Climate change refers to "a change in the state of the climate that can be identified (e.g., by using statistical tests) by changes in the mean and/or the variability of its properties, and that persists for an extended period, typically decades or longer" (IPCC 2014, p. 120). In other words, climate change can be defined as a change in the state of the climate that persists for an extended period (i.e. beyond expected climate variability).