Climate Affairs: A Primer

Climate Affairs sets forth in a concise primer the base of knowledge needed to begin to address questions surrounding the unknown impacts of climate change. In so doing, it outlines a new approach to understanding the interactions among climate, society, and the environment. Chapters consider:

• the key concepts and terms in climate affairs
• the effects of climate around the world
• important but overlooked aspects of climate-society-environment interactions
• examples of societal uses, misuses, and potential uses of climate-related information such as forecasts
• a research agenda, challenges, and methodologies for future climate research.

Climate Affairs draws on a range of study areas—including climate science, impacts on ecosystems and society, politics, policy and law, economics, and ethics—to address the complexity and gravity of impacts that our increasing vulnerability to climate portends. It is the first book to consider the full range of climate-related topics and the interactions among them, and will be a key resource for decision makers, as well as for students and scholars working in climate and related fields.