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RD 2 - Climate Resilience

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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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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Taxing Meat can Protect the Environment: New Study by Oxford, PIK, and TU Berlin

01/17/2022 - 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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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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Press Release

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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Climate change to stir up global agriculture within next decade, NASA/PIK study finds

11/02/2021 - New computer simulations predict deep changes in growing conditions affecting the productivity of major crops already within the next 10 years if current global warming trends continue. Maize crop yields are projected to decline by almost a quarter by the end the century, while wheat could potentially see global yield increases of about 17%. Current key breadbasket regions will see severe changes much quicker than previously expected, requiring farmers around the world to adapt to new climate realities now.
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Drought, heavy rain and heat waves will affect tourism business

10/28/2021 - A new study for the Federal German Environment Agency with PIK participation shows how travel regions can adapt to climate change. Climate change in Germany will lead to more heat, increased drought with water scarcity and forest fires, less snow reliability, and increased heavy rain and flooding. Tourism will have to adapt.
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New Lancet Countdown Policy Brief for Germany confirms considerable need for action

10/21/2021 - Despite a growing awareness of the situation's seriousness among those with political responsibility, Germany is only inadequately equipped for the health challenges of climate change. This is the conclusion of this year's report on climate and health, which is published annually by experts from the German Medical Association, Charité - Universitätsmedizin Berlin, the Potsdam Institute for Climate Impact Research and Helmholtz Zentrum München.
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Today’s children to experience two to seven times more extremes than their grandparents

09/27/2021 - Today’s children will be hit much harder by climate extremes than today’s adults, researchers show in the leading journal Science. During their lifetime, a child born in 2021 will experience on average twice as many wildfires, between two and three times more droughts, almost three times more river floods and crop failures, and seven times more heatwaves compared to a person who’s for instance 60 years old today, the researchers find based on data from the Inter-sectoral Impact Model Intercomparison Project (ISIMIP). This is under a scenario of current greenhouse gas emission reduction pledges by governments which will be a topic at the upcoming world climate summit COP26 in Glasgow.
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Launch of WHO Pandemic Early Warning Center with PIK Researcher Sabine Gabrysch

09/03/2021 - The World Health Organization (WHO) launched a pandemic early warning center in Berlin this week to assist in better preparing for future pandemics. The center was opened by German Chancellor Angela Merkel and WHO Director-General Tedros Adhanom Ghebreyesus - with a panel discussion in which Sabine Gabrysch from the Potsdam Institute for Climate Impact Research (PIK) also participated.
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Less trade-offs, more synergies: New pathway to mitigate climate change and boost progress on UN Sustainable Development Goals

08/02/2021 - A world that combats climate change while simultaneously improving on all 17 Sustainable Development Goals (SDGs) is possible, a new study finds. Scientists from the Potsdam Institute for Climate Impact Research (PIK) and the German Development Institute have developed a new integrated strategy that combines ambitious climate action with dedicated policies for development, food and energy access, global and national equity, and environmental sustainability. It sheds new light on bottlenecks, but also synergies for boosting progress towards climate and sustainable development targets.
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PIK expertise on extreme rainfall and flooding

07/16/2021 - The heavy rains and thunderstorms in parts of North Rhine-Westphalia and Rhineland-Palatinate during the past days have led to massive flooding of villages and entire areas. Meanwhile, towards the rivers Oder and Neiße, extreme heat prevailed at more than 30 degrees Celsius. Where these extraordinary weather conditions stem from and their connection with climate change, many national and international media wanted to know from PIK researchers. Here is a small excerpt from the coverage.
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RD2 Beitrag über die rolle einer demokratischen Konfliktkultur auf Berliner Energietage

