The president of the Bermuda Institute of Ocean Sciences (BIOS) believes Bermuda has the opportunity to become an environmental success story if Government and the community take the right steps.

Tony Knap delivered a speech on global climate change yesterday at the Hamilton Rotary Club, explaining how it affects the Island.

"The fact is that global climate change is real, and right now we are exceeding the worst predictions of carbon in the air," Dr. Knap said. "Some issues are already showing. The oceans are rising 3.1 millimetres per year. About half of that is due to the waters warming."

Warming is not the only negative side effect carbon dioxide (CO2) could have on the environment. Dr. Knap said that the ocean is absorbing some of the CO2 in the air, which makes the ocean more acidic. Acidic waters slow the growth of coral.

"Coral is just not able to grow as efficiently as before. It doesn't stop growth, but it slows it," Dr. Knap said. "The problem is that the wear on the coral could outstrip growth, causing shore erosion.

"The health of our coral reef is of paramount importance to us as an Island."

Dr. Knap said that the full impact of global climate change is still unknown.

"Some people are saying that warmer waters would lead to more hurricanes. That's still subject to a lot of research.

"All of these things depend on models. Unfortunately, we don't have any data from the future, so all we can do is extrapolate from the past and the present."

If Bermuda focuses its attention on the environment, Dr. Knap believes that the Island could become an example for other nations.

"We are a wealthy island nation. The opportunity to be celebrated as a clean island is still there."

While recycling and using renewable energy are parts of the solution, Dr. Knap believes that finding ways to make reducing carbon levels profitable is the key to making a difference.

"We need to set a proper price on carbon. People are not going to altruistically take carbon away. "There is a lot of stuff that can be done to remedy this problem, and if we work, Bermuda could be the centre of that. We can do such a thing."