Impacts World 2013: International conference on climate change effects
A broad array of scientific knowledge about the impacts of climate change has been gathered over the last decades. Yet, in many respects it remains fragmentary, and a quantitative synthesis of climate impacts, including consistent estimates of uncertainties, is still missing.
The Impacts World 2013 conference aims to develop a new vision for climate impacts research by laying the foundations for regular, community-driven syntheses of climate change impact analyses. It will bring together leading scientists and decision makers from local to international levels.
Impact World 2013 is designed to provide a platform for lively exchange and constructive discussion on five key challenges for climate impact research in the coming decades.
A broad array of scientific knowledge about the impacts of climate change has been gathered over the last decades. Yet, in many respects it remains fragmentary, and a quantitative synthesis of climate impacts, including consistent estimates of uncertainties, is still missing.
The Impacts World 2013 conference aims to develop a new vision for climate impacts research by laying the foundations for regular, community-driven syntheses of climate change impact analyses. It will bring together leading scientists and decision makers from local to international levels.
Impact World 2013 is designed to provide a platform for lively exchange and constructive discussion on five key challenges for climate impact research in the coming decades:
1. Can we integrate our existing knowledge across sectors?
Climate change will have impacts in a wide range of sectors that belong to both the natural and the socio-economic sphere. The issue transcends the traditional research boundaries and creates multiple cross-disciplinary challenges.
2. How certain are we?
The utility and credibility of climate impacts research is heavily reliant on the robustness of impact projections. Uncertainty propagates from observational data, climate models and socio-economic scenarios, through to impact and adaptation assessments.
3. What is still missing?
A comprehensive and systematic gap analysis is needed to identify mechanisms, sectors and regions which are currently under-researched.
4. How do we bridge the divide between regional and global impact studies?
Global assessments of climate change impacts are important to inform the policy making process at international, regional, and local levels. Therefore, to ensure that research meets the demands of decision-makers and communities for reliable and timely information, details of climate impacts must be provided at the appropriate geographic scale. Bridging the scales between global and regional impact research and models can go in both directions.
5. Is anybody listening?
Research provides crucial information to global, regional, national and local policy makers and practitioners. Research results must be relevant, intelligible and concise not only for the scientific community, but also to stakeholders and the wider public. Quantitative syntheses as well as powerful narratives are crucial.