Includes Index, Bibliograhical references

The year 2009 will be pivotal for Earth's climate. Scientists have warned that we have only a few years to reverse the rise in greenhouse gas emissions in order to avoid abrupt and catastrophic climate change. And the World community has agreed to finalise negotiations on a new climate agreement in Copenhagen in late 2009. State of the World 2009: Into a Warming World is intended to inject new inspiration and energy into national and international climate negotiations by conveying the profound long-term consequences of the experiment we are now conducting with Earth's atmosphere, with an emphasis on human and ecological effects of that transformation. Includes six policy chapters and 22 Climate connections on the many important issues affected by climate change plus a Climate Change Reference Guide Glossary.