Operationalising knowledge on and for societal transformations in the face of climate change

Despite mounting scientific evidence affirming the damaging onset of climate change, concerted societal actions to address this global challenge remain elusive. There is now a critical need to move beyond a focus on describing the climate change challenge, and towards devising effective societal solutions and actions. The challenge is to connect and operationalize knowledge to help prevent, reduce, prepare for, and address catastrophic climate change-related impacts.

This white paper provides an overview of the current state of play, knowledge gaps, and research priorities for enabling societal transformations in the face of climate change across all levels of society in line with the goals of the Paris Agreement. The authors draw on and connect findings from a number of previous scoping efforts conducted within and beyond JPI Climate in the areas of societal transformation, climate services and climate-related decision making. The paper summarizes previous efforts made in JPI Climate to prioritize research themes. It frames research questions and calls in the climate area, with focus on social science and the humanities research.

Based on this analysis the paper:

• Identifies thematic priories and areas for future joint calls for proposals
• Articulates framings of research within these thematic areas, and identifies cross-cutting issue s and desirable outcomes that will attract a diversity of social science and humanities and interdisciplinary perspectives
• Provides guidance for and visualization of requirements for transdisciplinary research approaches that can help to overcome disciplinary silos and science-society divides, and can help encourage more critical and reflexive knowledge-production processes.