Climate Change and Global Sustainability: A Holistic Approach (Sustainability Science Series volume II)

Climate change owing to global warming is a paramount concern for society in the twenty-first century, and it is not an issue that can be solved by individual academic or scientific disciplines working in isolation. Because climate change involves a wide range of interlinked problems, solutions must be pursued in an interdisciplinary manner. This book adopts just such a holistic approach in examining various aspects of global warming, and offers readers a comprehensive overview. First, the mapping of knowledge about global warming is presented as a framework for addressing the issue. This is followed by a discussion of risk in relation to global warming and of the communication of risk between academia and society. Impacts, adaptation strategies, the institution of a low-carbon society and a number of other policy concerns associated with climate change are then reviewed. Because human behaviour is a critical factor in the move towards a low-carbon society, issues involving quality of life are also presented, with an emphasis on philosophy. Finally, the book considers the integration of three scenarios for society - a low-carbon society, a resource-circulating society, and a society in harmony with nature - and presents a comprehensive vision of the future. Akimasa Sumi is Executive Director of the Transdisciplinary Initiative for Global Sustainability / Integrated Research System for Sustainability Science, The University of Tokyo, Japan. Nobuo Mimura is Director of the Institute for Global Change Adaptation Science and Professor at the Center for Water Environment Studies, Ibaraki University, Japan. Toshihiko Masui is Chief of the Social and Environmental Systems Division, National Institute for Environmental Studies, Japan.