At a meeting in 1982, the Scientific Advisory Committee of WCIP accepted, in broad terms, a proposal From the International Institute for Applied Systems Analysis (IIASA) for an integrated climate impact assessment, with the proviso that the emphasis be on impacts in the agricultural sector. Martin Parry was asked to design and direct the project at IIASA. Funding was provided by UNEP, IIASA, the Austrian Government and the United Nations University. This volume, and its companion volume, are the products of that project, altogether they represent the work of 76 authors from 50 different scientific institutes in 17 countries Yet they are not merely edited collections of chapters because each reports results from a common set of impact assessments which were designed, conducted and reported in a compatible manner by our collaborating scientists.