economics and PolicyProgram.-- How to Interpret Energy Data and Understand Its Role InPolicy, a primer on climate data written by Raymond Kopp, directorof RFF's Quality of the Environment division.-- Essays contributed by Natural Resources Defense Council'sDaniel Lashof; the American Petroleum Institute's William O'Keefe;Rep. John Dingell (D-Mich.), and White House Climate ChangeTask Force Chairman Dirk Forrester. They respond to the question:Climate Change: Condition Critical? Is a climate change treatyreally needed right now? What's at stake and what are the chancesfor reaching an agreement? What have been the stumbling blocksor sticking points to a treaty so far?-- An overview of the activities of the Ad Hoc Group of the BerlinMandate (AGBM), a subsidiary body of the U.N. Framework ConventiononClimate Change, by Michael Zammit Cutajar, executive secretary totheSecretariat of the U.N. Framework Convention on Climate Change. Hediscusses accomplishments at the March 1997 AGBM meeting andidentifies the key issues that are expected to be addressed at theupcoming August and October AGBM meetings.Each issue will also contain a number of departments. Theseinclude: At the Negotiating Table, which tracks developments ininternational policy, the key players in the debate, significantreports issued by various government and intergovernmental groupsand dates of international meetings; a research spotlight on newclimate findings and projects; an expanding glossary of economic,environmental and ecological terms often used in climate changenegotiations; and a "sounding off" open forum for site visitors tovoice their opinions on a variety of topics related to climatechange.Weathervane is a complement to RFF's Climate Economics and PolicyProgram. Launched in October 1996, the program seeks to increaseunderstanding and knowledge of the complex issues that must beaddressed to design appropriate domestic and international policiesthat are effective, reliable and cost-efficient.------Editors: Some computer systems do not recognize the "at" sign. Itis an important component of e-mail addresses and should be used inplace of the symbol (At) in the contact information above.