1. There is a need to maintain monitoring of the climate. Guys like Christy at UAH will continue to work on satellite climate measurement. GISS, HadCrut etc will need to continue monitoring surface temperatures. The ocean temps will continue to need to be measured by the ARGO network of Buoys.
There are thousands of climate scientists involved in maintaining these networks of data.
And that data feeds into the rest of the ongoing work.
2. There is the task of managing the measurement and assessment program for Paris Agreement contributions.
What do current commitments mean in terms of outcomes, are countries meeting their commitments, how much more is needed? Scenarios of changing commitments and outcomes.
3. Probably the biggest area of work.
a) Our transport planners, local and regional councils and farmers and others have got their hands full planning for changes and wanting more information.
That's tough when simple historic 100 year event statistics are now meaningless, because the baseline is continually moving up.
That will require more detailed climate model developments capable of better regional forecasting, and
detailed work using those models to develop extreme weather forecasts - event frequency and severity - flooding, wind strengths etc. for regions of the world.
b) That will also feed into weather forecasting (As will the data networks from point 1. above). Forecasters will need more developed climate models to predict short term outcomes in a warmer world.
c) specialised modelling for resiliency planning and other needs. E.g at present there is around a 10% probability of coincident weather related maize crop failure in both of the two areas of the world that produce that crop. That will change with climate change, so there is a need to assess the conditions that affect those crops specifically and how those are changing in those growing areas with climate change, and to hence to assess likely impacts. And to then plan for that with increased storage, migration of where those crops are farmed, use of seed more resistant to particular conditions etc etc
