The basic science of anthropogenic climate change

This article presents the basic science of climate change upon which our concern of possible anthropogenic interference with the climate system is based. Where possible, those aspects of particular relevance to the study of climate change impact assessment will be highlighted to set the scene for the remaining articles in this issue, which focus on the effects of climate change on human health.

Growing concern about the possible threat of anthropogenic climate change led to the establishment of the Intergovernmental Panel on Climate Change (IPCC) in 1988 under the auspices of the United Nations Environment Programme (UNEP) and the World Meteorological Organisation (WMO). The IPCC was charged with the task of assessing the latest scientific understanding of climate change, possible impacts, mitigation and adaptation strategies and their economic implications.

The first set of IPCC Assessment Reports were produced in 1990 and were instrumental in the negotiations which led to birth of the United Nations Framework Convention on Climate Change, signed by 155 countries at the 1992 Earth Summit in Rio. The final section reviews the outcome of that meeting and discusses the results of the first Conference of the Parties to the Convention which took place earlier this year to debate the adequacy of the commitments set in 1992.