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Climate change science has made important gains since the IPCC Third Assessment Report (TAR). The evidence for a warming Earth is stronger and the impacts of climate change are becoming observable in some cases. The broader climate-related research community is beginning to tackle one of the most fundamental and difficult questions associated with the climate change issue – what constitutes “dangerous” climate change? Article 2 of the United Nations Framework Convention on Climate Change states that emissions of greenhouse gases should be limited to levels that avoid dangerous climate change. Although ultimately it is society’s role to determine what is dangerous and what is not, science can provide critical knowledge to underpin the societal debate. Recent advances in two major areas of research – determining by how much climate will change due to greenhouse gas forcing and observing and analysing the impacts of climate change – have thrown new light on the question of dangerous climate change.