Advancing computer simulations of climate change mitigation costs: EU project hosted by PIK scientists
12/28/2012 - Computer simulations of energy systems, the economy and land use are key for assessing the impacts of climate mitigation strategies. Policy-makers therefore rely on these assessments to decide between different options on the basis of robust information. The ADVANCE project – the acronym stands for Advanced Model Development and Validation for the Improved Analysis of Costs and Impacts of Mitigation Policies – sets out to achieve a substantially better understanding and representation of some rather complex phenomena in the interaction between climate policy and the economy. It is coordinated by the Potsdam Institute for Climate Impact Research and funded with 6 million Euro by the European Commission.
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"The best way to predict the future is to shape it": Schellnhuber at the World Climate Summit COP 18
The opening film of the COP 18 world climate summit in Doha, Qatar, featured many things, but just one scientific institution - the Potsdam Institute for Climate Impact Research. Here's the part featuring our institute, including an interview with PIK's director Hans Joachim (John) Schellnhuber, on climate science and climate policy. "The best way to predict the future," he says, "is to shape it."
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Doha World Climate Summit: Schellnhuber gives talk to high-ranking representatives of states
12/06/2012 - “Don’t ask what global climate protection can do for your country; ask what your country can do for climate protection…” – it was by rephrasing former US president John F. Kennedy’s famous words that Hans Joachim Schellnhuber, director of the Potsdam Institute for Climate Impact Research (PIK), addressed the highest-ranking representatives of states in Doha. He had been asked to present the keynote at the gala dinner on Tuesday night that opened the high-level segment of the world climate summit COP18 – an unsual honour for a scientist.
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Website on climate impacts in Germany starts in pilot phase
12/01/12 - For the first time, the new website “KlimafolgenOnline” presents information on regional impacts of climate change all over Germany for local decision makers. The project from the Potsdam-Institute for Climate Impact Research (PIK) and WetterOnline is starting its pilot phase and is now open to interested users. Information is provided for experts from forestry to building with resolutions as fine as 10x10 kilometers. The website is also presented at the current climate summit COP18 in Doha.
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„You cannot negotiate with nature“: Leading scientists on COP18 in Doha
11/26/2012 - Media worldwide asked leading scientists of the Potsdam Institute for Climate Impact Research (PIK) for comments and interviews on the world climate summit COP18 that started today in Doha, Qatar. Despite the widespread scepticism that the meeting of representatives of nearly 200 states will achieve much progress, PIK’s director Hans Joachim Schellnhuber stressed that much is at stake for the international community if global warming goes on unabated. “You cannot negotiate with nature,” Schellnhuber told the Chinese news agency Xinhua. “While we are quarreling, nature will just march on."
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MCC opening: „A new kind of dialogue at the science-policy interface“
11/16/2012 - The newly founded Mercator Research Institute on Global Commons and Climate Change (MCC) gets operational. With already 13 scientists up and working, and 17 more to be employed within the next months, plus support staff, MCC aims at becoming a new factor in the sustainability science scene. "This institute is venturing to provide scientific assessments that actually help policy-makers in taking knowledge-based decision in the field of climate and economics - and we will do so by trying to establish some new kind of dialogue at the science-policy interface," director Ottmar Edenhofer said in front of 200 guests from science, politics, and business, at the opening event last week. Global commons might well become “the decisive scarcity of the 21st century,” guest speaker Robert Stavins of Harvard University pointed out.
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A warning system for the planet
11/16/2012 - Earth’s ecosystems provide benefits like food or drinking water that are of crucial importance for the well-being of humankind. But although accumulated assessments indicate increasing system failures threatening livelihoods and lives, so far no centralized system exists to monitor and report ecosystem status and changes. Aiming at a better understanding of the consequences of ecosystem service and biodiversity loss, a team of scientists, including Kirsten Thonicke and some of her colleagues from the Potsdam Institute for Climate Impact Research (PIK), propose “A Global System for Monitoring Ecosystem Service Change” in a paper recently published in the science magazine “BioScience”.