06/04/2021 - Populistische Parteien und Akteure haben den Kampf gegen die Energiewende als ein Thema für sich entdeckt und versuchen diese als "Elitenprojekt" zu diffamieren. In diesem Session, moderiert durch RD2 Wissenschaftler Seraja Bock, sprechen Expert*innen über diese populistischen Akteuren, wie sie auf das Prozess Einfluss nehmen und was eine demokratische Konfliktkultur dem entgegen setzen könnte.
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Girls' Day gives schoolgirls from all over Germany an insight into climate impact research

04/22/2021 – On Girls' Day - 'Future Prospects for Girls' this year, schoolgirls were once again given an insight into the work at the Potsdam Institute for Climate Impact Research (PIK) to discover career prospects in science. Due to the pandemic, this year's Girls' Day took place digitally, allowing for the first time girls from all over Germany to get to know PIK instead of usually just girls from Potsdam and Berlin. Climate researchers Ronja Reese and Constanze Werner talked about their work and answered everything the girls wanted to know in an open question session.
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Online European Geosciences Union 2021 with strong PIK participation

04/21/2021 - One of the largest scientific meetings worldwide, the European Geosciences Union (EGU) General Assembly, virtually brings together geoscientists from all over the planet – amongst them many scientists from the Potsdam Institute for Climate Impact Research (PIK). From 19 to 30 April 2021, the EGU covers all disciplines of the Earth, planetary and space sciences and provides a forum where scientists, especially early-career researchers, can present their work and discuss their ideas with experts in all fields of geoscience.
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The future of Lower Saxony: Expert report with PIK participation published

03/25/2021 - Climate change, advancing digitalization and demographic changes: These are just three examples of current social challenges for the future of Lower Saxony. On the initiative of the state government, an independent scientific commission with various researchers - including PIK researcher Hermann Lotze-Campen - has developed recommendations for the state. Today, the Commission Niedersachsen 2030 handed over its prepared report to the state government.
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UN water prize for PIK researcher Zbigniew Kundzewicz

03/23/2021 - In a ceremony attended by UN Secetary General António Gutteres, a prestigious prize has been awarded to PIK researcher Zbigniew Kundzewicz from the Potsdam Institute for Climate Impact Research, Germany, and the Polish Academy of Sciences. It is one of this year's Prince Sultan Bin Abdulaziz International Prizes for Water, sponsored by the United Nations Office for Outer Space Affairs and the permanent mission of Saudi Arabia to the UN. Kundzewicz received the prize in the category “Surface Water”.
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A constructive approach to climate protection: Potsdam Climate Council with PIK participation

02 / 22 / 2021 - Sociologist Fritz Reusswig of the Potsdam Institute for Climate Impact Research (PIK) has been appointed to the new Climate Council of the state capital Potsdam. Hosted by Bernd Rubelt, Councillor for Urban Development, Construction, Economy and Environment, the members introduced themselves to the public today . The Climate Council acts as a mediator, expert and facilitator for successful climate protection and aims to create a broad debate and visibility in the state capital Potsdam.
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Winter weather, a polar front – and areas of drought: PIK's assessment of the current weather situation.

02/12/2021 - In January and February of 2021, parts of Europe, America and also Germany have experienced partly extreme winter weather. Nevertheless, there are widespread large areas of drought especially in Germany - PIK researchers Stephan Rahmstorf and Fred Hattermann on current climate-related weather changes.
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From droughts to floods: climate change and migration in Peru

02/10/2021 - Too much, too little water: People in Peru are increasingly experiencing climate extremes. If climate impacts like water-related hazards continue to accelerate, more climate-induced migration and severe pressure on people’s well-being could be the consequence. These are the key results of a comprehensive report by a team of natural and social scientists from the Potsdam Institute for Climate Impact Research (PIK) and the International Organization for Migration (IOM) that was presented today during a joint event.
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Climate change may have played an important role in the emergence of SARS-CoV-2

