Climate change is rarely out of the news nowadays, and almost everyone seems to have an opinion about it. The scientific evidence for ongoing anthropogenic climate change is overwhelming, and impacts of changes over recent decades are already apparent in the Nordic region, with reduced sea ice, lengthening growing seasons and altered river flows. However, with global carbon dioxide emissions surging back to record levels in 2010, there now seems little prospect of meeting the internationally agreed target of limiting global mean warming to below 2°C relative to pre-industrial times by reducing emissions. Indeed, societies may have to prepare themselves for much more warming than that, as well as the many consequences that would result. While there are certainly situations in which impacts of warming may be judged beneficial, the effects in most parts of the world are expected to be overwhelmingly adverse. Moreover, some of the more damaging impacts may already be emerging through extreme weather events, such as record heatwaves, heavy precipitation and high winds, possible harbingers of greater climatic variability and unpredictability to come.

It is clear that effective adaptation will be essential for coping with inevitable climate change. But are societies sufficiently aware of and prepared for these accelerating and unprecedented changes? This is a central question being posed for participants at the Second Nordic International Conference on Climate Change Adaptation.

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