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Potsdam hosts first World Climate Impacts Conference
11/15/2012 - The first World Climate Impacts Conference, IMPACTS WORLD 2013, will be held next year in Potsdam, Germany. "Our climate future will be largely determined by the choices we make in the next couple of decades – everything between 2°C and 10°C global warming by 2300 is possible,” says Hans Joachim Schellnhuber, director of the Potsdam Institute for Climate Impact Research which is organising the event together with the International Institute for Applied Systems Analysis (IIASA). “Impacts science has come of age now and can finally draw the dramatic sectoral and regional pictures associated with specific increases in the Earth’s mean surface temperature”.
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Artists as chroniclers of climate
11/12/2012 - From thick snow flurry in snow-covered villages to the white rooftops of Paris – the Arp Museum in Remagen, Rhineland-Palatinate, is currently showing distinguished winter landscapes of impressionism in the exhibition “Lichtgestöber”. Scientific advisers to the exhibition are, among others, Friedrich-Wilhelm Gerstengarbe und Peter C. Werner from the Potsdam Institute for Climate Impact Research. In the show that will be on display until April 14th 2013 about 55 works by artists like Courbet, Monet, van Gogh, Gauguin, Pissarro, Liebermann, Slevogt or Corinth focus on winter in all its facets.
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Rise and fall of the Maya in response to climate change
11/09/2012 - The role of climate change in the development and disintegration of classic Maya civilization, ranging from AD 300 to 1000, has been controversial for decades because of the absence of well-dated climate and archaeological sequences. In an article now published in Science, an international and interdisciplinary team of scientists including Norbert Marwan from the Potsdam Institute for Climate Impact Research (PIK) presents a precisely dated, high resolution regional climate record for the past 2000 years that for the first time shows how the Maya political systems developed and disintegrated in response to climate change.
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Monsoon might fail more often due to climate change
11/06/2012 - India might face more frequent monsoon failure in the future, according to a study by Jacob Schewe and Anders Levermann from the Potsdam Institute for Climate Impact Research. The paper published in Environmental Research Letters shows that severe failure of Indian summer monsoon rainfall is projected to become more frequent over the next 200 years under a climate change scenario.
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Greetings from Damocles: artists visit environmental scientists
10/26/2012 - The worldwide highly recognized Swedish writer Lars Gustafsson is the new Artist in Residence at the Potsdam Institute for Climate Impact Research (PIK). Starting in november, for several weeks he will have the opportunity for encounters with scientists – he is already the fourth artist who visits the institute through a project together with the Berlin artists program of DAAD, ÜBER LEBENSKUNST.
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“Orchestra of Change”: Schellnhuber joins board of trustees of NaturTon Foundation
10/12/2012 - The director of the Potsdam Institute for Climate Impact Research, Hans Joachim Schellnhuber, becomes a member of the board of trustees of NaturTon Foundation. The charitable foundation was founded in 2009 by musicians of the Staatskapelle Berlin. Their initiative „Orchestra of Change“ combines cultural and environmental commitments. „Science can reach the minds of men, but music reaches the heart,“ PIK-director Schellnhuber says. „The writing of thousands of scientific papers cannot stimulate enough momentum, therefore it is good for science and music to work together.“
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„Clouds, wind and weather“ is green book of the year
09/26/2012 - For its “lasting impact on ecological awareness in Germany”, PIK-scientist Stefan Rahmstorf´s children´s book “Clouds, wind and weather“ was elected green book of the year 2012 last night. The price is awarded by the German Environment Foundation and the editorial team of “Jahrbuch Ökologie”.
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From summer droughts to winter floods: climate impacts in Germany
09/26/2012 - Global climate change has local impacts from the Baltic Sea to the Alps, from Rhineland to the sands of Brandenburg. For the first time, these impacts can be shown in a comprehensive and consistent manner for the sectors they will particularly affect, including agriculture, forestry, water management and energy supply. About 170 guests from business, politics, administrations, science and associations attended the presentation of findings by the Potsdam Institute for Climate Impact Research at the Humboldt University of Berlin early this week.
