0.6 Conclusions or what is our will with respect to climate change

The future of the world cannot be accurately predicted nor can man’s influence on the future be known with complete assurance. The roleof science can only be to provide an informed perspective on the issue of climate change. Action must come from people operating at everypolitical/economic/social level. Most assuredly, neither mitigation nor adaptation alone can avoid the risks of climate change, but they can worktogether to delay or minimize those risks. On the positive side, mitigation measures may reap co-benefits in public health, improved technology, newbusiness opportunities, innovative industrial processes, and increased job possibilities. For example, mitigation measures to reduce GHG emissions fromenergy production may also remove other air pollutants, protecting public health. In addition, the application of renewable energy mitigation methods willcertainly create new industries and additional jobs. .

However, delaying emission reductions will only make the adverse impact more severe and harder to reverse when it finally happens. Inaddition, no single mitigation or adaptation strategy can possibly solve such an immense problem. The amount of carbon dioxide involved is simply too large.Thus, we must consider all of the available mitigation and adaptation options and choose a combination that will maximize success. These are hard andcomplicated problems and will involve decisions based on knowledge as well as fortitude. But these decisions must be made and operated on now, the future ofthe world as we know it is at stake.

Additional readings

More information can be obtained from a variety of sources. The most complete scientific source is probably the Intergovernmental Panel on Climate Change . A complete set of links to their publications and instructions for downloadingthem can be found on the website< (External Link) >. Other information can be found on the website of the National Academy of Science < (External Link) >. Additional insight on the costs of climate change may be found in the insurance and climate change website of the Lawrence BerkeleyNational Laboratory< (External Link) >. Many books have been written on climate change. The most readable popular books are Field Notes from a Catastrophe by Elizabeth Kolbert and An Inconvenient Truth by Al Gore. A very clear and complete textbook on the theory of climate change is Global Warming, The Hard Science by L. D. Danny Harvey.