The impacts of climate change are highly uncertain.  There is uncertainty surrounding future emissions; regional climate projections; socio-economic drivers; the effects of climate on different sectors, and the costs of this to society (see below).  While these uncertainties mean that it is impossible to plan for ‘one future’, a good understanding of the range of possible impacts can be used to develop an adaptation strategy, which is robust to a change of future climates.

Understanding the uncertainty in calculating the impacts of climate change

Source: Adapted from Giorgi et al 2005