Climate change : how real is it? the issues and implications

For many people confusion still exists about climate change, how real is it, what does it mean, what are the impacts and can we ameliorate them, how do we adapt? For more than a decade, scientists and governments throughout the world have been investing resources in a collaborative effort to examine and address emerging issues in the stability of the world's climate. This collaborative effort has largely been driven by concern over the changing climate and the impact that major climatic events have on the global economy. One of the major products to emerge from this effort was the formation of the International Panel on Climate Change (IPCC, 2001a). The IPCC's three major working groups that include internationally-recognised scientists examined the science behind understanding climate change and the cause, the impacts of the change in climate and possible adapatation strategies, and the mitigation of the impacts (IPCC, 2001a).