Daniel Bouille – författare

The Intergovernmental Panel on Climate change (IPCC) was jointly established by the World Meteorological Organization (WMO) and the United Nations Envir- ment Programme (UNEP) to assess the scientific, technical and socio-economic information relevant for the understanding of the risk of human-induced climate change. Since its inception the IPCC has produced a series of comprehensive - sessment Reports, Special Reports and Technical Papers on the state of the und- standing of causes of climate change, its potential impacts, and options for response strategies. In 1998, Working Group III (WG III) of the ongoing Third Assessment was charged by the IPCC Plenary to assess the scientific, technical, environmental, economic and social aspects of the mitigation of climate change and a series of cross-cutting issues such as equity, development and sustainability. Its mandate was changed from a predominantly disciplinary assessment of the economic and social dimensions of climate change in the Second Assessment Report to an interdisciplinary assessment of the options to control the emissions of greenhouse gases and/or enhance their sinks. One key issue of the IPCC Third Assessment Report (TAR) on mitigation of climate change, which has undergone an extensive review by scientists and governments, is the role of present and future behaviour of individuals, households, private and p- lic companies, public authorities and other stakeholders.

The Intergovernmental Panel on Climate Change (IPCC) noted increasing greenhouse gas concentrations and discernible human influence on global change. Limiting the changing global climate will require policies, programmes, and measures to deploy new mitigation technologies and entrepreneurial opportunities. The social, behavioural, and cultural changes, however, are poorly understood at present. Traditional conceptual frameworks for mitigation assessment do not sufficiently take into account social and psychological factors such as individual motivation and personality (e.g., convenience, fun culture, social prestige), communication, and decision patterns within administrations and companies, or cultural traditions and life styles of societal groups. Therefore, this book focuses on these aspects and related conceptual frameworks for mitigation assessment. Its aim is to encourage and develop more effective mitigation policies worldwide, to assist marketing aspects of energy service companies, technology producers, and utilities in gaining better understanding of their customers' decisions, and to provide material for relevant courses at universities and other research institutions.