Interdisciplinary exploration of the best scientific and political strategies to attain global sustainability, from many Nobel Prize-winning and other high-profile authors.

Foreword Angela Merkel; Preface Hans Joachim Schellnhuber, Mario Molina, Nicholas Stern, Veronika Huber and Susanne Kadner; Prologue: save the boot room Ian McEwan; Part I. The Great Transformation: 1. Transformations of the twenty-first century: transitions to greater sustainability Murray Gell-Mann; 2. Commentary: integrated sustainability and the underlying threat of urbanization Geoffrey B. West; 3. Commentary: earth system analysis and taking a crude look at the whole Wolfgang Lucht; 4. Making progress within and beyond borders Johan Rockström, Katrin Vohland, Wolfgang Lucht, Hermann Lotze-Campen, Ernst Ulrich von Weizsäcker and Tariq Banuri; 5. Towards a sustainable future James P. Leape and Sarah Humphrey; Part II. Climate Stabilization and Sustainable Development: 6. Scientific understanding of climate change and associated risks - consequences for a global deal Stefan Rahmstorf, Jennifer Morgan, Anders Levermann and Karsten Sach; 7. Towards a global deal on climate change Nicholas Stern and Su-Lin Garbett-Shiels; 8. Commentary: the German contribution to a global deal Sigmar Gabriel; 9. A 'just' climate agreement: the framework for an effective global deal Sunita Narain; 10. Commentary: carbon justice and forestation - the African perspective Wangari Maathai; 11. Carbon offsets, the CDM and sustainable development Diana Liverman; 12. Insights into the climate challenge Rajendra Pachauri; 13. Commentary: climate change - learning from the stratospheric ozone challenge Mario Molina; 14. Climate change, poverty eradication and sustainable development Nitin Desai; 15. Commentary: development and sustainability: conflicts and congruence Kirit Parikh; Part III. Institutional and Economic Incentives: 16. Robust options for decarbonization Thomas Bruckner, Ottmar Edenhofer, Hermann Held, Markus Haller, Michael Lüken, Nico Bauer and Nebojsa Nakicenovic; 17. Price and quantity regulation for reducing greenhouse gas emissions Ottmar Edenhofer, Robert Pietzcker, Matthias Kalkuhl and Elmar Kriegler; 18. Commentary: controlling climate change economically James Mirrlees; 19. What is the top priority on climate change? Paul Klemperer; 20. Research and technology for sustainability - a global cause Annette Schavan; 21. Commentary: energy research and technology for a transition toward a more sustainable future Nebojsa Nakicenovic; Part IV. Technological Innovation and Energy Security: 22. A world powered predominantly by solar and wind energy Walter Kohn; 23. Low cost 'plastic' solar cells: a dream becoming a reality Alan Heeger; 24. Smart grids, smart loads and energy storage Joachim Luther; 25. The SuperSmart Grid - paving the way for a completely renewable power system Antonella Battaglini, Johan Lilliestam and Gerhard Knies; 26. Getting the carbon out of transportation fuels Felix Creutzig and Daniel Kammen; 27. Opportunities for technological transformations and the dawn of a CO2-negative industry: from climate change to climate management? Maria Magdalena Titirici, Dieter Murach and Markus Antonietti; Part V. A Global Contract between Science and Society: 28. Promoting science, technology and innovation for sustainability in Africa Mohamed Hassan; 29. Information flow: the basis for sustainable participation John Sulston; 30. Commentary: educating and motivating global society Susanne Kadner; 31. Commentary: democracy and participation Achim Steiner; Part VI. The Potsdam Memorandum: 32. Potsdam Memorandum; 33. Commentary: the Potsdam Memorandum: a remarkable outcome of a most important conference Klaus Töpfer; Appendix: glossary; Co-authors' biographies.