THE SCIENCE AND POLITICS OF GLOBAL CLIMATE CHANGE: A GUIDE TO THE DEBATE

By CHARLOTTE LOPEZ

CONTENTS GLOBAL CLIMATE CHANGE: A NEW TYPE OF ENVIRONMENTAL PROBLEM 1 1 BACKGROUND ON CLIMATE AND CLIMATE CHANGE 1 2 BACKGROUND ON CLIMATE-CHANGE POLICY 1 3 PLAN OF THE BOOK SCIENCE, POLITICS, AND SCIENCE IN POLITICS 2 1 JUSTIFICATIONS FOR ACTION: POSITIVE STATEMENTS AND NORMATIVE STATEMENTS 2 2 HOW SCIENCE WORKS 2 3 POLITICS AND POLICY DEBATES 2 4 WHEN SCIENCE AND POLITICS MEET 2 5 LIMITING THE DAMAGE: THE ROLE OF SCIENTIFIC ASSESSMENTS FURTHER READING FOR CHAPTER CLIMATE CHANGE: PRESENT SCIENTIFIC KNOWLEDGE AND UNCERTAINTIES 3 1 IS THE CLIMATE CHANGING? 3 2 ARE HUMAN ACTIVITIES RESPONSIBLE FOR GLOBAL WARMING? 3 3 WHAT FUTURE CHANGES CAN WE EXPECT? PREDICTING CLIMATE CHANGE OVER THE TWENTYFIRST CENTURY 3 4 WHAT WILL THE IMPACTS OF CLIMATE CHANGE BE? 3 5 CONCLUSIONS THE CLIMATE-CHANGE POLICY DEBATE: IMPACTS AND POTENTIAL RESPONSES 4 1 IMPACTS AND ADAPTATION 4 2 EMISSIONS AND MITIGATION RESPONSES 4 3 PUTTING IT TOGETHER: BALANCING BENEFITS AND COSTS OF MITIGATION AND ADAPTATION 4 4 A THIRD CLASS OF RESPONSE: GEOENGINEERING 4 5 CONCLUSION: POLICY CHOICES UNDER UNCERTAINTY THE PRESENT IMPASSE AND STEPS FORWARD 5 1 CLIMATE-CHANGE POLITICS: PRESENT POSITIONS 5 2 CLIMATE-CHANGE POLITICS: THE ARGUMENTS AGAINST ACTION 5 3 THE PRESENT POLICY DEBATE: USE OF SCIENTIFIC KNOWLEDGE AND UNCERTAINTY 5 4 SO WHAT SHOULD BE DONE? MAJOR CHOICES AND ELEMENTS OF AN EFFECTIVE RESPONSE 5 5 CONCLUSION REFERENCES