The book consists of interviews with leading climate scientists. Experts on different aspects of the topic explain their own field and give their opinion on general questions concerning climate change. The interviews cover both fundamental research (climate modeling, global warming, sea level change, melting of the ice caps, natural hazards) and impact assesment (adaption, mitigation, economic impacts and costs of climate change). The goal is to provide the reader with first-hand information on the current state of climate research.

Résumé
Seven interviews with leading climate scientists cover both fundamental research (climate modeling, global warming, sea level change, melting of the ice caps, natural hazards) and impact assessment (adaption, mitigation, economic impacts and costs of climate change). Experts on different aspects of the topic explain their own field and give their opinion on general questions concerning climate change. The goal is to provide the reader with first-hand information on the current state of climate research.

Contenu

Understanding does not imply predictive power.- We always make models for something, not of something.- Time means are more predictable than the instantaneous state.- The large scale dynamics are reasonably well understood, un-certainty lies in the parametrization of small-scale processes.- It is the poor and the marginalized that are hit hardest by climate change.- When deciding about long-term strategies, irreversibility is a key point.- The Montreal Agreement is a good example of how to deal with a global environmental problem.