As world leaders gather in Copenhagen for the UN Climate Change Conference, a new map has been launched that highlights the importance of limiting mean global temperature rise to no more than 2 °C above those prior to the industrial revolution. The Met Office map called ‘The impacts of a global temperature rise of 2 °C’ has been produced to complement a similar map, published in October by the UK Government and the Met Office, exploring at the impacts on a world if the mean temperature was allowed to climb to 4 °C above the pre-industrial climate average. The two maps together show the range of climate impacts that can be avoided if we act now to reduce global emissions to keep global temperatures below 2°C.