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German National Academy Leopoldina debates Global Change
09/24/2012 - The German National Academy of Sciences Leopoldina focuses on the challenges of Global Change at their annual meeting this weekend. Three scientists of the Potsdam Institute for Climate Impact Research have been invited to give their presentations: director Hans Joachim Schellnhuber talked about global boundaries, chief-economist Ottmar Edenhofer about global climate policy and energy policy, and Stefan Rahmstorf – co-chair of the research domain Earth System Analysis – elaborated on sea-level rise and weather extremes.
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„Record sea-ice melt a warning sign“: top German Arctic researchers
09/19/2012 - This summer’s record low of Arctic sea-ice is a warning sign, some of Germany’s leading ice researchers stated in a joint press conference in Hamburg today. Never before since the beginning of satellite observations – and very probably even since 1500 years or more – the sea-ice cover shrunk to such small area. “The record melt measured some weeks ago has thus been exceeded significantly again, leaving the 2012 record 23 percent below the previous record just five years before,” said Anders Levermann of the Potsdam Institute for Climate Impact Research.
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Climate Media Factory wins environment prize
09/11/2012 - The Climate Media Factory was awarded with the environment prize “Green Tech Media Award” in the category Communication. The prize was given to the collaboration project between the Potsdam Institute for Climate Impact Research (PIK) and the University of Film and Television “Konrad Wolff” (HFF) for their “unique constellation of climate researchers and media professionals”. The awards ceremony at Berlin´s Tempodrom was celebrated as an environment gala with more than 1.000 exclusively invited guests from economy, science, politics, culture and media, among them German actors like Christiane Paul, Nora Tschirner or Hannes Jaenicke.
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Strategies for financing the global energy transformation
09/06/2012 - Who is paying for the transformation of our energy systems? And how can this transformation be globalized? The German Advisory Council on Global Change (WGBU) today submitted a policy paper entitled “Financing the Global Energy-System Transformation” to the Federal Minister of the Environment, Peter Altmaier. According to the paper, it needs decisive politics and a reduction of risks to enable a successful transformation of the energy systems and more energy efficiency.
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Building trust: summer school in China
Water management under conditions of climate change is the focus of a second Chinese-German summer school. Together with the National Climate Centre in Beijing, the Potsdam Institute for Climate Impact Research (PIK) has invited altogether 40 young scientists from both countries to debate ideas and problems. “China is an important partner for climate research. We see a lot of potential for joint projects,” says Frank Wechsung of PIK. “Mutual trust is essential here, and this is something that summer schools can help built up within the next generation of researchers.”
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Schellnhuber campaigns for Europe
08/23/2012 - Prominent German public figures take a stand for the European idea to counter growing skepticism caused by the Euro-crisis. Siding former chancellor Helmut Schmidt, the national soccer team's captain Philipp Lahm, and Daimler’s chairman Dieter Zetsche, Hans Joachim Schellnhuber, director of the Potsdam Institute for Climate Impact Research (PIK), is taking part in a large-scale campaign. “Europe is reducing CO2 emissions more decisively than any other continent in the world" – that is his statement to promote European unity.
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Federal Minister for the Environment discusses energy transformation with scientists
08/14/2012 - Right on the first day after his vacation, Peter Altmaier, Federal Minister for the Environment, visited the Potsdam Institute for Climate Impact Research (PIK) to learn about the activities of the institute, current research and solution pathways. “Climate change is the problem, the energy transformation is the solution,” Hans Joachim Schellnhuber, PIK director, said during his presentation, and a lively exchange about how to achieve a restructuring of the energy system emerged.
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Climate-KIC Academy of Innovation starts
08/10/2012 - „Climate politics alone won´t be enough to mitigate global warming - we need innovations,“ said Hans Joachim Schellnhuber, director of the Potsdam Institute for Climate Impact Research (PIK), at the Climate-KIC founders academy kick-off in Berlin and Potsdam this week. The abbreviation stands for “Knowledge and Innovation Community“, a European network for climate innovations. PIK is a co-founder and Schellnhuber is the chair of the board of directors. About 50 potential young entrepreneurs from Great Britain, France, the Netherlands, Germany and Switzerland visited PIK. “The risks of climate change are great - but so are the chances for innovative start-ups,” Schellnhuber said.
