The synthesis report is part of the APN’s larger aim to contribute, from the science perspective, to the development of policy options for appropriate responses to climate vulnerability and impacts, including adaptation and mitigation, which in turn will contribute to sustainable development. The timing of this publication also leads into three major activities of the “Planet Under Pressure: New Knowledge Towards Solutions Conference” and the “Rio+20 United Nations Conference on Sustainable Development,” both taking place in the first half of 2012, and the work of the current IPCC fifth assessment with the report scheduled for release in 2014.