Board on Atmospheric Sciences and Climate & Division on Earth and Life Studies 
Estimating Climate Sensitivity [PDF ebook] 
Report of a Workshop

"Climate sensitivity" is a term used to characterize the response of the climate system to an imposed forcing, and is most commonly used to mean the equilibrium global mean surface temperature change that occurs in response to a doubling of atmospheric carbon dioxide concentration. The purpose of this workshop was to explore current capabilities and limitations in quantifying climate sensitivity and consider whether there are alternative approaches for characterizing climate response that might better suit the information needs of policy makers.