The science of climate change and the market opportunities in response to climate change will be the topic of a public discussion presented in Casper by the University of Wyoming/Casper College Center on Thursday at 7 p.m.

A top atmospheric scientist from UW in Laramie will be in Casper to detail what atmospheric scientists now believe they know about climate change, and the evidence for those beliefs.

An energy engineer from a company involved worldwide in greenhouse gas management will join the climate scientist to talk about the opportunities investors see in the energy markets due to greenhouse gas concerns.

The free public event will take place in the Wold Physical Science Center, Wheeler Auditorium, on the Casper College campus. It is the second evening in UW/CC's 2006 fall public lecture series titled "Energy Futures: Global Changes that Challenge Wyoming."

Derek Montague, UW associate professor of Atmospheric Science, will start off the evening pulling together for the audience the evidence scientists now have on the question of climate change. He'll also describe the levels of certainty associated with the conclusions drawn thus far.

Montague will go on to describe what the "best guesses" are for climate developments in coming decades, the levels of certainty associated with those guesses, and whether action taken by human societies could have an impact on the trends.

Then Evan Evans, vice-president of Econergy of Boulder, Colo., an engineer whose work has been focused on energy efficiency and renewable energy, will discuss the carbon trading his firm has worked on in a variety of countries that has resulted from international concern about greenhouse gas contributions to climate change.

The U.S., too, will soon become involved in carbon trading, Evans believes. There are many signs that Washington policymakers will decide to take action on climate change.

That could mean new business opportunities for people in Wyoming as well as elsewhere. Evans notes that Wyoming has suitable locations for carbon sequestration, for instance.

The discussion will be moderated by UW adjunct faculty member Anne MacKinnon.