This work focuses on why climate change matters and is organized into two parts, devoted respectively to human and natural systems and regional aspects, incorporating results from the reports of Working Groups I and III. The volume addresses impacts that have already occurred and risks of future impacts, especially the way those risks change with the amount of climate change that occurs and with investments in adaptation to climate changes that cannot be avoided. For both past and future impacts, a core focus of the assessment is characterizing knowledge about vulnerability, the characteristics and interactions that make some events devastating, while others pass with little notice.
Chapter 1. Point of Departure -- Chapter 2. Foundations for Decision Making -- Chapter 3. Freshwater Resources -- Chapter 4. Terrestrial and Inland Water Systems -- Chapter 5. Coastal Systems and Low-Lying Areas -- Chapter 6. Ocean Systems -- Chapter 7. Food Security and Food Production Systems -- Chapter 8. Urban Areas -- Chapter 9. Rural Areas -- Chapter 10. Key Economic Sectors and Services -- Chapter 11. Human Health: Impacts, Adaptation, and Co-Benefits -- Chapter 12. Human Security -- Chapter 13. Livelihoods and Poverty -- Chapter 14. Adaptation Needs and Options -- Chapter 15. Adaptation Planning and Implementation -- Chapter 16. Adaptation Opportunities, Constraints, and Limits -- Chapter 17. Economics of Adaptation -- Chapter 18. Detection and Attribution of Observed Impacts -- Chapter 19. Emergent Risks and Key Vulnerabilities -- Chapter 20. Climate-Resilient Pathways: Adaptation, Mitigation, and Sustainable Development

xiii, 1131 p. : ill., maps, tables

Includes bibliographical references and index.

9781107058071 (hardback)
9781107641655 (paperback)