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Recensions / Reviews
The Science and Politics of Global Climate Change: A Guide to the Debate Andrew E. Dessler and Edward A. Parson Cambridge: Cambridge University Press, 2006, pp. 190
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Among policy issues struggling for attention on political agendas, climate change is particularly consequential, by virtue of its large-scale negative consequences for all human communities and ecosystems and the high policy costs of remedial action. The stakes are singularly high, yet the general public is not well informed about the reality of climate change. Even the concerned citizen seeking information gets lost between tendentious sketches in the mass media, on the one hand, and practically illegible specialized literature, on the other. Dessler and Parson’s work is a welcome middle ground that provides clearly comprehensible scientifically validated information on all aspects of the issue. The book summarizes and evaluates current information on climate change, focusing primarily on multilateral scientific assessments conducted by the Intergovernmental Panel on Climate Change. It offers a balanced review of the state of knowledge, and carefully delineates the bounds of scientific agreement and uncertainty. The text takes readers through a large body of potentially confusing information but imparts remarkable clarity throughout. Packed with data covering every aspect of this complex topic, the elegant volume is comprehensive yet remarkably lucid and neatly organized. This combination between richness and simplicity makes the book an excellent choice for policy makers and anyone else who needs a clear exposition of the problematic. Highly technical or intellectually challenging material is con- Q1 veyed in a user-friendly way. The methodical journey through key concepts, climate facts, methodological issues, and research results is a truly edifying learning experience. Complete with graphs, tables, a glossary of terms and further readings lists after each chapter, the book is ideal for college courses on global environmental issues. While the authors try to steer clear of theoretical debates, they use a sociological perspective on the science-policy interface to explain a central paradox in climate discourse today: the sharp contrast between solid consensus among scientists and persistent rumours of scientific uncertainty in policy debates. The public discussion is often dominated by a small circle of politically motivated climate sceptics who receive overexposure in the mass media. Dessler and Parson’s book is a thinly veiled act of defence that brings science back into the discussion and clarity back to an increasingly confused public. Scientific evidence of climate change is incontrovertible. Direct measurements and various types of indirect data sets consistently show that the Earth is rapidly warming and that the process is caused primarily by human activities. “Under the weight of this abundant, consistent, thoroughly checked evidence, the relevant scientific community has overwhelmingly accepted the claim that the Earth’s surface has warmed over the past century” ~64!. At the same time, the socioeconomic consequences of climate change and the impacts of policy responses are less certain. There is a shortage of reliable quantitative estimates of the costs of climate change impacts and adaptation measures ~pp. 120–21!. This latter uncertainty bodes ill for climate policy, given recent findings that reliable information about consequences is particularly important in decision making, and that uncertainty about a problem’s impacts impedes environmental policy ~Radoslav S. Dimitrov, Science and International Environmental Policy: Regimes and Non-Regimes in Global Governance, Lanham: Rowman and Littlefield 2006!. The book also generates a desire to learn more. The short section on the impacts of climate change ~pp. 81–86! offers little concrete data, often slips back into the prior discussion on temperature changes, does not mention a single country besides the United States, and is virtually silent on the significant impacts in developing
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countries. We learn, for instance, that the July temperature in Southeastern USA is expected to rise by 5–148C ~84! but remain incognizant of the expected inundation of the Nile delta where much of Egypt’s food production is based. A notable feature of the publication is its preoccupation with the US social scene. The frequent references to American domestic political institutions, policy acts and scientific bodies are likely to alienate readers outside the US who expect to read about climate change as a global phenomenon that challenges all societies. Even policy options and scenarios are implicitly confined to the US socioeconomic context ~159–161!. Clearly, the attempt to put climate in its proper global context is quite meager. The overall excellent review of scientific information is not matched by an adequate treatment of global climate politics. The text offers only a sketchy coverage of the Kyoto Protocol ~14–16! that omits important elements of the treaty such as the Clean Development Mechanism or provisions for joint implementation. Students would not learn, for instance, that the Protocol allows emissions trading only among industrialized countries, and permits Australia to increase its emissions by 8 percent. One asset is the strong analysis of the technical and political feasibility of near- and longterm policy options; yet, actual domestic policies are not detailed and no estimates of adaptation policy costs are offered. On balance, this book is an excellent primer on climate science that is highly suitable for college courses if combined with other material on the global politics of climate change. RADOSLAV S. DIMITROV
University of Western Ontario
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