Summary of main findings

Climate change

In the previous chapters we summarized the contemporary scientific understanding of the two interlinked issues of climate change and sustainable development and its relevance to policy. Based mainly on the assessment reports of the Intergovernmental Panel on Climate Change (IPCC), we discussed changes in the climate system and associated impacts on vulnerable natural and human systems, as well as their implications for sustainable development. Options to respond to climate change through adaptation and mitigation, and methodologies to evaluate those options, were described in detail.

During the last 5–10 years, our understanding of the climate problem and the options to address it, have advanced rapidly. Many new insights have been acquired, and it is difficult to select the most important ones, not least because of the fact that for different people, different things will be important. Nevertheless, in Box 10.1 we list the twelve most striking new findings that stand out in our personal view, not only because they are important scientifically, but also because they have a large potential impact on the development of climatic and other policies.

It is intriguing to note that the main reasons for the lack of progress in the international efforts to address climate change appear neither to include a lack of technological and other options, nor prohibitive economic costs at national and international levels.