The term climate change refers to the change taking place in the planet’s climate since the start of the industrial revolution, as a consequence, partly, of human activity. Because of its visibility – the process is appreciable over an individual’s life span – climate change has transcended the scientific domain and gained social, political and economic currency, with its manifestations attracting growing coverage in the media.

The aim of this book, which draws on the talks its author gave in the BBVA Foundation in the spring of 2011, is to give a comprehensible, plain-language account of what science knows about the Earth’s climate and its evolution. The author’s experience as a participant in international decision-making forums and contributor to IPCC reports is reflected in a series of commentaries on the social and political aspects of climate change.

The main information source for the book’s contents are the IPCC’s reports, particularly the fourth assessment report published in 2007. However it also sets out recent findings by the author’s research team, some of which will shortly be published in specialist journals.

Although the book is primarily about the science of climate change, it also considers other aspects such as climate history, terminological distinctions or policy decisions. It is this attempt to broaden the picture without losing scientific rigor that gives the text its particular appeal.

¿Hablamos del cambio climático? is for any reader keen to understand climate change from all the angles, including how much science knows about the process and its implications for our planet now and in the future.