This document discusses several key issues regarding the science-policy interface on climate change: 1) While climate change is unprecedented in scale, there are precedents from other environmental issues that can provide lessons for addressing it. 2) There is already a high level of scientific certainty about many aspects of climate change like human-caused greenhouse gas emissions and warming temperatures to inform policy action. 3) Climate change is a major policy concern because of its impacts across key economic sectors and implications for global development.