Climate Change:

The Science, Impacts and Solutions

Second Edition
By A Barrie Pittock
Climate Change
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  1. Page ix
    Foreword
    By Dr Rajendra K Pachauri, Chairman, Intergovernmental Panel on Climate Change
  2. Page xi
    Acknowledgements
  3. Page xiii
    Introduction
  4. Page 1
    1. Climate change matters
    1. Page 2
      Turning up the heat
    2. Page 7
      Why is the present rapid warming happening?
    3. Page 10
      The importance of delayed climate responses
    4. Page 12
      Observed impacts
    5. Page 15
      Trends in human vulnerability
    6. Page 16
      Projections of future climate change
    7. Page 17
      Facing the challenge
    8. Page 18
      Conclusion
    9. Page 19
      Endnotes
  5. Page 23
    2. Learning from the past
    1. Page 24
      Proxy data: Clues from the past
    2. Page 26
      The record of the ice ages
    3. Page 27
      The causes of past climate change
      1. Page 28
        Variations in the Earth’s orbit
      2. Page 29
        Role of greenhouse gases in amplifying climate changes
      3. Page 30
        Variations in solar output
      4. Page 31
        Volcanoes, cosmic collisions and aerosols
    4. Page 32
      Rapid climate changes in the past
    5. Page 35
      The last 10 000 years
    6. Page 37
      Conclusions from the past record
    7. Page 39
      Endnotes
  6. Page 43
    3. Projecting the future
    1. Page 43
      The need for, and nature of, foresight
    2. Page 44
      Predictions, scenarios and projections
    3. Page 45
      The emissions scenarios used by the IPCC
    4. Page 49
      Projections of socio-economic futures
    5. Page 51
      Forecasting the weather
    6. Page 52
      Why climate projections are different
    7. Page 53
      How good are climate models?
    8. Page 56
      The state of climate projections
    9. Page 57
      Endnotes
  7. Page 59
    4. Uncertainty is inevitable, but risk is certain
    1. Page 59
      Despite uncertainties, decisions have to be made
    2. Page 60
      Uncertainty in climate change projections
    3. Page 63
      From polarisation to probability and risk
    4. Page 67
      Estimating risk
    5. Page 69
      Uncertainty and the role of sceptics
    6. Page 73
      Application of the ‘Precautionary Principle’
    7. Page 74
      Endnotes
  8. Page 77
    5. What climate changes are likely?
    1. Page 78
      Projected climate changes
      1. Page 80
        Surface warming
      2. Page 82
        Regional warmings
      3. Page 82
        Precipitation and evaporation
      4. Page 84
        Extreme events
      5. Page 87
        Sea-level rise
    2. Page 93
      Thresholds and abrupt or irreversible changes
    3. Page 97
      Scenarios in a nutshell
    4. Page 99
      Endnotes
  9. Page 107
    6. Impacts: Why be concerned?
    1. Page 109
      Climate change impacts – reasons for concern
    2. Page 110
      Thresholds and abrupt changes
    3. Page 111
      Risks to unique and threatened systems
    4. Page 115
      Risks from extreme climate events
    5. Page 118
      Distribution of impacts
    6. Page 121
      Aggregate impacts
    7. Page 122
      Waking the sleeping giants
      1. Page 122
        Effects of a breakdown in the ocean circulation
      2. Page 124
        Rapid sea-level rise from melting ice sheets
      3. Page 125
        Runaway carbon dynamics
      4. Page 126
        Security implications
    8. Page 126
      Stabilisation of greenhouse gas concentrations
    9. Page 128
      Growing reasons for concern
    10. Page 129
      Endnotes
  10. Page 133
    7. Adaptation: Living with climate change
    1. Page 133
      Adaptation concepts and strategies
    2. Page 136
      Costs and benefits of adaptation
    3. Page 137
      Implementation
    4. Page 140
      Effects of different rates of climatic change
    5. Page 141
      Equity issues in adaptation
    6. Page 144
      Enhancing adaptive capacity
    7. Page 145
      Endnotes
  11. Page 149
    8. Mitigation: Limiting climate change
    1. Page 149
      Why mitigation is necessary
    2. Page 150
      Targets: How much mitigation is needed?
    3. Page 157
      Where we are now
    4. Page 159
      How difficult is mitigation?
    5. Page 165
      The looming peak in oil production
    6. Page 167
      Mitigation options
      1. Page 167
        Increased energy efficiency
      2. Page 170
        Changes in infrastructure and behaviour
      3. Page 172
        Fuel substitution
      4. Page 174
        Nuclear power
      5. Page 176
        Hydropower
      6. Page 177
        Solar energy
      7. Page 180
        Wind power
      8. Page 182
        Biomass energy
      9. Page 186
        Tidal and wave energy
      10. Page 187
        Geothermal power
      11. Page 188
        The hydrogen economy
      12. Page 190
        Carbon capture and sequestration
      13. Page 194
        Land-based carbon sinks
      14. Page 197
        Geoengineering possibilities
    7. Page 201
      Technological innovation: Attitude is vital
    8. Page 202
      The road to effective mitigation
    9. Page 206
      Endnotes
  12. Page 223
    9. Climate change in context
    1. Page 225
      Surface air pollution and climate change
    2. Page 225
      Stratospheric ozone depletion
    3. Page 226
      Land-use change, biodiversity, agriculture and forestry
    4. Page 227
      Land degradation and desertification
    5. Page 227
      Freshwater supply
    6. Page 229
      Population growth
    7. Page 231
      Synergies and trade-offs
    8. Page 232
      Integration, sustainable development and equity
    9. Page 234
      Postscript: Connections between economic and climate crises
    10. Page 236
      Endnotes
  13. Page 239
    10. The politics of greenhouse
    1. Page 239
      Is the science credible?
    2. Page 241
      What about the uncertainty?
    3. Page 242
      How realistic are the scenarios?
    4. Page 243
      Choosing global and local emissions targets
    5. Page 246
      How urgently do we need to act?
    6. Page 247
      How much will reducing emissions cost?
    7. Page 249
      Meeting targets most efficiently
    8. Page 254
      International equity: What is fair?
    9. Page 260
      The importance of equity within countries
    10. Page 261
      Equity between generations
    11. Page 262
      The role of governments and NGOs
    12. Page 264
      What role should business take?
    13. Page 268
      The role of state and local governments
    14. Page 270
      So what are the politics of greenhouse?
    15. Page 271
      Endnotes
  14. Page 277
    11. International concern and national interests
    1. Page 277
      A brief history
    2. Page 280
      The Kyoto Protocol
    3. Page 282
      National interests and climate change
      1. Page 283
        African nations
      2. Page 284
        Australia and New Zealand
      3. Page 289
        China
      4. Page 291
        European Union
      5. Page 293
        India, Pakistan and Bangladesh
      6. Page 295
        Latin America
      7. Page 296
        The Russian Federation
      8. Page 298
        Small Island States
      9. Page 300
        United States of America
    4. Page 306
      The common interest in global solutions
    5. Page 307
      Endnotes
  15. Page 317
    12. Accepting the challenge
    1. Page 321
      Looking beyond the Kyoto Protocol
    2. Page 324
      Addressing the key issues
    3. Page 326
      Endnotes
  16. Page 348
    Glossary (with acronyms)
  17. Page 337
    Index

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