A post-Paris look at climate observations

Climate observations require a reorientation after the Paris negotiations, putting more emphasis on observing the impacts of mitigation and adaptation efforts. The Paris Agreement (1) on climate in December 2015 was a landmark event, not only in the political sense of achieving an agreement for curbing climate change, but also in its implications for the making and use of climate observations. Instead of purely emphasising that climate change is happening, the Paris Agreement makes the point that stakeholders need to know what effect and impact their choices will have – scientific knowledge to support decision making and knowledge that provides early warning being among the elements introduced. This knowledge cannot be acquired unless climate continues to be observed synoptically and trends monitored. Future changes and impacts to our environment will also need to be known in order to evaluate and adjust policy.

DOLMAN A. J.;  BELWARD Alan;  BRIGGS Stephen;  DOWELL Mark;  EGGLESTON Simon;  HILL Katherine;  RICHTER Caroline;  SIMMONS A.; 

2022-03-02

NATURE PUBLISHING GROUP

JRC101885

1752-0894 (online),   

https://www.nature.com/articles/ngeo2785,    https://publications.jrc.ec.europa.eu/repository/handle/JRC101885,   

10.1038/ngeo2785 (online),