This book is a distillation of the First Annual International Technical Workshop on Climate Risk held in 2016 in Wells, Maine, USA. It is organized into three major themes, namely: environmental, health and societal impacts; the special case of Africa; and advances in education. The volume’s premise is that, long before the 2015 Paris Agreement, many professionals from diverse fields were working to solve the problems of human-caused climate change. The 1987 Montreal Protocol is now in support of a key emission reduction goal of the Agreement. It was time for the seasoned leaders who implement the Protocol, the world’s most successful treaty for atmospheric protection, to share their knowledge and wisdom with the next generation before that expertise was lost. The purpose of bringing these communities of practice together is to leverage the many successes to date to inspire future innovations through ‘lessons learned’; ensure that new or updated regulations are timely communicated and economically executed; and identify opportunities for related sustainable development.

This book provides the average person with something to do about climate change. Based upon the contributing authors’ years of technical expertise, and their participation in a second international workshop on climate risk, it concludes with a list of action items for the old and young alike. With a ‘systems thinking’ approach, the book captures the latest developments in climate change science, atmospheric data, and public policy from leaders in their fields, including a Nobel Peace Prize recipient and a Fulbright Scholar. The book continues the discussion from the first workshop, detailed in Demystifying Climate Risk Volumes I and II (2017), on environmental, health and societal implications; and industry and industrial infrastructure implications, respectively. While the news about the future of climate change is not good, widespread adoption of these principles could literally transform the world!

This book is a distillation of the First Annual International Technical Workshop on Climate Risk held in 2016 in Wells, Maine, USA. It is organized into four major themes, namely: the Montreal Protocol; industry and infrastructure concerns; sustainability and strategic planning; and climate science and informing business risk. The volumes premise is that, long before the 2015 Paris Agreement, many professionals from diverse fields were working to solve the problems of human-caused climate change. The 1987 Montreal Protocol is now in support of a key emission reduction goal of the Agreement. It was time for the seasoned leaders who implement the Protocol, the worlds most successful treaty for atmospheric protection, to share their knowledge and wisdom with the next generation before that expertise was lost. The purpose of bringing these communities of practice together is to leverage the many successes to date to inspire future innovations through lessons learned; ensure that new or updated regulations are timely communicated and economically executed; and identify opportunities for related sustainable development.

This book is a distillation of the First Annual International Technical Workshop on Climate Risk held in 2016 in Wells, Maine, USA. It is organized into four major themes, namely: the Montreal Protocol; industry and infrastructure concerns; sustainability and strategic planning; and climate science and informing business risk. The volume’s premise is that, long before the 2015 Paris Agreement, many professionals from diverse fields were working to solve the problems of human-caused climate change. The 1987 Montreal Protocol is now in support of a key emission reduction goal of the Agreement. It was time for the seasoned leaders who implement the Protocol, the world’s most successful treaty for atmospheric protection, to share their knowledge and wisdom with the next generation before that expertise was lost. The purpose of bringing these communities of practice together is to leverage the many successes to date to inspire future innovations through ‘lessons learned’; ensure that new or updated regulations are timely communicated and economically executed; and identify opportunities for related sustainable development.

A growing body of research and scientific as well as local evidence has shown that climate change impacts is on the rise with its attendant risks/hazards for the land system, even as it relates to DLDD, these being exacerbated by anthropogenic factors; thus, pushing the earth system to a tipping point therefore requiring that society braze up its coping capacities to avert the impending danger. This book highlights the urgent need to move from desertification, land degradation and drought (DLDD) risk management to resilience. The aim is to provide new insight on the issues of DLDD and stir policy guide on vulnerability reduction and building adaptive capacities so as to achieve sustainable development and identify pathways to a land degradation neutral world. It is worthy to note that globally, about one fifth of earth’s land area – more than 2 billion hectares – is degraded; and this jeopardizes the livelihoods of more than 3.5 billion people, i.e., about 40% of the world population. The global population is still growing and is projected to reach 8.3 billion people by 2030. Such growth will put unprecedented pressure on the productivity of the land system from day to day.

This book demystifies the models we use to simulate present and future climates, allowing readers to better understand how to use climate model results. In order to predict the future trajectory of the Earth’s climate, climate-system simulation models are necessary. When and how do we trust climate model predictions? The book offers a framework for answering this question. It provides readers with a basic primer on climate and climate change, and offers non-technical explanations for how climate models are constructed, why they are uncertain, and what level of confidence we should place in them. It presents current results and the key uncertainties concerning them. Uncertainty is not a weakness but understanding uncertainty is a strength and a key part of using any model, including climate models. Case studies of how climate model output has been used and how it might be used in the future are provided. The ultimate goal of this book is to promote a better understanding of the structure and uncertainties of climate models among users, including scientists, engineers and policymakers.