Climate has for a long time been a taken-for-granted background against which social, political and economic interactions have taken place. But this taken-for-granted background is cleaving. It is becoming hard to ignore the potential repercussions of a changing climate, and the uneven impact of certain forms of human society and energy cultures that risk undermining their own environmental conditions.

In a comprehensive and accessible way, this book:

• Provides a broad account of the various conceptions and constructions of climate and its shifting interconnections with society, science and politics
• Incorporates both natural and social scientific perspectives
• Situates contemporary climate change research in an historical context

Drawing on the insights of various disciplines and citing numerous examples, Society and Climate probes the interplay between society, science and climate, and warns against making any easy assumptions.