Climate Change - Turning up the heat

Paperback  272 pp  ISBN 9781844073009      £20.00

• Major new book explaining the science, policy and politics of climate change and what it means for the future of humanity and planet Earth.
• Presents all of the key data, provides easy to follow explanations, and tackles the 'climate change sceptics' head-on.
• Authored by one of the world's leading climate researchers and previous head of the Climate Impact Group of the prestigious Commonwealth Scientific and Industrial Research Organisation (CSIRO).

Climate change has been described as the most pressing issue for the future of Earth, dramatically affecting all aspects of our lives and civilization, yet many people remain baffled by what is going on. A. Barrie Pittock, one of the world€s leading researchers on climate change, demystifies the issues and explains both sides of the current debates on this €hot€ topic. This timely book sorts fact from fiction as the author examines the arguments surrounding the reality of climate change and the divergent views of greenhouse sceptics and doom-and-gloom alarmists.

The book discusses the major impacts of climate change on natural ecosystems and past civilizations, and describes how scientists are predicting future change. It also outlines the options for living with climate change, from mitigation to adaptation. Beyond the scientific facts, the book tackles the politics of climate change, including the apparent clash of interests between richer, developed countries and poorer, less-developed countries, climate change sceptics, and the current international action on climate change, including the Kyoto Protocol. Pittock also examines individual action, emphasizing the need for us to contribute to solutions through constructive political and personal action.

Contents

• Introduction
• Climate Change Matters
• Learning from the Past
• Projecting the Future
• Uncertainty is Inevitable, but Risk is Certain
• What Climate Changes are Likely?
• Impacts: Why be Concerned?
• Adaptation: Living with Climate Change
• Mitigation: Limiting Climate Change
• Climate Change in Context
• The Politics of Greenhouse
• International Concern and National Interests
• Accepting the Challenge

Bibliography
Index.