ABSTRACT
The International Council of Scientific Unions (ICSU) in cooperation with the International Science Council (ISSC) came up with a holistic strategy on Earth System research that integrates our understanding of the functioning of the Earth system – and its critical thresholds – with global environmental change and socio-economic development (Reid et al., 2010). The five Grand Challenges identified are summarized below:
1. Forecasting – to improve the usefulness of forecasts of future environmental conditions and their consequences for people.
