AR5 emphasised the importance of knowledge systems as an enabling condition for decision-making, as did earlier ARs, all of which include a focus on the policy relevance of knowledge . First introduced in IPCC reports in AR4, the term 'knowledge system' is used extensively in AR5 and the SRs. The discussion below follows a widely cited definition of knowledge systems as sets of interacting 'agents, practices and institutions that organize the production, transfer and use of knowledge' . This definition emphasises the social nature of knowledge and the importance of the link between knowledge and action, rather than presenting knowledge simply as information about past, present and future states of the world which can be of use to decision makers.
IPCC
Climate Change 2022: Impacts, Adaptation and Vulnerability
IPCC Report