Projecting climate change impacts: Cross-sectoral ISIMIP-PROCLIAS workshop full success
05/27/2022 - From risks in the Sixth IPCC Assessment Report to the future of climate modelling and progress in compound event research: The ISIMIP-PROCLIAS workshop 2022 featured a number of diverse topics around climate impact modelling.
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PIK RD2 Scientists and GIZ kick off climate risk analyses in three new countries
27/05/2022 - After finalizing the climate risk analyses in Burkina Faso and Niger, RD2 scientists from the 'Adaptation in Agricultural Systems' recently kicked off the climate risk analysis process in three new countries: Cameroon, Uganda and Zambia.
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Nu-Tree project started: Integrating nutrition and health aspects into agroforestry projects in sub-Saharan Africa
17/05/2021 – The project ‘Integrating nutrition and health into agroforestry projects of GIZ and NGOs in sub-Saharan Africa: A feasibility study’ (short: Nu-Tree) aims to create awareness of the nutrition and health aspects of agroforestry projects for key stakeholders and to support their implementation and evaluation in future agroforestry programs. It is funded by the Deutsche Bundesstiftung Umwelt (DBU) and will be implemented from April 2022 until March 2024.
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How to avoid eating the world: From degrowth to a sustainable food system transformation
05/16/2022 - Proponents of degrowth have long argued that economic growth is detrimental to the environment. Now scientists show that concerning the food sector, curbing growth alone would not make our food system sustainable – but changing what we eat and putting a price on carbon would. In a first, a group led by the Potsdam Institute for Climate Impact Research (PIK) used a quantitative food and land system model to gauge the effects of degrowth and efficiency proposals on the food sector’s greenhouse gas emissions. They find that combining a dietary shift, emissions pricing, and international income transfers could make the world’s food system emissions-neutral by the end of the 21st century – providing at the same time a healthier nutrition for a growing world population.
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PIK experts appointed to Berlin's "Klimaschutzrat"
05/13/22 - Two PIK researchers, Cornelia Auer and Julia Epp, have been appointed to the "Klimaschutzrat" of the city of Berlin. The 18-member body with experts from science, business and representatives of civil society will advise the Berlin Senate and the House of Representatives on issues of climate mitigation and energy policy.
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Dr Lisa Pörtner and Prof. Dr. Hermann Lotze-Campen at Planetary Health Academy
04/05/2022 - The fifth edition of the Planetary Health Academy "Planetary Health in the clinical context -Part II" started off on May 4 2022 with a lecture on 'Planetary health in the light of current global events' by Dr. Lisa Pörtner (PIK - Climate Resilience), Prof.Dr. Hermann Lotze-Campen (PIK- Climate Resilience), Prof. Dr. Harald Lesch (LMU München) and Dr. Martin Herrmann (KLUG)
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German Prize for Economics of the Joachim Herz Foundation for Linus Mattauch
09/05/2022 - Every other year, the Joachim Herz Foundation honours scientists in interdisciplinary research in economics for their significant contribution to the further development of economic research. This year, the award aimed to honour scientists in the field of 'environmental economics'. Prof. Dr. Linus Mattauch together with his colleague Jiaxin Zhao was awarded third place with their paper 'When Standards have better Distributional Consequences than Carbon Taxes'.
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Fungi-based meat alternatives to help save Earth’s forests
05/04/22 - Substituting just a fifth of meat from cattle with microbial protein - a meat alternative produced in fermentation tanks - by 2050 could halve deforestation, a new analysis by the Potsdam Institute for Climate Impact Research (PIK) now published in Nature finds. The market-ready meat alternative is very similar in taste and texture, but is a biotech product which – by replacing beef – involves much less land resources and greenhouse gas emissions from agriculture and land-use change. This goes under the assumption of a growing world population’s increasing appetite for beefy bites, and it is the first time researchers have projected the development of these market-ready meat substitutes into the future, assessing their potential impact on the environment.
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Sustaining Peace Amidst the Climate Crisis: PIK Scientists at the Federal Foreign Office
04/05/2022 - How can data and innovative technologies be used for climate protection and crisis prevention?
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Citizen participation for energy transition in Hesse and Berlin
04/25/2022 - Citizen participation is an important element of modern policy for the energy transition. Sociologist Fritz Reusswig from the Potsdam Institute for Climate Impact Research is involved in corresponding approaches in the two federal states of Hesse and Berlin and will be participating in events there this week. His research group works, among other things, on energy conflicts.
