Europe

Abstract

This chapter reviews the scientific evidence published since the IPCC Fourth Assessment Report (AR4) on observed and projected impacts of anthropogenic climate change in Europe and adaptation responses. The geographical scope of this chapter is the same as in AR4 with the inclusion of Turkey. Thus, the European region includes all countries from Iceland in the west to the Russian Federation (west of the Urals) and the Caspian Sea in the east, and from the northern shores of the Mediterranean and Black Seas and the Caucasus in the south to the Arctic Ocean in the north. Impacts above the Arctic Circle are addressed in Chapter 28 and impacts in the Baltic and Mediterranean Seas in Chapter 30. Impacts in Malta, Cyprus, and other island states in Europe are discussed in Chapter 29. The European region has been divided into five sub-regions (see Figure 23-1): Atlantic, Alpine, Southern, Northern, and Continental. The sub-regions are derived by aggregating the climate zones developed by Metzger et al. (2005) and therefore represent geographical and ecological zones rather than political boundaries. The scientific evidence has been evaluated to compare impacts across (rather than within) sub-regions, although this was not always possible depending on the scientific information available.