Climate Change Assessment for the Baltic Sea Basin

Abstract

The Fourth Assessment Report of the Intergovernmental Panel on Climate Change [IPCC, 2007] has had a big impact on the public perception and acknowledgment of global climate change. However, regional climate change assessments are urgently needed to complement the big picture with regional results and scenarios of higher resolution, which local decision makers and stakeholders can use [Visbeck, 2008; von Storch and Meinke, 2008]. An outstanding example of a regional assessment is the BALTEX (Baltic Sea Experiment) Assessment of Climate Change for the Baltic Sea Basin (BACC; http://www.baltex-research.eu/BACC/), which was compiled by a consortium of 84 scientists from 13 countries around the Baltic Sea [BACC Author Team, 2008]. The assessment covers various disciplines related to climate research and related impacts.