Abstract

In this chapter, we argue for and describe the gap that exists between current practice in mainstream academic climate science, and the practical needs of policymakers charged with exploring possible interventions in the context of climate change. By ‘mainstream academic climate science’ we mean the type of climate science that dominates in universities and research centres. We argue that academic climate science does not equip climate scientists to be as helpful as they might be, when involved in climate policy assessment. We attribute this partly to an over-investment in high-resolution climate simulators, and partly to a culture that is uncomfortable with the inherently subjective or personalistic nature of the probabilities in climate science.