"…politicians may well have left Rio without understanding the viability and implications of proposed low carbon pathways."

p. 639.

"rich western nations (have) … little choice but to immediately and severely curb their greenhouse gas emissions."

ibid.

"This catastrophic and ongoing failure of market economics and the laissez-faire rhetoric accompanying it (unfettered choice, deregulation, and so on) could provide an opportunity to think differently about climate change."

p. 640.

"This theoretical disarray has parallels with those rare occasions in history where established knowledge is superseded by new ways of thinking and understanding."

"radical transitions."

"protestations are futile in the face of new insights and new ways of doing things that emerge with a new paradigm."

"It is in this rapidly evolving context that the science underpinning climate change is being conducted and its findings communicated."

"In an increase interconnected world where the whole –the system–is often far removed form the sum of its parts, we need to be less afraid of making academic judgments."

"...applying a mix of academic rigor, courage, and humility to bring new and interdisciplinary insights into the emerging era."

"The world is moving on and we need to have the audacity to think differently and conceive of alternative futures."

p. 640.

The meaning of the term climate change

What drives climate change?

Carbon emissions as a battleground.

Lowering carbon emissions.

Carbon as a monetary commodity.

Critics of monetizing carbon.

Carrying capacity

Actions to take.

Population | Energy | Prognosis | Future | Biodiversity

Sources:

Contemporary

Archer conclusion | Christianson | Gelbspan | James Hansen, 04 : Hansen 06 | Leggett | McKibben| Musil | Schmidt | Weart | Wigley