Gov. Tim Pawlenty announced Monday he will hold four public forums on global warming across Minnesota in partnership with Arctic explorer Will Steger.
Pawlenty and Steger said they want to draw attention to the effects of a warmer climate on Minnesota and to develop solutions.
Pawlenty also downplayed reports he might join Steger for part of an Arctic tour in the spring. He said he'd like to go, but the trip would depend on his schedule during the 2008 legislative session.
"I am interested. But we won't be able to commit to that until we get a better handle on the schedule,'' Pawlenty told reporters in Duluth after speaking on climate change at a conference on issues facing Lake Superior.
Pawlenty's and Steger's forums probably will be in January and February and will focus on the effects of a warmer climate on Lake Superior, forests and inland lakes and streams, urban residents and prairies and wetlands.
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Though Steger has warned of the harm from climate change in polar areas, he said the rate of change caused by warming in Minnesota is "surprising.'' Lake Superior water temperatures have increased more than twice as fast as temperatures in other regions, for example, and Isle Royale moose appear to be hard-hit by a warming climate.
Earlier this year, Pawlenty signed groundbreaking legislation to reduce greenhouse gas emissions, which most scientists say contribute to an unnatural increase in global temperatures. The law calls for major cuts in carbon emissions in Minnesota and is widely praised by environmental activists as a model for action on climate change.
Pawlenty said his support for efforts to reduce emissions and help solve the climate change problem has led to some criticism from conservative Republicans. But he said the time for debate has passed.
"The jury should be in on this issue. Climate change is occurring,'' the Republican governor said, adding that the bulk of science on the issue shows humans are causing the problem and that it is a "moral imperative'' to correct the problem.