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New Advisory Council for Area Development of the Ministry of Construction
04/25/2022 - The Federal Ministry for Housing, Urban Development and Building (BMWSB) has appointed Hermann Lotze-Campen, a researcher from Potsdam, to its new Advisory Council for Area Development. The aim of the advisory board is to advise the ministry in the current legislative period on fundamental questions of spatial development and the strengthening of regions in Germany. Lotze-Campen, an agricultural economist, heads the Climate Resilience Department at the Potsdam Institute for Climate Impact Research (PIK).
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Renewable Energies in West Africa: CIREG Project Realises Power Supply in Rural Regions
14/04/2022 - The CIREG project - led by RD2 scientists Stefan Liersch and Hagen Koch - investigated the potential for renewable energies and their spatio-temporal synergies in West Africa. Together with local partners, the project implemented two off-grid demonstrator projects for renewable electricity supply in rural regions in Niger and Togo, enhancing the quality of life in remote villages in a sustainable way.
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Knowledge exchange on current research topics in meteorology
23/03/2022 - RD2 Scientists from the Working Group 'Hydrological Risks' participated in the DACH Conference for Meteorology. The largest session of the conference on climate change dealt with the rapidly progressing of global warming and the already measurable consequences on extreme weather conditions.
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Connect-Empower-Change: Women in Green Hydrogen promote diversity in the hydrogen sector
24/03/2022 - On Monday the 28th, Women in Green Hydrogen - a network co-founded by RD2 scientist Julia Epp connecting female experts in the field of hydrogen - organized a breakfast get-together in Berlin as part of the Berlin Energy Transition Days.
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RD2 Scientist Dr. Diego Rybski appointed 'Section Editor' for PLoS
22/03/2022 - Diego Rybski, Deputy Head of Research Group 'Urban Transformations' at PIK, has been appointed 'Section Editor' at PLOS One. In this position, he will lead the section 'Urban Studies' and advise a group of academic editors in this research field.
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Food crisis due to Ukraine war calls for demand-side action: less animal products, less waste, and greening EU agricultural policy
03/18/2022 - The global food system is impacted by the war in Ukraine, adding to the direct humanitarian and security crisis caused by the Russian aggression. Ukraine and Russia are major producers of grains and fertilizers, yet their exports are at risk of getting disrupted. However, agricultural policy-makers – like the EU ministers meeting on Monday – should not abandon sustainable farming practices just to increase grain production, a team of scientists argues. They propose three key measures to cope with the shocks. In a statement published today they highlight that, instead of focusing only on the supply side for e.g. animal feed, it is changing the demand side which can lead to both a more resilient and more sustainable global food system.
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Key-note speech by Hermann Lotze-Campen at online workshop on agricultural research on climate change
02/03/2022 - The workshop series 'Agricultural Research on Climate Change' by the German Agricultural Research Alliance (DAFA) offers a platform for interdisciplinary exchanges and discussions on a broad range of topics. The workshop dedicated to 'Climate-friendly cattle farming - measuring, assessing and reducing methane emissions' featured a key-note speech from RD2 Department Head Hermann Lotze-Campen.
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Extremely dry and extremely wet: (lack of) rainfall in Germany in the focus of the media
04/04/2022 - For a few years the precipitation balance is off. Local weather patterns more often show long periods of drought, but also occasional extremely heavy rainfalls. After a very dry winter, the low groundwater-levels in the region of Berlin/Brandenburg cause concerns. Regional and national media-outlets seek advice from Working Group-leader and expert in 'Hydroclimatic risks' Fred Hattermann on the (long-term) effects of the lack of precipitation, but also on the increasing risk of local flooding due to intense local rainfall.
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New IPCC report on climate impacts
02/28/2022 - Today, the Intergovernmental Panel on Climate Change (IPCC) Working Group 2 published its 6th Assessment Report highlighting climate change impacts. The working group consisted of 270 scientists from across the globe who scanned more than 34,000 pages of scientific literature on the current state of science on what the warming climate means for our life on Earth. They’ve agreed on a more than 3,000 pages report synthesising those insights, and on a 36 pages Summary for Policy Makers (SPM). Several PIK scientists were involved, such as Katja Frieler, co-chair of Tranformation Pathways research at the Potsdam Institute. She was a lead author of the report's chapter on observed cross-sectoral impacts and also contributed to the Summary for Policy Makers.