02/05/2021 - Global greenhouse gas emissions have made the likely site of origin of SARS-CoV-2 in southern China a hotspot for bat-borne coronaviruses over the past century, by driving growth of forest habitat favoured by bats. This is the key finding of a new study by scientists from the University of Cambridge, the Potsdam Institute for Climate Impact Research PIK, and the University of Hawaii. Published today in the journal Science of the Total Environment, the researchers provide the first evidence of a mechanism by which climate change could have played a direct role in the emergence of SARS-CoV-2, the virus that caused the COVID-19 pandemic.
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Climate change and conflict: PIK researchers give policy advice to the German government

02/03/2021 - Training programs on environmental peacebuilding, pooling international expertise to deal with acute risks of violence, and an even stronger focus on gender roles in crisis regions - these are some of the concrete recommendations for action made by the German government's advisory council for civilian crisis prevention and peacebuilding in its latest study on the interactions between climate impacts and security.
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Deeper cooperation between PIK and BMZ

01/20/2021 - During today's kick-off event of the "Berlin Insights Series on Climate Change and Development", Johan Rockström from the Potsdam Institute for Climate Impact Research (PIK) and State Secretary Martin Jäger from the German Federal Ministry for Economic Cooperation and Development (BMZ) signed a Memorandum of Understanding, which marks the beginning of a deeper cooperation between PIK and BMZ.
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ISIMIP and PROCLIAS online Workshop 2021 very successful

15/01/2021 - The online Cross-Sectoral ISIMIP and PROCLIAS Workshop took place last week. The workshop attracted more than 400 participants from all over the world and from a large variety of scientific backgrounds. The workshop featured a large variety of thematic sessions as well as the kick-off of the new COST Action PROCLIAS, which is linked to ISIMIP.
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Special Issue in Climatic Change: PIK Scientists Refine Hydrological Model Evaluation Methods

01/05/2021 - Tools to project the availability of freshwater are becoming ever more important under climate change and growing population. Yet mathematical hydrological models, while being valuable instruments for impact assessment, may contribute to uncertainties, especially if not properly evaluated.
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Farmers in focus: Effects of elevated CO2 concentration on crops

12/11/2020 - Agriculture is a key socio-economic sector that both influences the climate and is exposed to climate impacts. To reach targets on food security, protection of biodiversity and the natural environment as well as on climate mitigation for the global common land, it is crucial to know how and where climate change and increasing atmospheric concentrations of CO2 affect crops. Decision makers and farmers need to quantify the risks to their sector and evaluate sustainable adaptation and mitigation strategies. An international team of agro-climatic experts, including PIK researcher Christoph Müller, has reviewed existing crop models that are used for these climate change risk assessments: While the size of CO2 fertilization effects is still uncertain to some extent, their results, published in Nature Food today, suggest that presenting crop modelling results without accounting elevated CO2 simulations are obsolete and don't offer added value to decision makers.
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Low food prices, high energy use: The pros and cons of emerging technology in our food system

12/08/2020 - An international team of scientists, including PIK researchers, has identified the potential impacts emerging from food system technologies in relation to the Sustainable Development Goals. In a new study, that has been published in Lancet Planetary Health, they find that while new technologies and innovation can help fix some issues with the food system, they also have far-reaching impacts. These can cause disruption and unintended consequences, some beneficial and some not, for achieving the Sustainable Development Goals. Food system innovation will be key to succeed, but new technologies need to be guided by science-based targets to avoid trade-offs and rebound effects.
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FABLE Report 2020: Pathways to sustainable land-use and food systems

The Food, Agriculture, Biodiversity, Land-Use, and Energy (FABLE) Consortium has presented an updated plan on how countries can meet mid-century objectives on food security, healthy diets, greenhouse gas emissions, biodiversity, forest conservation, and freshwater use. In part coordinated by the Potsdam Institute for Climate Impact Research (PIK), FABLE's mission is to mobilize top knowledge institutions from 20 countries to support the development of decision-support tools and long-term pathways towards sustainable food and land-use systems.
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