Confronting climate change : critical issues for New Zealand / edited by Ralph Chapman, Jonathan Boston and Margot Schwass.

Includes bibliographical references.

Foreword / Tony Blair -- Preface / Adrian Macey -- 1. Introduction : critical issues / Ralph Chapman & Jonathan Boston -- The politics of the climate change challenge. 2. Interview with Rt Hon Tony Blair. 3. The scientific aand international context for climate change policy / Pete Hodgson. 4. The political challenges / Jonathan Boston -- The pace and nature of change. 5. Climate change : reflections on the science / Ian Axford. 6. The second great climate event in the last 65 million yers / Peter Barrett. 7. The changing composition of the Earth's atmosphere : linkages to increasing agricultural and industrial activity / David Lowe. 8. Antarctica and climate change - implications for governance / David G. Vaughan. 9. Observed changes to the climate and their causes / Kevin E. Trenberth. 10. 'Sleeping giants' : surprises in the climate and Earth system / Will Steffen -- Why the impacts of climate change matter. 11. Potential health impacts and policy responses / Simon Hales & Alistair Woodward. 12. Ocean acidification and its impacts / Carol Turley. 13. Climate change impacts on coastal hazards / Doug Ramsay -- Adaptation in New Zealand and the Pacific. 14. New Zealand climate change : water and adaptation / David Wratt ... [et al.]. 15. Methane emissions from New Zealand ruminants / Harry Clark. 16. Climate trends and projections for small islands of the tropical south-west Pacific / Lepou Penehuro Lefale. 17. Climate change impacts and adaptation in the Pacific : recent breakthroughs in concept and practice / Richard Warrick -- Opportunities for action on energy. 18. The energy transition / Ron Oxburgh. 19. The transport fuels of tomorrow / Ralph Sims -- Opportunities for action : International perspectives. 20. Reducing greenhouse emissions : Interpreting the economic impacts / Steve Hatfield-Dodds. 21. Climate change and business investment / Kirsty Hamilton. 22. Reducing emissions from deforestation / Sean Weaver. 23. Australian action on climate change / Howard Bamsey. 24. The logic of European action on climate change / Joop Oude Lohuis -- Opportunities for action in New Zealand. 25. What can a small country do to influence the course of human-induced climate change? / Simon Upton. 26. Framing policy action in the short and long term / Murray Ward. 27. The role of forests in climate change mitigation / David Whitehead. 28. Preparing New Zealand for the transition / Ken Piddington & Ralph Chapman. 29. A way forward on climate policy for New Zealand / Ralph Chapman.

The debate on the science is over. Climate change is real; it is happening even faster than previously thought and it is powerfully influenced by human activities. As events like Hurricane Katrina, the shrinking of ice caps and the calamitous 2003 European heatwave remind us, climate change is not a future threat, it already profoundly affects the world we live in. Scientific evidence shows that dengerous climate change can only be averted through concerted global action - not in 30 years time, but over the coming decade. Bold policies, informed public debate and decisive political leadership are critical, yet many countries - New Zealand among them - have been slow to act. With contributions by more than 30 leading scientists and policy experts, from New Zealand and elsewhere, this book will increase public understanding about climate change and help to develop robust, effective policies. It presents the latest scientific evidence, examines the likely impacts of climate change on New Zealand and the Pacific, and outlines a range of policy solutions. It is based on a major Climate Change and Governance Conference held in Wellington in March 2006.