This book provides an integrated assessment of issues related to climate variability and change, predictability and risks. It details both the technical aspects of variability and abrupt climate change and the agricultural and economical impacts and consequences.

FAO recognizes that those living in rural areas whose livelihoods depend heavily on natural resources, are disproportionately affected by climate risks because of their great likelihood of living in high-risk geographical locations as well as their high vulnerability to, and limited capacity to cope with, climate hazards due to low incomes, lack of savings, weaker social networks, low asset bases and heavy reliance on agriculture and natural resources. Protecting poor and vulnerable small scale producers from the negative impacts of climate risks is an imperative in order to reach FAO’s strategic objectives and achieve Sustainable development goal one and two. Managing Climate risks through social protection sheds light on social protection as an effective investment to safeguard the livelihood of small scale producers and strengthen their essential role in ensuring food security across the globe.

Floods and droughts are climate extremes that account for more than 80% of people affected by natural disasters worldwide. Both catastrophes co-exist in many river basins, for example, the Mun River Basin in Thailand, which is selected as the study area. Approximately 90% of rice cultivation here is rain-fed, and that results in the lowest yields in the country, making many farmers persist in poverty. This study aims to assess floods and droughts and their impacts on agriculture at the basin scale. For flooding, the hydrologic and hydraulic models were developed to produce the first completed flood hazard maps at the Mun River Basin. Droughts in the basin were determined by the proposed drought risk assessment scheme that combines all three key components (hazard, exposure, and vulnerability). Subsequently, the study attempts to tackle both floods and droughts simultaneously and sustainably by using integrated measures and strategies. If the problems caused by flood and drought climate extremes are solved, this will ensure adequate food availability and alleviate poverty in the basin. Furthermore, the study shows that a holistic approach to simultaneously solving both problems is efficient as most water will be utilized to benefit agriculture, the primary sector that feeds a growing population.

Global risk potentials and their interplay with economic, social and ecological processes of change have emerged as a challenge to the international community. By presenting this report, the Council hopes to contribute constructively to an effective, efficient and objective management of the risks of global change. The approach taken by the Council is first to classify globally relevant risks and then to assign to these classes of risk both established and innovative risk assessment strategies and risk management tools. On this basis, management priorities can be set. The Council further recommends a number of cross-cutting strategies for international policies. These include worldwide alignment of liability law, creation of environmental liability funds, establishment of a United Nations Risk Assessment Panel and implementation of strategies aimed at reducing vulnerability to risk.

Meteorological and climate data are indeed essential both in day-to-day energy management and for the definition of production and distribution infrastructures. For instance, the supply of electricity to users can be disturbed by extreme meteorological events such as thunderstorms with unusually strong winds, severe icing, severe cold spells, sea level elevation associated with storm surges, floods ... To be protected against such events, it is not sufficient to act after they have taken place. It is necessary to identify their potential impacts precisely and assess the probability of their occurrence. This book shows that this can only be done through an enhanced dialogue between the energy community and the climate and meteorology community. This implies an in-depth dialogue between actors to define precisely what kind of data is needed and how it should be used. Météo-France has been in long-term cooperation with the energy sector, including the fields of electricity production and distribution. Drawing on this experience, it should be noted in this respect the importance of lo- term partnership between actors as exemplified here by the message of EDF.

Water resources systems provide multiple services and, if managed properly, can contribute significantly to social well-being and economic growth. However, extreme or unexpected hydroclimatic conditions, such as droughts and floods, can adversely affect or even completely interrupt these services. This manual seeks to provide knowledge, resources and techniques for water resources professionals to manage the risks and opportunities arising from hydroclimatic variability and change. Managing Climate Risk in Water Supply Systems provides materials and tools designed to empower technical professionals to better understand the key issues in water supply systems. These materials are part of a suite of resources that are developed to share climate risk knowledge related to a range of sectors and climate-related problems. The text motivates students by providing practical exercises and it stimulates readers or workshop participants to consider options and analyses that highlight opportunities for better management in the water systems in which they are stakeholders. Managing Climate Risk in Water Supply Systems provides a hands-on approach to learning key concepts in hydrology and climate science as they relate to climate risk management in water supply systems. The primary audience is technical professionals in water resources management and provides a practical approach to training. Editors: Casey Brown, University of Massachusetts at Amherst, MA, USA and M. Neil Ward, Independent Consultant, New Jersey, USA

The First Edition of the Encyclopedia of Global Warming and Climate Change provided a multi-authored, academic yet non-technical resource for students and teachers to understand the importance of global warming, to appreciate the effects of human activity and greenhouse gases around the world, and to learn the history of climate change and the research enterprise examining it. This edition was well received, with notable reviews. Since its publication, the debate over the advent of global warming at least partially brought on by human enterprise has continued to ebb and flow, depending literally on the weather, politics, and media coverage of climate summits and debates. Advances in research also change the discourse as new data is collected and new scientific projects continue to explore and explain global warming and climate change. Thus, a new, Second Edition updates more than half of the original entries and adds new perspectives and content to keep students and researchers up-to-date in a field that has proven provocatively lively.

OECD's comprehensive peer review of tertiary education in Switzerland.

Climate Forcing of Geological Hazards provides a valuable new insight into how climate change is able to influence, modulate and trigger geological and geomorphological phenomena, such as earthquakes, tsunamis, volcanic eruptions and landslides; ultimately increasing the risk of natural hazards in a warmer world. Taken together, the chapters build a panorama of a field of research that is only now becoming recognized as important in the context of the likely impacts and implications of anthropogenic climate change. The observations, analyses and interpretations presented in the volume reinforce the idea that a changing climate does not simply involve the atmosphere and hydrosphere, but also elicits potentially hazardous responses from the solid Earth, or geosphere. Climate Forcing of Geological Hazards is targeted particularly at academics, graduate students and professionals with an interest in environmental change and natural hazards. As such, we are hopeful that it will encourage further investigation of those mechanisms by which contemporary climate change may drive potentially hazardous geological and geomorphological activity, and of the future ramifications for society and economy.

This book provides a definitive overview of the global drivers of high-mountain cryosphere change and their implications for people across high-mountain regions.