The last two decades of the 20th century produced mounting evidence that climate change posed significant risks to society. At the beginning of the 21st century, climate change has become a defining issue of our time. The importance of this issue is underscored by its magnitude and complexity: it is a global problem with wide geographic and economic disparity between the largest sources of the problem and those who will experience the greatest impacts. Many solutions often run counter to powerful entrenched interests and long-held patterns of individual behavior. All of this is happening amidst a global community that is increasingly connected by flows of information, people, commerce and environmental change. This collection brings together some of the world’s leading scientists and organizations and presents the essential knowledge underlying the issue of climate change.
