“Climate change already touches every corner of the planet and every aspect of people’s lives. As our global temperature increases, its impacts will become even more extreme. To illustrate this we commissioned 10 of the world’s top photographers to bring together, in a single volume, what is happening in diverse countries and conditions around the world. This is their record.

NorthSouthEastWest tells the story of these places; ice-caps, mega-cities, rice fields, townships, islands, forests and much more. It deals with the threats that millions face to their food supplies, fresh water, health, culture and even the existence of their countries. But it also details a range of solutions that may stave off the worst of the crisis. There are big and small ideas, some simple, others technically complex, but all part of the battle to stop climate change getting out of hand.

Climate change threatens to reshape our future for the worse. It is clear that time is running out to take on the most important challenge facing humanity –managing and controlling the climate change that is already under way. The United Nations Framework Convention on Climate Change, agreed by 180 nations, makes it clear that every country must take action to prevent global warming. Its first, hesitant, legal step towards this aim, the Kyoto Protocol, is now in force, but everyone accepts that this is not enough. Much more needs to be done to cut greenhouse gas emissions and quickly.

This project is designed to spell out the effects of climate change on the lives of ordinary people, as the title suggests, north, south, east and west. The idea is to raise awareness, and yes, create concern, so people will be galvanised into much-needed action.

What is also clear from the photographs presented here is that there are tremendous opportunities to improve people’s lives while tackling climate change. There are social, environmental and economic advantages in all the solutions described, worth pursuing even if global warming was not an issue. In every case the costs of action are dwarfed by the price all of us will have to pay through inaction.

What comes across from every country and project visited is the need for leadership. Looking at the extraordinary range of projects undertaken to tackle climate change, that is the common factor. Communities, industries and countries need leaders who have the vision to see what needs to be done.

Perhaps what is also surprising are the giant strides that some have taken while others do little or nothing. The technology is available for the leap forward mankind needs to make. The benefits are already clear to see. The threat is obvious and the danger is present. The future is in all of our hands – but we have to grasp it. It is our call.”

Steve Howard

CEO, The Climate Group