Climate Change 2001: Impacts, Adaptation, and Vulnerability (McCarthy, 2001)

also Canziani, Leary, Dokken, White

'The detail is truly amazing ... invaluable works of reference ... no reference or science library should be without a set ... unreservedly recommended to all readers.' Peter Rogers, The Journal of Meteorology

'This well-edited set of three volumes will surely be the standard reference for nearly all arguments related with global warming and climate change in the next years. It should not be missing in the libraries of atmospheric and climate research institutes and those administrative and political institutions which have to deal with global change and sustainable development.' Stefan Emeis, Meteorologische Zeitschrift

'This volume makes another significant step forward in the understanding of the likely impacts of climate change on a global scale.' John E. Thornes, International Journal of Climatology

'The International Panel on Climate Change (IPCC) has conducted what is arguably the largest, most comprehensive and transparent study ever undertaken by mankind ... The result is a work of substance and authority, which only the foolish would deride ... All wind power practitioners should make themselves familiar with these seminal Reports, which provide authoritative justification for increasing wind power as a modern and essential technology.' Wind Engineering

'Whether the reader is a proponent of greenhouse-gas induced climatic change or a sceptic, the weight of evidence presented, the authority that IPCC commands and the breadth of view can hardly fail to impress and earn respect. Each of the volumes is essentially a remarkable work of reference, containing a plethora of information and copious bibliographies, mostly of post 1995 papers. There can be few natural scientist who will not want to have at least one of these volumes to hand on their bookshelves, at least until further research renders the details outdated by the time of the next survey.' The Holocene

Product Description
This Working Group II volume brings us completely up-to-date on the vulnerability of socio-economic and natural systems to climate change.

p.21 Sensitivity is the degree to which a system is affected, either adversely or beneficially, by... stimuli... The effect may be direct... or indirect...

Adaptive capacity is the ability of a system to adjust to... change, including... variability and extremes, to moderate potential damages, to take advantage of opportunities, or to cope with the consequences.

Vulnerability is the degree to which a system is susceptible to, or unable to cope with, adverse effects of... change, including... variability and extremes. Vulnerability is a function of the character, magnitude and rate of... change and variation to which a system is exposed, its sensitivity, and its adaptive capacity. [JLJ - note that I have generalized the quotation by removing specific references to climate change]

p.28 Natural and human systems are expected to be exposed to...changes... The sensitivity of a system to these exposures depends on system characteristics and includes the potential for adverse and beneficial effects. The potential for a system to sustain adverse impacts is moderated by adaptive capacity. The capacity to adapt human management of systems is determined by access to resources, information and technology, the skill and knowledge to use them, and the stability and effectiveness of... institutions that facilitate or constrain how human systems respond.

p.41 The term "mitigation" often is used in the insurance and financial services sectors in much the same way as the term "adaptation" is used in the climate research and policy communities.

p.46 forecasting... is a promising adaptive strategy

p.72 Development also can influence future vulnerability by enhancing adaptive capacity through accumulation of... appropriate infrastructure

p.72 change impacts could affect prospects for sustainable development by changing the capacity to produce [critical resources needed for sustainable development] and by diverting financial and human resources to adaption.

p.89 Vulnerability is a function of the sensitivity of a system to changes... (the degree to which a system will respond to a given change..., including beneficial or harmful effects), adaptive capacity (the degree to which adjustments in practices, processes, or structures can moderate or offset the potential for damage or take advantage of opportunities created by a given change...), and the degree of exposure of the system to... hazards... Resilience is the flip side of vulnerability - a resilient system or population is not sensitive to [a certain kind of stress] and change and has the capacity to adapt.

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