ABSTRACT
If it seems that the climate countermeasures recommended in this book are based on a highly pessimistic view of the likely progress of global warming, then the Copenhagen conference of climate scientists held in March 2009 should act as a corrective. The 4°C average global temperature rise, which was the precautionary outcome underlying the book, was, at the start of writing, a possible but unlikely scenario. Now it has graduated from the possible to the probable. Speaking at the Copenhagen conference, Nicholas Stern admitted that his 2006 report was too conservative and that policymakers should be thinking about the likely impact of severe temperature rises of 6°C or more. Stern stated: ‘Do the politicians understand … just how devastating 4, 5, 6 degrees centigrade would be? I think not yet’ (Adam, 2009).
