Climate Adaptation 2014 The IPCC 5th Assessment Report - some key findings and insights for Australia (885)
The IPCC has completed its three Working Group reports on climate science, impacts and adaptation, and mitigation, with only the Synthesis Report yet to come. These reports, comprising the work of many hundreds of scientists as authors, thousands as reviewers, and tens of thousands of scientific references, provide the most authoritative overview of the current state of knowledge about climate change and what options human society has to respond to it. I will present selected key findings from all three reports, with a focus on issues of particular relevance to Australia, including the regional key risks from climate change identified by the IPCC, and the options for managing these risks through both mitigating and adapting to these changes. In doing so, I will also offer some reflections on lessons learnt in the assessment process around major knowledge gaps but also the difficulties in connecting and integrating different disciplines towards a comprehensive assessment.