The Copenhagen Diagnosis

The Copenhagen Diagnosis is a summary of the global warming peer reviewed science since 2007. Produced by a team of 26 scientists led by the University of New South Wales Climate Research Centre, the Diagnosis convincingly proves that the effects of global warming have gotten worse in the last three years. It is a timely update to the UN's Intercontinental Panel on Climate Change 2007 Fourth Assessment document (IPCC AR4).

The report places the blame for the century long temperature increase on human factors and says the turning point must come soon. If we are to limit warming to 2 degrees above pre-industrial values, global emissions must peak by 2020 at the latest and then decline rapidly. The scientists warned that waiting for higher levels of scientific certainty could mean that some tipping points will be crossed before they are recognized. By 2050 we will effectively need to be in a post-carbon economy if we are to avoid unlivable temperatures.

Authors: Ian Allison, Nathaniel Bindoff, Robert Bindschadler, Peter Cox, Nathalie de Noblet-Ducoudre´, Matthew England, Jane Francis, Nicolas Gruber, Alan Haywood, David Karoly, Georg Kaser, Corinne Le Que´re´, Tim Lenton, Michael Mann, Ben McNeil, Andy Pitman, Stefan Rahmstorf, Eric Rignot, Hans Joachim Schellnhuber, Stephen Schneider, Steven Sherwood, Richard Somerville, Konrad Steffen, Eric Steig, Martin Visbeck, Andrew Weaver

The Copenhagen Diagnosis is a very thoughtful, accessible and valuable update on the most advanced climate science. It has an overwhelmingly clear message: if we do not act strongly in this decade, then we risk causing irreversible and severe damage to our planet. -- Sir Nicholas Stern, I.G. Patel Professor of Economics and Government and Chair of the Grantham Research Institute on Climate Change and the Environment at London School of Economics and Political Science

A must read book for those wanting the truth about climate change--credible and authoritative by some of the world's leading scientists. -- Dr. Robert Watson, Chair of the Intergovernmental Panel on Climate Change (IPCC) from 1997 to 2002

This book by Allison (Ice Ocean Atmosphere and Climate Program, Australian Antarctic Division) et al., synthesizes of all the peer-reviewed scientific publications on human caused climate change since the publication of the IPCC's Fourth Assessment Report in 2007. The report provides the most up-to-date information on greenhouse gas emissions, the global carbon cycle, sea level rise, future climate projections, and more. Presented in relatively accessible language with dozens of charts, figures, and photographs, this book is intended for the general reader concerned with climate change as well as those in academia.--Reference and Research Book News

The Copenhagen Diagnosis brings together the key findings of the most policy-relevant climate science published since the close-off of material for the Intergovernmental Panel on Climate Change (IPCC) Fourth Assessment Report (AR4). This is no mean feat as many hundreds of papers have been published on topics related to human-induced climate change...The target audience for this book is broad and I consider it a must-read for anyone involved in energy.--EnergyNews, March 2012, Volume 30, no. 1, page 27

This reviewer's office shelves groan with books on climate change and associated policy issues. However, there is no doubt that this update from the latest UN report on global climate change ranks number one for its combination of authoritativeness, impact, and suitability for both scientists and nonspecialists. Most of the book's 26 authors from eight nations collectively hold many scientific leadership positions and are contributors to the Fourth Assessment Report (AR4) of the Intergovernmental Panel on Climate Change issued in 2007. The volume is organized into 14 chapters that discuss greenhouse gases, events on land, glaciers, oceans, etc. The final chapters address 'tipping points, ' examine the past, and consider what the future holds. Blue-ribbon panel reports and other collective works by academic authors tend to be filled with incomprehensible 'scientese.' This is not true with this work, produced under the leadership of the University of New South Wales (Australia) Climate Research Centre. It stands out for maximum conciseness in the text, minimum equivocation, and high-impact, colored illustrations. Summing Up: Essential. Lower-division undergraduates and above; informed general readers.--CHOICE