What are the climate change-related risks and how can these risks be assessed from an economic point of view. While addressing these risks, how can policy makers and other decision makers be supported by science?

There is a broad consensus among scientists and politicians that next to mitigation measures, adaptation measures play an essential role in climate politics. According to the IPCC's Fourth Assessment Report, significant global warming due to human activities, is expected. Even if the international climate protection negotiations should be successful, a trend reversal in climate development, short term or medium term is not very likely. The first impacts of climate change are already perceptible (for example increase in global average temperature and changes in precipitation patterns). As a consequence, adaptation strategies become more important for stakeholders and decision makers at all levels.

A successful adaptation policy requires a scientific basis. So far, most decisions are made ad hoc and only single aspects of climate change are considered. A corollary of this is that the dynamic risks and uncertainties of climate change and its impacts are immense and often not taken into account. The further development of adaptation research is indispensable otherwise economies and societies could be put at considerable risk.

REKLIM Topic 10 meets this challenge. The main tasks are to fill the gaps in knowledge or to inform the public about the lack of knowledge and the associated risks and also to develop adaptation strategies based on sound science.