The Complete Guide to Climate Change

Climate change has emerged as one of the defining political and socioeconomic issues of the twenty-first century. Although it has been part of the scientific agenda since the 1970s, it only really began to attract widespread international attention during the 1990s. It is now a mainstream political issue that people need to understand and respond to. Climate change is a complex issue that covers the full spectrum of scientific, economic, social, and political disciplines, and few people have the opportunity to attain a comprehensive and in-depth understanding of all facets of climate change. The purpose of this book is to assist readers to gain a better understanding by distilling current knowledge and key issues in an easily understandable form.Over the past two decades, enormous progress has been made in the understanding of climate science, the likely repercussions of a changing climate on human and natural systems, and what options are available to reduce the extent of future climate change. Thousands of research papers, reports, articles, and opinion pieces havebeen published on climate change, and these have presented a wide range of divergent, and often opposing, views. Climate change is an issue that has been the subject of ongoing, and at times heated, scientific and political debate. Although uncertainty remains in respect to the magnitude, timing, and extent of climate change and its impacts, the vast body of scientific evidence presents a compelling case that human activities have already changed the earth’s climate and, if present emission trends persist, the changes that are projected to occur over the course of this century are likely to be very dangerous indeed. The book consists of 64 separate entries, each of which covers a specific topic or issue relevant to climate change. Each entry is, in effect, a stand-alone essay that provides the reader with a summary overview of the current knowledge and understanding of the topic. The information contained in each entry is sourced from the most recent and authoritative literature on the subject. Each entry contains cross references to other entries, so that readers can find more detailed information on related issues. At the end of each entry, readers are directed to other entries most relevant to the topic under discussion and to further information sources that cover the topic in more detail. The book covers all the key concepts of climate change, including climate science, projected impacts, social and political drivers underlying future emissions, finance and carbon markets, the potential contribution of different miti­gation options, and the international political and administrative infrastructure that guides the international community’s response to climate change. As authors, and practitioners in the field of climate change, we have attempted to present an objective and balanced account of the differing views and levels of uncertainty surrounding various climate change issues. We have generally refrained from drawing definitive conclusions on most topics, unless the empirical evidence is overwhelming, or it covers our particular areas of professional expertise.