Today's headlines reflect the seriousness of climate change, with almost daily updates. Recent events demonstrate the price of a changing climate as heat waves, droughts, and flooding cause deaths among vulnerable populations, destroy livelihoods, drive people from their homes, and create millions of environmental refugees. Rigorous in its science and powerful in its message, The Atlas of Climate Change gives shape and meaning to the key issues and debates around climate change. This handsomely illustrated book marks a radical departure from conventional cartography and provides a fast, highly effective way of conveying large amounts of information through the medium of the map.

The Atlas examines the signs of climate change: glacial and polar melting, rising sea levels, erratic weather patterns, and explains how global warming is being driven by the emission of greenhouse gases. It looks at the serious implications of these changes for food and water supplies, human health, sensitive ecologies, vulnerable cities, and cultural treasures, especially in those countries lacking the resources to adapt.

The book also provides insights into contentious climate-change politics as it reviews current response efforts: the progress being made in meeting Kyoto commitments, the development of emissions trading, patterns of funding, and the contributions being made by local action. With more than fifty full-color maps and graphics, this is an essential resource for everyone concerned with this pressing subject.

Topics include:

• Signs of change
• The drivers of change
• Threats to the environment
• Implications for human health and well-being
• International and nationalresponses to change
• Actions to reduce emissions

Rigorous in its science and powerful in its message, this text gives shape and meaning to the key issues and debates around climate change. This handsomely illustrated book marks a radical departure from conventional cartography and provides a fast, highly effective way of conveying large amounts of information through the medium of the map.

"No challenge is more urgent than the need to achieve climate security. We will not succeed unless we base our decisions on a clear understanding of the complex interplay between the choices we are making and their consequences for natural and human systems. This pioneering atlas sets out much of the available knowledge in an attractive and accessible way. It will become an essential point of reference for anyone looking for a quick and accurate overview of this multidisciplinary subject."--John Ashton, Foreign Commonwealth Office (FCO)

Today's headlines and recent events reflect the gravity of climate change. Heat waves, droughts, and floods are bringing death to vulnerable populations, destroying livelihoods, and driving people from their homes.

Rigorous in its science and insightful in its message, this atlas examines the causes of climate change and considers its possible impact on subsistence, water resources, ecosystems, biodiversity, health, coastal megacities, and cultural treasures. It reviews historical contributions to greenhouse gas levels, progress in meeting international commitments, and local efforts to meet the challenge of climate change.

The atlas covers a wide range of topics, including

warning signs

future scenarios

vulnerable populations

health

renewable energy

emissions reduction

personal and public action

With more than 50 full-color maps and graphics, this is an essential resource for policy makers, environmentalists, students, and everyone concerned with this pressing subject.