IPCC assessment of the scientific, technical, environmental, economic, and social aspects of the mitigation of climate change.

Some issues addressed in this Working Group III volume are mitigation of greenhouse gas emissions, managing biological carbon reservoirs, geo-engineering, costing methods, and decision-making frameworks.

Some issues addressed in this Working Group III volume are mitigation of greenhouse gas emissions, managing biological carbon reservoirs, geo-engineering, costing methods, and decision-making frameworks.

For Policymakers 1 -- Technical Summary 19 -- 1. Overview of Impacts, Adaptation, and Vulnerability to Climate Change 75 -- 2. Methods and Tools 105 -- 3. Developing and Applying Scenarios 145 -- 4. Hydrology and Water Resources 191 -- 5. Ecosystems and Their Goods and Services 235 -- 6. Coastal Zones and Marine Ecosystems 343 -- 7. Human Settlements, Energy, and Industry 381 -- 8. Insurance and Other Financial Services 417 -- 9. Human Health 451 -- 10. Africa 487 -- 11. Asia 533 -- 12. Australia and New Zealand 591 -- 13. Europe 641 -- 14. Latin America 693 -- 15. North America 735 -- 16. Polar Regions (Arctic and Antarctic) 801 -- 17. Small Island States 843 -- 18. Adaptation to Climate Change in the Context of Sustainable Development and Equity 877 -- 19. Vulnerability to Climate Change and Reasons for Concern: A Synthesis 913 -- A. Authors and Expert Reviewers 971 -- C. Acronyms, Abbreviations, and Units 997 -- D. List of Major IPCC Reports 1001.

'Sound and solid case studies on vulnerability and adaptation have been woefully lacking in the international discourse on climate change. This set of books begins to bridge the gap.' Achim Steiner, UN Under-Secretary General and Executive Director of United Nations Environment Programme 'Important reading for students and practitioners alike.' Martin Parry, Co-Chair, Working Group II (Impacts, Adaptation and Vulnerability), Intergovernmental Panel on Climate Change (IPCC) 'Fills an important gap in our understanding ... It is policy-relevant and deserves to be widely read.' Richard Klein, Senior Research Fellow, Stockholm Environment Institute (SEI), Sweden The Intergovernmental Panel on Climate Change (IPCC) concluded in its 2001 report that much of the developing world is highly vulnerable to adverse impacts from climate change. But the IPCC also concluded that the vulnerabilities of developing countries are too little studied and too poorly understood to enable determination of adaptation strategies that would be effective at reducing risks. These authoritative volumes, resulting from the work of the Assessments of Impacts and Adaptations to Climate Change (AIACC) project launched by the IPCC in 2002, are the first to provide a comprehensive investigation of the issues at stake. Climate Change and Vulnerability discusses who is vulnerable to climate change, the nature of their vulnerability and the causes of their vulnerability for parts of the world that have been poorly researched until now. Climate Change and Adaptation covers current practices for managing climate risks to food security, water resources, livelihoods, human health and infrastructure, needs for effective management of climate risks, the changing nature of the risks, strategies for adaptation, and the need to integrate these strategies into development planning and resource management.