Climate and Culture

Man influences the environment and climate and the consequences are now felt around the globe. National or regional efforts to restrict or at least contain the damage can only be insufficient: in principle environmental and climate protection needs a global concept. Paradoxically, the way we perceive environmental and climate change and handle damage is closely linked to local or regional patterns of perception. This local view is grounded not only in different ways of socio-economic development in different regions of the world, but also in differences in cultural patterns. Also, the disturbance of the environment and climate causes relatively rapid social changes, in which the interpretation of symbols for the relationship between man and nature plays an important part.

The history of climate and culture, patterns of perception of environmental and climate change and an informed assessment of the future direction of environmental and climate policy in various parts of the world have to be taken into account in order to get to grips with the problem. From a variety of angles, such as the history of ideas, historiography, the study of civilisation, and the political sciences, the monographs and edited volumes in Climate and Culture will all deal with the following questions: - How do local and regional cultures perceive changes in the environment and climate in past and present?
- How do local and regional cultures perceive changes in the environment and climate in past and present?
- How did and do they adjust to them?
- How do their various representatives and spokesmen introduce their respective views to the global debate and into emerging international negotiating systems?