Book contents
- Frontmatter
- Contents
- Preface to the Second Edition
- Preface to the First Edition
- 1 Global climate change: a new type of environmental problem
- 2 Science, politics, and science in politics
- 3 Human-induced climate change: present scientific knowledge and uncertainties
- 4 Climate change policy: impacts, assessments, and responses
- 5 The state of climate policy and a path forward
- Glossary
- Bibliography
- Index
- References
3 - Human-induced climate change: present scientific knowledge and uncertainties
Published online by Cambridge University Press: 05 June 2012
- Frontmatter
- Contents
- Preface to the Second Edition
- Preface to the First Edition
- 1 Global climate change: a new type of environmental problem
- 2 Science, politics, and science in politics
- 3 Human-induced climate change: present scientific knowledge and uncertainties
- 4 Climate change policy: impacts, assessments, and responses
- 5 The state of climate policy and a path forward
- Glossary
- Bibliography
- Index
- References
Summary
The scientific primer in Section 1.2 discussed the basic physics of climate and why the climate is expected to warm if more greenhouse gases are added to the atmosphere. This chapter deepens the discussion, examining current scientific knowledge of the observed changes in the Earth's climate, the extent of human influence on these changes, and potential future changes in the climate. Contrary to the impression you might get from following the debate in the news, current scientific understanding of the climate, its variations, and influences on it, is actually quite advanced. We parse the questions of the reality and importance of climate change into four separate, specific questions.
* Is the climate changing?
* Are human activities responsible?
* What further climate changes are likely?
* What will the impacts be?
Sections 3.1 through 3.4 review the available evidence and summarize present scientific knowledge on each of these questions, as well as key uncertainties and controversies. Section 3.5 reviews a few of the most widely circulated claims that deny the main points of current scientific knowledge about climate change. Mostly circulated in non-scientific forums, these claims are usually presented by those who oppose policy action to limit climate change, sometimes called “climate change skeptics.”
- Type
- Chapter
- Information
- The Science and Politics of Global Climate ChangeA Guide to the Debate, pp. 61 - 111Publisher: Cambridge University PressPrint publication year: 2010