Socio-economic scenarios

The global social and economic situation in the future may be very different from the world in which we currently live. Socio-economic scenarios help us to explore what those future worlds might look like, and to consider how those changes could alter our vulnerability to climate change and influence our adaptation responses.

A set of four national level socio-economic scenarios were developed for use in UK-wide climate impacts and adaptation assessments. The report provides:

  • an explanation of why socio-economic scenarios are important for climate change impact and adaptation assessments; and
  • guidance on their application at a regional level.

While the scenarios were originally published in 2000, they are still useful today.

Review of the application of the UKCIP Socio-economic scenarios (2009)

The critical review of UKCIP’s socio-economic scenarios completed by Nick Hughes, Julia Tomei and Paul Ekins of Kings College London reveals interesting insights into their application and provides suggestions for future directions.