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Potsdam Summer School 2022: Towards a Sustainable Transformation
22/02/2022 - Climate, Energy and Nature in a Changing World – with this overarching theme the Potsdam Summer School will continue the transdisciplinary and interactive series of events that has been held annually in Potsdam, Germany since 2014. It brings together talented early-career scientists and young professionals operating in the private sector, governmental agencies, and non-governmental organisations from many different parts of the world to discuss frontier research questions on future sustainable development and contribute their insights at this exceptional opportunity to foster cooperation and an interdisciplinary exchange of ideas. The call for applications is now open!
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German launch of WBGU discussion paper on Planetary Health
02/02/2022 – The German Advisory Council on Global Change (WBGU) launched its discussion paper on planetary health in an online event with national and international key stakeholders. Prof. Sabine Gabrysch, head of PIK’s RD2, opened the session with a short presentation underlining the importance of planetary health in the socio-ecological transformation.
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Sara Minoli receives 'best dissertation' award from PIK Friends and Promoters Society
16/02/2022 - Sara Minoli from Working Group 'Land use and Resilience' of PIK received the 'Best Dissertation Award' for her outstanding dissertation during the PIK Research Days 2022. The prize is awarded bi-annually by the Society of Friends and Promoters of the Potsdam Institute of Climate Impact Research'.
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India’s rice at risk: Brown planthopper a growing threat as global warming increases
01/28/2022 - Climate change increases the risk of brown planthopper rice pest in India, one of the most alarming pests of this important agricultural staple. This is the result of a new study. Particularly increasing temperatures play a crucial role in the spreading, potentially doubling the total area under high pest risk from seven to more than 15 percent – even if global temperature rise can be kept below 2 °C. If unabated, climate change could further contribute to the spreading of the pest in the future, possibly leading to more than 50 percent of Indian rice production areas under severe threat by the brown planthopper.
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Christopher Reyer at IGES Conference on cascading disaster risks
21/01/2022 - The Japanese Ministry of the Environment and the Institute of Global Environmental Strategies organised as a conference on 'Building resilience to compound and cascading disasters in the context of climate change'. Christopher Reyer of RD2 gave a presentation on "Transboundary climate impacts on Europe. Early insights from CASCADES"
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Taxing Meat can Protect the Environment: New Study by Oxford, PIK, and TU Berlin
17/01/2022 - A 20-60 % increase in prices for meat through a tax could be an important lever for aligning Western diets with environmental goals and can be designed such that low-income households and farmers are compensated.
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PIK Podcast: A plate full of sustainability - Chef Megha Kohli and scientist Hermann Lotze-Campen take a mouthful
12/20/2021 - A new episode of the podcast "Sustain Ability. The Potsdam Dialogues" is out. From cauliflower to climate change: Chef Megha Kohli from New Delhi, India, and agricultural economist Hermann Lotze-Campen from the Potsdam Institute talk about what’s cooking in our current food system.
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WBGU invites discussion on Planetary Health
12/14/2021 - Online discussion by the German Advisory Council on Global Change (WBGU) on planetary health kicked off with an impulse statement by Sabine Gabrysch on health and global sustainability.
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ClimSec Sahel Final Workshop in Ouagadougou
09-10/12/2021 - PIK researchers from the working group Adaptation in Agricultural Systems and other experts presented findings from the ClimSec Sahel project at a hybrid workshop in Ouagadougou, Burkina Faso. The ClimSec project is funded by the German Federal Foreign Office, which was represented at the workshop by Ms Regina Kolb from the German Embassy in Ouagadougou.
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China’s crops at risk: Climate change boosts spread of crop pests and diseases
12/09/2021 - Crop pests and diseases in China have significantly increased, with climate change being one of the relevant drivers, new research in Nature Food finds.
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Too dry, too hot, or too wet: Increasing Weather Persistence in European Summer
12/06/2021 - Global warming makes long lasting weather situations in the Northern hemisphere‘s summer months more likely – which in turn leads to more extreme weather events, a novel analysis of atmospheric images and data finds. These events include heatwaves, droughts, intense rainy periods. Especially in Europe, but also in Russia, persistent weather patterns have increased in number and intensity over the last decades with weather extremes occurring simultaneously at different locations.
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