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Between intense rain events und parched earth: Climate change impacts in Germany
08/06/2012 - Climate change has implications not only in far-away regions of the world but in Germany, too. And these implications are relevant not tomorrow but already today. By the middle of this century these consequences will be amplified. What climate change impacts - which can be very different from region to region - could actually look like, is the subject of the conference “Climate Impacts in Germany”, organized by the Potsdam Institute for Climate Impact Research (PIK), the German federal state Brandenburg and the Humboldt University Berlin, taking place on September 24th 2012 in Berlin. For the first time, climate change impacts on a time horizon up to the year 2100 are addressed across all sectors for the different regions in Germany.
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"Qatar could become a powerful change agent"
07/18/2012 - A high-level delegation from Qatar visited the Potsdam Institute for Climate Impact Research (PIK) to discuss future cooperation initiatives, the next climate conference in Doha (COP18) and to learn about PIK´s latest findings in the fields of climate research and sustainable solutions. One specific point of interest was the future of water management for agricultural needs.
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Geo-Engineering: Debate between "stable solutions" and "fancy fantasies"
07/16/2012 - Gigantic sun mirrors in the earth’s orbit, the vaccination of clouds or the fertilization of oceans: well-known scientists discussed the possibilities and risks of large-scale interventions in the earth system last week. The director of the Potsdam Institute for Climate Impact Research (PIK), John Schellnhuber, the scientific director of IASS, Marc Lawrence, Ken Caldeira from the University of Stanford in California and professor of philosophy Konrad Ott from the University of Greifswald debated the topic of “Geo-Engineering – blessing or curse?” at the Robert Bosch Foundation in Berlin.
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„The fate of renewable energies“: Edenhofer speaks at German Association of Energy and Water Industries
07/13/2012 - Three core elements of sustainable energy politics were proposed by Ottmar Edenhofer, chief economist of the Potsdam Institute for Climate Impact Research (PIK) in a keynote lecture in Berlin. For an audience of more than a thousand listeners at the German Association of Energy and Water Industries (BDEW) congress, he explained that the key elements were a reform of the European emission trade system, a new form of support for renewable energies, and options for the integration of electricity from solar and wind power into the overall system. For the first time, he thereby framed comprehensively the institutional requirements for a success of the “Energiewende” in the long-term.
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Berlin Bishop: Climate change „touches the core of the Christian message“
07/06/2012 - The protestant church of Germany recognizes global warming as a central challenge. “The climate problem touches the core of the Christian message”, said Bishop Markus Dröge, head of the Protestant Church Berlin-Brandenburg-schlesische Oberlausitz on the occasion of a visit at the Potsdam Institute for Climate Impact Research. “Preserving the integrity of creation is our mission.” It is all the more painful, he pointed out, that some of the successes of the development work achieved in the poorest countries of the world are being thwarted by climate change impacts.
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„Truths and values“: Schellnhuber awarded with the honorary doctorate of TU Berlin
06/29/2012 - For his outstanding achievements in the field of climate research and political consulting, the Technische Universität Berlin awarded Hans Joachim Schellnhuber, director of the Potsdam Institute for Climate Impact Research (PIK), the honorary doctorate this week. “Professor Schellnhuber inspired entirely new approaches in research, like the research of the world climate’s tipping points and its consequences, or the action-orientated 2 degrees target”, said TU president Jörg Steinbach during the ceremony which was attended by 200 guests in the university’s atrium.
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EU-Commissioner Oettinger visits PIK
06/26/2012 - Günther Oettinger, European Commissioner for Energy, visited the Potsdam Institute for Climate Impact Research (PIK) for an exchange of ideas this week. Three presentations provided information on current research on climate change as well as scientific findings on chances and risks of the transformation of the energy system. Oettinger was impressed by the “profound and objective presentation”. He invited PIK-scientists to Brussels for expert discussions “to maintain the conversational thread”.
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Rio+20: „The smoke screen of holistic thinking“
06/21/2012 - During the Rio+20 United Nations Conference on Sustainable Development, scientists of the Potsdam-Institute for Climate Impact Research (PIK) were interviewed by several media.
