Introduction to Modern Climate Change

For students & instructors

Resources

Additional readings, recorded lectures, and datasets for every chapter. Free to use in your own course.

By chapter Lectures Data

Resources by chapter

01An Introduction to the Climate ProblemIPCC reports · society statements · the IPCC process · the public debate 02Is the Climate Changing?State of the Climate · calculate the trend yourself · short-term variability · paleoclimate 03Radiation and Energy BalanceBlackbody radiation · infrared in the modern world · the flashover fire demo 04A Simple Climate ModelAnother way to explain the greenhouse effect · simple online models · energy-balance models 05The Carbon CycleNOAA greenhouse gas measurements · a carbon-cycle model to play with · the Global Carbon Budget 06Forcing, Feedbacks, and Climate SensitivityRunnable climate models · CO₂ as the control knob · carbon-cycle feedbacks · errata 07Why is the Climate Changing?Royal Society Q&A · the planet's orbit · ENSO and the drinking bird 08Predictions of Future Climate ChangeSSP scenarios · how climate models work · emissions data · climate over deep time 09Impacts of Climate ChangeNational Climate Assessments · sea level rise · extreme weather · health · economic and security risks 10Exponential GrowthAlbert Bartlett on exponential growth · Limits to Growth · social cost of carbon 11Fundamentals of Climate Change PolicyAdaptation · mitigation and nuclear · externalities · geoengineering 12Mitigation PolicyExternalities and the hidden costs of energy · carbon tax vs. cap and trade 13A Brief History of Climate Science and PoliticsUpdate through mid-2025 · treaty texts · ClimateGate · Merchants of Doubt 14Putting It All Together: A Long-term Policy to Address Climate ChangeDecisions under uncertainty · the 2 °C target · free riding · the costs of climate change

Recorded lectures

Third edition — the current courseChapter-by-chapter recordings of the online class, updated for the third edition. Roughly 80 videos.

Second editionThe complete online class based on the second edition.

Fall 2012 courseOriginal lecture recordings and course material.

Data & instructor material

Data for end-of-chapter problemsBerkeley Earth and NOAA sources for the problem sets in chapters 2 and 5.

Cambridge instructor resourcesFigure files and instructor materials from the publisher.

cambridge.org ↗

The book's Google groupWhere instructors using the book ask questions and share material.

groups.google.com ↗