Views from the Alps: Regional Perspectives on Climate ChangePeter Cebon Focusing on the Alpine region to look at climate change's regional manifestations.Although climate change is a global problem, there is a growing recognition of the need to look at its regional manifestations and management. This book takes such a regional approach to the Alpine region. The result of the ongoing Swiss research program Climate and Environment in the Alpine Region (CLEAR), it incorporates the work of an independent network of approximately fifty researchers from a variety of disciplines.The Alpine region is the perfect focus for such a study because of the wealth of historical and contemporary data. The contributors avoid impractical "absolute" solutions to the problem of climate change. They explicitly recognize that climate policy involves not just environmental policy but also economic, agricultural, social, and urban policy. The science required for climate policy need not provide a single definitive answer to the problem of climate change. Rather, it can contribute a variety of insights, explanations, scenarios, and open questions to the public debate. The authors aim at a science for policy that helps to develop realistic options in an ongoing debate involving scientists as well as policymakers and ordinary citizens.Topics covered include past and current climate dynamics, scenarios for future climate development, the sensitivity of plant and soil ecosystems to climate change, scenarios for future ecosytem development, and creative policy responses to mobilize regional action for industrial innovation. The topics are addressed in the spirit of Integrated Assessment (IA), a method that combines scientific and social expertise to explore political and technical strategies for dealing with environmental problems such as climate change. |
Other editions - View all
Views from the Alps: Regional Perspectives on Climate Change Peter Cebon,Urs Dahinden,Huw Davies,Dieter Imboden,Carlo C. Jaeger No preview available - 1998 |
Views from the Alps: Regional Perspectives on Climate Change Peter Cebon,Urs Dahinden,Huw Davies,Dieter Imboden,Carlo C. Jaeger No preview available - 1998 |
Common terms and phrases
Alpine climate Alpine region Alps analysis annual anomalies approach atmospheric Beniston bryophytes carbon Carex curvula cars climate models climate policy CO₂ decision distribution downscaling dynamics ecological economic ecosystems edaphic effects energy environment environmental ETH Zürich example factors feebates figure Fischlin flow forest genetic GHG emissions glacial glaciers global climate change global warming gradients Gyalistras Holocene ice core impacts of climate increase innovation integrated assessment IPCC isotopic Journal Körner lacustrine lake Lake Zurich lightweight vehicles limited mean meteorological meters mountain networks observed parameters patterns percent permafrost plant communities pollen potential precipitation predicted problem processes production proxy data range reconstructions record regional climate resolution response Rhododendron ferrugineum scale Science seasonal sediments simulation social soil spatial species strategy studies subalpine Swiss Switzerland technologies tion tree trends uncertainty values variables variations varve vegetation belt warming weather winter yr BP Zurich
