SciDev.Net

Better integration of science and policy in Africa is crucial for effective adaptation to climate change, concluded an international workshop.

National Adaptation Programmes of Action put climate change adaptation on the development agenda, write Balgis Osman-Elasha and Thomas E. Downing.

Deforestation in the Amazon and strong renewable energy programmes make Brazil a unique player in global climate change discussions.

Climate change is affecting China and China is affecting climate change. Key to the relationship is the nation's booming economy and changing energy sector.

Hannah Reid, Balakrishna Pisupati and Helen Baulch explore the inextricable links between biodiversity and climate, and explain why an integrated policy approach is required.

Saleemul Huq and Richard J.T. Klein explain why adaptation to climate change is a necessary and urgent approach to complement mitigation efforts, and how the issue is being addressed at both a national and global level.

Global warming causes sea-level rise not only by melting glaciers and other land ice, but also because water expands as it warms up. The consequences are likely to be significant, although mitigating action can be taken.

Most climate experts believe that the increased burning of fossil fuels, and expanding agriculture and deforestation, has had a detectable effect on the climate, and will continue to do so in future. This policy brief summarises the scientific evidence

Gaps and uncertainties still exist in our understanding of the science of climate change. But they do not necessarily undermine the argument that an unacceptable level of global warming is likely to occur without stringent action.