Uncertain pathways to a future safe climate

But adaptation has practical, cultural and biological limits, and climate change may pose unanticipated global hazards, sudden changes or other surprises-as may societal adaptation and mitigation responses. These poorly known factors could substantially affect the urgency of mitigation as well as adaptation decisions.

We outline a strategy for better accommodating these challenges by making climate science more integrative, in order to identify and quantify known and novel physical risks including those arising from interactions with ecosystems and society. We need to do this even-or especially-when they are highly uncertain, and to explore risks and opportunities associated with mitigation and adaptation responses by engaging across disciplines.