Climate Futures: Dialogues across the Science-Society-Policy Interface
Challenges and opportunities to tackle climate change lie in its inherent intersectionality, i.e. its reach across all spheres of the environment such as the atmosphere, the biosphere, the ocean, and the cryosphere and also different socio-economic sectors such as transport, housing, energy and food. The scenarios compatible with the Paris Agreement’s goals require the exploration and exploitation of co-benefits between different sectors and also between mitigation and adaptation measures. A profound interdisciplinary understanding of climate change and climate action is thus urgently needed. At the same time, it is now evident that more knowledge about climate change does not necessarily translate into effective climate action. Resistance to calls for climate action can emerge from diverse groups in society, representing significant challenges to climate governance at different scales (from the global to the local). One possible solution has been the expansion of effective climate science communication and education that takes seriously the everyday experiences and practices of those tasked with the implementation of climate action initiatives.