This report applies the principles of risk assessment used in finance and national security in order to try and better understand and communicate the risks of climate change.

It is a multi-country climate change risk assessment, which considers: the future pathway of global emissions; the direct risks arising from the climate’s response to those emissions; and the risks arising from the interaction of climate change with complex human systems.

It aims to inform government decisions about climate change and priorities: how much effort to expend on countering it, relative to the effort that must be spent on other issues. It argues that a climate change risk assessment must consider at least three areas: the future pathway of global emissions; the direct risks arising from the climate’s response to those emissions; and the risks arising from the interaction of climate change with complex human systems. Each of these areas contains large uncertainties.

[Adapted from source]