Societal response to CO2-induced climate change: Opportunities for research

How might a climate change, induced by increased CO2 in the atmosphere, affect societies? What is the range of existing and potential mechanisms for societal response? And how might research contribute to a reduction of the adverse impact (or enhancement of the unique opportunities) of a climate change by providing greater understanding of the processes involved in climate and society interaction? This paper reflects an initial effort to shed light on these questions. It offers first a framework for identifying key issues in climate-society interaction; eight major questions are suggested by the framework. A discussion of each major question is then presented with the purpose of reviewing the current state of knowledge, identifying the gaps in understanding, and offering opportunities for research to fill those gaps. In all, twenty-two research needs are outlined and are summarized at the conclusion of the paper. The perspective is inter-disciplinary, but the review draws heavily from the geographic literature, reflecting the disciplinary bias of the authors.

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