The genesis of this book may be traced to the work of the Intergovernmental Panel on Climate Change (IPCC), and several decades of our own independent experiences in the climate and development fields. We have both been involved in the work of the IPCC since the beginning, and continue to have confidence in the comprehensiveness, high quality and neutrality of its assessments.

However, we have found also that the sheer volume and number of the reports, as well as the overly technical language, make them less attractive to non-scientists, including key decision-makers, students and other interested audiences around the world, especially in the developing countries. Thus, one important motivation behind the writing of this book is our belief that a more concise, less technical, but nevertheless comprehensive and rigorous account of the findings of the IPCC, as well as more recent developments, will be attractive to an even wider audience.

Another objective of this book is to strengthen the growing conviction that climate change and broader sustainable development issues cannot be treated in isolation. Indeed, policies to address both topics will be mutually beneficial, to the extent that they are formulated and implemented within a common and consistent framework, along the lines that we present in this volume.

We hope that our efforts will help policy-makers, researchers, students and the concerned public to become more aware of the salient issues arising from the nexus of climate and development.