ABSTRACT

While there are admittedly a number of uncertainties in the forecast of future climate change, it is already becoming a matter of worldwide concern. This concern has led to a new set of questions regarding the impact such a climate change will have on human activities that are sensitive to climate—as most of them are——and on the very structure of societies. This chapter examines climatic change in light of human affairs. It describes what is known about the physical factors that determine climate, including in particular the effect of increasing atmospheric carbon dioxide from burning fossil fuels. The chapter shows how actions taken to alleviate immediate environmental threats are likely to increase a country or region’s ability to withstand a change of climate, whether it is an anomaly of the weather or a long term trend in the climate.