'Climate change represents one of the greatest environmental and health challenges of our time.' World Health Organization 'You could wade through dense academic detail from the IPCC. Or you could root out the Atlas of Climate Change, which condenses key findings from the scientists' The Guardian 'This is a remarkable piece of work and extremely readable.' R K Pachauri, Chairman, Intergovernmental Panel on Climate Change

Dr Kirstin Dow (University of South Carolina) is Senior Research Fellow, Stockholm Environment Institute, contributor to the Millennium Ecosystem Assessment, and Principal Investigator in NOAA's Regional Integrated Science and Assessment (RISA) research network addressing climate services. Dr Thomas E. Downing (Stockholm Environment Institute) is Visiting Fellow at Oxford University, contributor to the Intergovernmental Panel on Climate Change (IPCC), and advisor to the UK Climate Impacts Programme and House of Commons International Development Committee.

Part 1: Signs of Change 1.1. Warning Signs 1.2. Polar Changes 1.3. Glacial Retreat 1.4. Ocean Changes 1.5. Everyday Extremes Part 2: Forcing Change 2.1. The Greenhouse Effect 2.2. The Climate System 2.3 Interpreting Past Climates 2.4. Forecasting Future Climates 2.5. Tipping Elements Part 3: Driving Climate Change 3.1. Emissions Past and Present 3.2. Fossil Fuels 3.3. Methane and Other Gases 3.4. Transportation 3.5. Disrupting the Carbon Balance 3.6. Agriculture Part 4: Expected Consequences 4.1. Disrupted Ecosystems 4.2. Threatened Water Supplies 4.3. Food Security 4.4. Threats to Health 4.5. Rising Sea Levels 4.6. Cities at Risk 4.7. Cultural Losses Part 5: Responding to Change 5.1. Local Adaptation 5.2. City Responses 5.3. Carbon Dioxide & Economic Growth 5.4. Renewable Energy 5.5. Capacity to Adapt 5.6. Low Carbon Futures 5.7. Counting Carbon Part 6: International Policy & Action 6.1. International Action 6.2. Meeting Kyoto Targets 6.3. Beyond Kyoto and Copenhagen 6.4. Carbon Trading 6.5. Financing the Response Part 7: Committing to Solutions 7.1. Personal Action 7.2. Public Action Part 8: Climate Change Data Data tables. Sources