ABSTRACT
The debate on climate change requires consideration of more general issues, such as regulation, public policy and planning. Despite persistent (though declining) research, discourse and decision-making, which challenge the veracity of manmade climate change, successive reports of the Intergovernmental Panel on Climate Change (IPCC), and the publication of increasingly solid studies have expanded the degree of certainty regarding the issue. A testimony to this convergence is the mobilization of the international community around agreements and protocols that help address vulnerabilities, create coping mechanisms and promote actions to mitigate climate change impacts (in the sense of reducing the causes of the problem in the long run).
