The Long-Term Mitigation Scenarios (LTMS), a government-led South African process, approached the mitigation challenge 'from the bottomup'. It involved a broad range of stakeholders who collectively bolted together both best-practice research and human imagination. The position the South African government took, based on the LTMS, was much hailed, both nationally and internationally. The LTMS is now constantly mentioned, and has had a remarkably lasting impact.

This report explores the process design of the LTMS, its implementation and unfolding story, and the lessons learnt. I look at the LMTS as an experiment in building policy through broad consensus-making. I also see the LTMS approach as a way to shape governance that is built on a foundation of social accountability.

I intend this book for a general audience. If you are interested in the challenges that a high-emitting, developing country faces when confronting the almighty task of managing its development path whilst at the same time reducing its greenhouse gas emissions, this book will, in part at least, show possible ways to approach the problem. I hope too that process facilitators, policy-makers and leaders in general find this account useful in other contexts or countries. Because process professionals often don't know much about the technical issues around Climate Change I have not assumed that readers are highly qualified in this area. On the other hand, I apologise to those who are experts, and acknowledge that my own technical knowledge is not always up to the task.

I recommend that this book be read as a companion piece to Harald Winkler's comprehensive book on the technical outcomes of the LTMS, Taking Action on Climate Change (UCT Press, 2009). which is aimed at those qualified and interested in the complex technical issues with which the research teams grappled.

In South Africa, through the LTMS, we achieved a remarkable consensus. This book is the story of how we got there.

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Related resources:

• South Africa: National Climate Change Response Green Paper 2010
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• Economic Governance Programme (Idasa): Response to National Climate Change Response Green Paper 2010
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