Thank you for visiting nature.com. You are using a browser version with limited support for CSS. To obtain
the best experience, we recommend you use a more up to date browser (or turn off compatibility mode in
Internet Explorer). In the meantime, to ensure continued support, we are displaying the site without styles
and JavaScript.
While there is nearly unanimous agreement that the accord that emerged from last month's UN climate change conference in Copenhagen doesn't go far enough towards addressing the climate problem, it's less certain what the next steps should be. Olive Heffernan asks the experts for their views.
The Copenhagen Accord leaves a gap between climate impacts that can be dealt with through adaptation and those that will be avoided through mitigation. But how big is the gap?
Major efforts are underway to improve climate models both for the advancement of science and for the benefit of society. But early results could cause problems for the public understanding of climate change.
Former chief science advisor to the UK government David King once said that last month's talks in Copenhagen would be the “last chance saloon” for tackling climate change. But there is hope beyond Copenhagen, says King. Olive Heffernan reports.