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Chinese Academy of Sciences seeks exchange on research management
06/15/2012 - High ranking representatives of the Chinese Academy of Science (CAS) visited the Potsdam Institute for Climate Impact Research (PIK) this week. 20 Directors or Deputy Directors of different Chinese research facilities participated in the scientific exchange which focused on research management and research strategies. From PIK, Ingo Bräuer reported about the institute’s proceedings. Jürgen Kurths and Frank Wechsung refered about current cooperations with China. One focus was on the project “Sustainable water and agricultural land use in the Guanting watershed under limited water” as an example for research cooperation, a project supported by the Federal Ministry of Education and Research (BMBF).
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Successful video "Earthbook": Earth goes online
06/13/2012 - In the online network “Earthbook“, Earth has millions of friends. Plants and Animals left their status updates on a 4.48 billion year old profile. But when “Human” burns too much coal and oil, Earth doesn't "like“ it anymore. The German version of this short film "Earthbook“ by the Climate Media Factory already had more than 160.000 views in only one week on Youtube. Now, an English version was made available as well. The video was made in context of "Project Earth: Our Future“ by the Federal Ministry of Education and Research (BMBF) for "Science Year 2012“.
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Long Night of Science: 10,000 visited Telegraphenberg
06/06/2012 - The “smartest night of the year” once again attracted thousands of scienctifically interested people to the Telegraphenberg campus. At the 12th Long Night of Science, Potsdam recorded the biggest increase in visitor numbers. At Telegraphenberg alone, almost twice as many visitors were counted as in 2011. The Potsdam Institute for Climate Impact Research (PIK) took part offering a wide range of activities for visitors of all ages – supported by more than 120 PIK volunteers.
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Chancellor Angela Merkel: “You should get on politicians nerves"
05/11/2012 - German chancellor Angela Merkel has warned about the consequences of unabated climate change and called on scientists to keep on pushing this topic. “You should be persistent and sometimes get on politicians nerves,” Merkel said at a symposium of the German Advisory Council on Global Change (WGBU) which was founded 20 years ago. Coming to a worldwide agreement on limiting global warming to two degrees would be difficult, and the energy transition would ask for the willingness for change from the German public, the chancellor said. However, not doing anything is no option, she said: “All progress is of little use if we react too slowly. That’s why we should be aware of what is going to happen if nothing happens now. And that is going to be bitter.”
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Nobel Laureate speaks to Potsdam postgraduates
05/11/2012 - Nobel Laureate Mario Molina visited the Potsdam Institute for Climate Impact Research (PIK) this week. During the annual meeting of the institute's junior scientists (PhD Day), Molina talked about ways of communicating climate science findings. „The scientific community needs to better communicate the risks of climate change to decision makers in government,“ Molina said.
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„Fantasy unlimited“: European Climate-KIC strategy retreat
05/09/2012 - From Imperial College London to Eidgenössische Technische Hochschule Zürich, from Electricité de France to Bayer Technology Services, more than 50 representatives of both science and business gathered for a two-day strategy meeting hosted by the Potsdam Institute for Climate Impact Research (PIK) last week. They are all affiliated or core partners of the European Union’s Climate Knowledge and Innovation Community (Climate-KIC) that focuses on fostering entrepreneurship for sustainable prosperity. The meeting launched the next phase for further developing the network’s innovation platforms.
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The Elbe – a European river in global climate change
05/07/2012 - The flooding of the Elbe river ten years ago or the contrasting dry summer just one year later: extreme events like these display the vulnerability of our society. The recently published “Elbe-Atlas des globalen Wandels” (Elbe-Atlas of Global Change) demonstrates possible shifts that may occur as a result of climate change, presenting the findings of comprehensive analysis of climate change impacts for water management and affected economical sectors. From electricity generation to industry, tourism, shipping or communal water supply – detailed maps illustrate projected changes until 2055.
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High-ranking visitors: Luxembourg´s head of state learns about climate change and possible solutions
04/25/2012 - When the Grand Duke Henri of Luxembourg visited the Potsdam Institute for Climate Impact Research yesterday, director Hans Joachim Schellnhuber and vice director Ottmar Edenhofer presented the latest state of research on climate change as well as possibilities to mitigate. During the Grand Duke´s visit at historic “Telegraphenberg” in Potsdam, he was accompanied by Brandenburg´s prime minister Matthias Platzeck among others.
