Climate Policy : Quo Vadis?

Abstract

Climate change has become a major issue of our time. While Earth history clearly demonstrates that there has always been climate change, the IPCC (Intergovernmental Panel on Climate Change) keeps reminding us that the current climate change, i.e. the measured recent warming of the Earth, is something exceptional and alarming and is mainly caused by mankind. Jumping on IPCC's bandwagon, politics, media and climate gurus, such as Al Gore, George Monbiot and David Suzuki, reinforce and grossly exaggerate IPCC's message with their warnings of an imminent climate disaster, which can only be prevented if we fundamentally alter our societal order and lifestyles. And even from within the climate science community voices can now be heard that consider IPCC warnings too modest, which is e.g. the position of Stefan Rahmstorf and Hans Joachim Schellnhuber.