Climate Change: what everyone needs to know

Newly updated with the latest in climate science from COP26 and beyond, this third edition offers user-friendly, scientifically rigorous answers to the most difficult (and commonly politicized) questions surrounding the defining issue of our time: climate change.

Cover Page -- Half Title -- Title Page -- Copyright Page -- Dedication Page -- Contents -- Preface -- Acknowledgements -- 1 Climate Science Basics -- What is the greenhouse effect and how does it warm the Earth? -- Why are scientists so certain the climate system is warming? -- How does global warming increase sea levels and what has been observed to date? -- Where does most of human-caused warming go? -- What fraction of recent global warming is due to human causes versus natural causes? -- How certain are climate scientists that humans are the primary cause of recent warning? -- How do scientists know that recent climate change is primarily caused by human activities? -- Why has the climate changed in the past, before there were human- caused greenhouse gas emissions? -- What are the climate system's amplifying feedbacks that turn a moderate initial warming into a big ultimate warming? -- Is the current level of atmospheric CO 2 concentration unprecedented in human history? -- Are recent climatic changes unprecedented? -- Has recent human- caused climate change been occurring faster or not as fast as scientists predicted? -- Is there a difference between global warming and climate change? -- What are the sources of the most important human- caused pollutants that drive global warming? -- How does deforestation contribute to warming? -- What is global warming potential and why is it different for various greenhouse gases? -- Why does the rate of warming appear to vary from decade to decade? -- Has global warming slowed down or paused in recent years? -- Can we reach a point where emitting more CO 2 into the air will not cause more climate change? -- Have we already crossed tipping points (points of no return) in the climate system? -- 2 Extreme Weather and Climate Change -- What is the difference between weather and climate?.