The topics covered by this assessment include:
• Changes in greenhouse gases in the atmosphere
• The global climate system and how it is modelled
• Computer predictions of climate change
• Observed climate change over the last century
• Detection of climate change due to human activities
• Changes in sea level due to global warming
• The response of eeosystems to climate change
• Research required to narrow uncertainties
Several hundred international scientists participated in the preparation and review of this assessment, making it the most authoritative and strongly supported statement on climate change that has been made by the scientific community so far. The information presented here is of the highest quality.
It has been deSigned to provide a common guide to policymakers worldwide, and will now form a solid scientific foundation upon which forthcoming negotiations on the response to climate change will be based. This assessment is, therefore, an essential reference for all who are concerned with climate change and its consequences.