Climate Change 2001: Synthesis Report

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Frontmatter

Climate Change 2001: Synthesis Report forms the fourth volume of the International Panel on Climate Change (IPCC) ThirdAssessment Report, and is composed of the Synthesis Report itself, the Summaries for Policymakers and TechnicalSummaries of the three IPCC Working Group volumes, and supporting annexes.

IPCC assessments attempt to answer such general questions as:

• Has the Earth's climate changed as a result of human activities?
• In what ways is climate projected to change in the future?
• How vulnerable are agriculture, water supply, ecosystems, coastal infrastructure, and human health to different levels of change in climate and sea level?
• What is the technical, economic, and market potential of options to adapt to climate change or reduce emissions of the gases that influence climate?

Climate Change 2001: Synthesis Report provides a policy-relevant, but not policy-prescriptive, synthesis and integration ofinformation contained within the Third Assessment Report and also draws upon all previously approved and accepted IPCCreports that address a broad range of key policy-relevant questions. For this reason it will be especially useful forpolicymakers and researchers, and as a main or supplementary student textbook for courses in environmental studies,meteorology, climatology, biology, ecology, and atmospheric chemistry.