Climate change is widely recognised as the most important issue now facing humanity. Proposals to reduce emissions or to adapt proactively to future climate changes often result in intense public debate about the urgency, feasibility, and cost, as well as the appropriate balance, of responses to climate change. A better and much broader understanding of the causes and effects of climate change, together with the options for mitigation and adaptation at the global scale, is critical for such societal discussions to be fruitful. Climate Change 101 – An Educational Resource provides a clear, succinct, and measured summary of our current knowledge of climate change, its potential impacts, and the scope for reducing greenhouse gas emissions and
adapting to inevitable changes.

Climate Change 101 draws its substance mostly from the findings contained in the Fourth Assessment Report of the Intergovernmental Panel on Climate Change. But it also highlights more recent scientific developments and illuminates the key issues that underpin the current international negotiations for a new global agreement on climate change. This book is intended as an educational resource for anyone seeking a robust scientific overview of the complex and interdisciplinary challenge that climate change represents for the global community.

Andy Reisinger is a senior research fellow with the New Zealand Climate Change Research Institute at Victoria University of Wellington. He has worked in climate change science and policy as a research scientist and senior policy adviser on climate change to the New Zealand government. From 2006 to 2008, he was responsible for managing the production of the Synthesis Report of the Fourth Assessment Report of the Intergovernmental Panel on Climate Change.

Lenny Bernstein co-authored chapter 6 on mitigation options. He was employed for 30 years in the petroleum industry and, since 1999, has followed scientific and political issues related to climate change as a consultant. He has served as a lead and convening lead author on the Third and Fourth Assessment Reports of the
Intergovernmental Panel on Climate Change, and was a member of the Core Writing Team for the Synthesis Report of the Fourth Assessment Report.

Downloadable at http://www.victoria.ac.nz/climate-change/research_courses/publications.aspx