Abstract
When communicating results of climate science to the public, scientists are usually confronted with the question of, “What shall we do?” Available options are mitigating climate change by reducing the causes
(reduction of emissions) and adapting to those changes that are not or can not be avoided by mitigation measures. For mitigation, the IPCC
reports provide ample material (http://www.ipcc.ch/). Since not all man-made climate change can be avoided, improved adaptation to the vagaries of climate is and will be needed. But making decisions about regional and local adaptation requires knowledge about the geographic and socioeconomic specifics of the region. Such knowledge is usually not readily available, and the knowledge market is flooded by claims made by politically and economically vested interests.
