Hostname: page-component-586b7cd67f-2plfb Total loading time: 0 Render date: 2024-11-23T09:24:31.985Z Has data issue: false hasContentIssue false

Review of current understanding of global climate change and its impacts

Published online by Cambridge University Press:  20 February 2012

M. Sciortino*
Affiliation:
ENEA-CR Casaccia, Via Anguillarese 301, 00060 Roma, Italy
*
Get access

Abstract

This review paper is based on the Fourth Assessment Report (AR4) of the Intergovernmental Panel on Climate Change, in particular on the Working Group I (WG I) ‘The physical science basis’ and on the WG II ‘Impacts adaptation and vulnerability’ reports. The WG I report represents the state of the current scientific understanding of the observed and projected climate changes. The natural and anthropogenic drivers of climate change are addressed, focusing on the physical science understanding of observed records and on model-generated global climate change scenarios. The WG II report concerns the relationship between the observed changes of climate variables and the changes in the natural and human environment, addressing key policy-relevant scientific findings. Projected impacts and findings about vulnerability and adaptation on fresh water, natural ecosystems, food, fiber, coastal areas industry and health are also addressed for all continents. Scientific findings subsequent to the publication of the AR4 are not included in this review paper, whereas the recent decisions by the European Union (EU) and the agreements adopted within the United Nation Framework Convention on Climate Change based on the AR4 are reported.

Type
Review Article
Copyright
Copyright © The Animal Consortium 2012

Access options

Get access to the full version of this content by using one of the access options below. (Log in options will check for institutional or personal access. Content may require purchase if you do not have access.)

References

Berger, A 1988. Milankovitch theory and climate. Reviews of Geophysics 26, 624657.CrossRefGoogle Scholar
Directive 2009/29/EC of the European Parliament and of the Council of 23 April 2009. Official Journal of the European Union L140/63.Google Scholar
European Project for Ice Coring in Antartica (EPICA) community members 2004. Eight glacial cycles from an Antarctic ice core. Nature 429, 623628.CrossRefGoogle Scholar
Hansen, J, Sato, Mki, Ruedy, R, Lo, K, Lea, DW, Medina-Elizade, M 2006. Global temperature change. Proceedings of the National Academy of Sciences 103, 1428814293, doi:10.1073/pnas.0606291103CrossRefGoogle ScholarPubMed
Intergovernmental Panel on Climate Change (IPCC) 2007a. Climate Change 2007: The Physical Science Basis. Contribution of Working Group I to the Fourth Assessment Report of the Intergovernmental Panel on Climate Change. Cambridge University Press, Cambridge, UK and New York, NT, USA, 996pp.Google Scholar
IPCC 2007b. Climate Change 2007: Impacts, Adaptation and Vulnerability. Contribution of Working Group II to the Fourth Assessment Report of the Intergovernmental Panel on Climate Change. Cambridge University Press, Cambridge, UK, 976pp.Google Scholar
IPCC 2007c. Climate Change 2007: Mitigation of Climate Change. Contribution of Working Group III to the Fourth Assessment Report of the Intergovernmental Panel on Climate Change. Cambridge University Press, Cambridge, UK and New York, 851pp.Google Scholar
World Meteorological Organization 1989. Calculation of monthly and annual 30-year standard normals, WCDP-No. 10, WMO-TD/No. 341. World Meteorological Organization, Geneva.Google Scholar