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New team lineup leading research domains
04/02/2012 - Some new heads can be found at the top of the four research domains of the Potsdam Institute for Climate Impact Research (PIK). The new team lineup that has been implemented in March is the result of a larger process to further sharpen the institute’s profile. The goal remains unchanged: excellent research.
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Ice loss in the Antarctic: Researchers find calving law
03/21/2012 - The ice of Antartica is in motion. Time and again, massive breaking off of icebergs has been observed – now scientists have for the first time presented a universal physical law for the large-scale disintegration of the ice-shelves. It describes how the speed of the ice plays an important role. The ice-shelves situated in the bays of the Antarctica, where the grounded ice is joined to ice on the ocean, are currently hindering a faster discharge of the ice masses. But the ice-shelves could abruptly change their state, the study by an international team of scientists shows. Big break-offs lead to a much faster discharge of inland ice into the ocean where it melts. Hence, the Antarctica could be contributing comparatively the fastest to global sea-level rise.
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Global Sustainability Summer School in Potsdam open for applications
02/14/2012 - Some outstanding international researchers will teach at the Global Sustainability Summer School in Potsdam this year. One major focus will be on risks. Ken Caldeira from Stanford University will provide a paleoclimatic perspective on extreme events, Doyne Farmer from the Santa Fe Institute will cover the theory of complex systems, Elke Weber from Columbia University will talk about uncertainty and human psychology. The summer school is jointly organized by the Potsdam Institute for Climate Impact Research (PIK) and the Institute for Advanced Sustainability Studies (IASS), in Partnership with the Santa Fe Institute, and sponsored by Robert Bosch Stiftung. Application deadline is March 1st.
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Berlinale: „Greening the film industry“
02/07/2012 - The Berlinale international film festival, starting this week, will host a debate on – as the program puts it – “Greening the film industry”. Protagonists of the creative industries “could become pioneers of change if they produce in a climate-friendly way and communicate this,” says Fritz Reusswig from the Potsdam-Institute for Climate Impact Research. The debate is part of an initiative of the Climate Media Factory, a joint research project of the Potsdam-Institute for Climate Impact Research and the Hochschule für Film und Fernsehen “Konrad Wolf”, supported by the German Federal Ministry of Education and Research.
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PIK ranked amongst top environmental think tanks
01/20/2012 – The Potsdam Institute for Climate Impact Research again has been ranked amongst the top environmental think tanks worldwide. In the 2011 survey now published, it has been placed on the fourth rank – slightly improving from a fifth rank in the year before and a seventh rank in 2009. The winner in this research area is the Pew Center on Global Change in the US. Approximately 5300 think tanks in different categories participated in this ranking.
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Green Growth: World Bank appoints Edenhofer as an advisor
01/16/2012 - The World Bank appointed Ottmar Edenhofer of the Potsdam Institute for Climate Impact Research as a member of the advisory committee of the Green Growth Knowlegde Platform. This platform is a joint effort of the Global Green Growth Institute, the Organization for Economic Co-operation and Development (OECD), the United Nations Environment Programme (UNEP), and World Bank, to identify and address major knowledge gaps in green growth theory and practice. In order to help countries design and implement policies to move towards a green economy, it brings together leading researchers and practitioners from all over the globe. The platform just held its inaugural conference in Mexico City.
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New building for 17 million Euro – research project included
01/13/2012 - Climate research in Potsdam gets a new house. Next to the impressing main buildings from the 19th century, a new energetically optimized building for 190 employees and a planned new high-performance computer will be built for the cost of 17 million Euro altogether. The laying of the foundation stone will take place this year. The building is also subject of a research project on energetic optimization, in cooperation with Dresden Technical University.
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“New hot paper”: International news agency
01/03/2012 - The leading international news agency Thomson Reuters ranked a study by scientists of the Potsdam Institue for Climate Impact Research as a top “New Hot Paper” this month. “The Economics of Low Stabilization: Model Comparison of Mitigation Strategies and Costs” by Ottmar Edenhofer, Brigitte Knopf and others has been identified as one of the most-cited papers published during the past two years in the field of economics and business.
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