Uncertainty, unclear risks and compromised commitments

Considering the predicted impacts of anthropogenic (human-caused) global warming on Southasia, the region has reasons for concern and immediate action. Yet the science of the current global warming, and of climate change in general, is still emerging and the level of public information on this in this region is quite low. In the absence of a good understanding of the science behind natural processes that go against human expectations, they are quickly stamped as 'natural disasters'. The uncertain knowledge base and inaccurate descriptions of risks for Southasia have created obstacles to a clearer identification of adaptation measures needed for the Subcontinent. Wider knowledge of climate science is thus essential to promote informed responses to global warming and climate change.

The post-Kyoto Protocol global politics that has emerged in relation to mitigation makes the future of reductions in greenhouse-gas emissions uncertain. In December in Copenhagen, the Conference of the Parties of the United Nations Framework Convention on Climate Change will address both the science of global warming and the politics of a global response to it. To discuss these and related issues, the editors invited N Sundararaman, an expert on atmospheric sciences based in Geneva who was associated with the Inter-governmental Panel on Climate Change from its inception as general-secretary, and Jayanta Bandyopadhyay, expert on sustainable development policy and water-systems management, based in Calcutta.