Home › News › Latest News

Latest News

Carbon Pricing Report launched by leading economists

05/29/2017 - Meeting the world’s agreed climate goals in the most cost-effective way while fostering growth requires countries to set a strong carbon price. That’s the key conclusion of the High-Level Commission on Carbon Prices, presented in a major report today in Berlin by Nobel Laureate Joseph Stiglitz (Columbia University, New York) and Nicholas Stern (London School of Economics), along with commission members Mari Pangestu (Former Minister of Trade, Indonesia, today at Columbia University) and Ottmar Edenhofer (Potsdam Institute for Climate Impact Research). The commission of 13 eminent economists from around the world has identified the range of prices on carbon needed to achieve the Paris Agreement’s climate stabilization goal. According to the scientists, the ambition should be reaching $40-$80 per tonne of CO2 by 2020 and $50-100 per tonne by 2030.

IPCC-chair and UN climate chief debate with Latin American ambassadors

05/18/2017 - To debate climate risks and options for action, the highest-ranking representatives of both climate science and climate policy met with ambassadors from Latin America at the Potsdam Institute for Climate Impact (PIK) today. Hoesung-Lee, chair of the Intergovernmental Panel on Climate Change (IPCC) and Patricia Espinosa, Executive Secretary of the United Nations Framework Convention on Climate Change (UNFCCC), attended a conference for which PIK provided most of the scientific input. Despite the wide range of perspectives on the subject, all participants agreed that tackling climate change is a common responsibility.

Climate stabilization: Planting trees cannot replace cutting CO2 emissions

05/18/2017 - Growing plants and then storing the CO2 they have taken up from the atmosphere is no viable option to counteract unmitigated emissions from fossil fuel burning, a new study shows. The plantations would need to be so large, they would eliminate most natural ecosystems or reduce food production if implemented as a late-regret option in the case of substantial failure to reduce emissions. However, growing biomass soon in well-selected places with increased irrigation or fertilization could support climate policies of rapid and strong emission cuts to achieve climate stabilization below 2 degrees Celsius.

New forecast method predicts 2017 Indian Summer Monsoon onset

05/08/2017 - Summer Monsoon in central India will likely begin between 14 and 22 June, according to the new early forecast method developed at the Potsdam Institute for Climate Impact Research (PIK). The novel approach based on an analysis of observational data allows to predict the monsoon onset date more than a month in advance in the central part of India where early forecasting has never been made. Elena Surovyatkina lead this study which showed to be successful last year. The monsoon onset date is of crucial importance for Indian farmers feeding a population of more than one billion. Climate change will likely affect monsoon stability and hence makes accurate forecasting even more important.

Bright minds at PIK

05/05/2017 - As one of the leading institutions in the field of climate impact research, PIK seeks to employ the brightest minds in its workforce. Their efforts result not only in excellent scientific output and a continually growing number of peer-reviewed ISI publications, but also a large number of professorships in Germany and abroad.

Weather extremes and trade policies were main drivers of wheat price peaks

04/28/2017 - Price peaks of wheat on the world market are mainly caused by production shocks such as induced for example by droughts, researchers found. These shocks get exacerbated by low storage levels as well as protective trade policies, the analysis of global data deriving from the US Department of Agriculture shows. In contrast to widespread assumptions, neither speculation across stock or commodity markets nor land-use for biofuel production were decisive for annual wheat price changes in the past four decades. This finding allows for better risk assessment. Soaring global crop prices in some years can contribute to local food crises, and climate change from burning fossil fuels and emitting greenhouse gases is increasing weather variability.

Girls‘Day: Visiting climate scientists

04/27/2017 – 15 female students from Berlin and Brandenburg have visited the Potsdam Institute for Climate Impact Research (PIK) to inform themselves about climate research and future careers in science. At this day, they gained insights into the work of the institute and learn about career opportunities with female scientists. The Girls’Day takes place every year throughout Germany and offers girls from the 5th grade up the opportunity to explore career prospects in technical and scientific branches. PIK participated for the 8th time.

EGU Early Career Award for Ricarda Winkelmann

04/27/2017 - Ricarda Winkelmann from the Potsdam Institute for Climate Impact Research (PIK) was honored with the Outstanding Early Career Scientist Award by the European Geosciences Union. She received the award in the Division Cryosphere “for her innovative contributions to glaciology and the study of the interactions between climate and glaciation”. Winkelmann is Junior Professor of Climate System Analysis at Potsdam University and scientist at PIK's research domain Earth System Analysis.

Australia and Germany exchange ideas on science and innovation

04/26/2017 - The Australian Minister for Industry, Innovation and Science, Arthur Sinodinos, visited Berlin this week - and on the occasion, the Australian Embassy invited high-ranking guests to a science and innovation forum. Australia’s chief scientist Alan Finkel and the director of the Potsdam Institute for Climate Impact Research Hans Joachim Schellnhuber discussed key science and innovation challenges and opportunities of the coming decade.

Global warming trend with ups and downs, but without slowdown or speed-up

04/25/2017 - Temperatures worldwide are increasing due to greenhouse-gases from fossil fuels. Past claims of a noteworthy ‘slowdown’ of the global warming trend are proven wrong by statistical analysis, a new study shows. Researchers from Germany and the US examined global-mean surface temperature trends, in the light of the three record breaking years 2014-2015-2016 in most datasets. While there of course is some natural short-term variability, the study finds no significant slowdown let alone ‘pause’ in the upward trend.

Making the Planetary Boundaries Concept Work: Conference in Berlin

04/24/2017 - More than 400 researchers and representatives from politics, businesses and society will discuss the concept of Planetary Boundaries this week in Berlin. Environmental pressures are rapidly increasing worldwide, with mounting risks for sustainable development. To allow future generations to live in dignity and peace, humanity needs to operate within a safe operating space delineated by the Planetary Boundaries. Keynote speakers include German Federal Environment Minister Barbara Hendricks, Heinrich Bottermann, General Secretary of the German Federal Environmental Foundation (DBU) and Johan Rockström, Director of the Stockholm Resilience Centre.

"March for Science" - against the attack on the Enlightenment

04/19/2017 - As an "attack on the Enlightenment", the director of the Potsdam Institute for Climate Impact Research, Hans Joachim Schellnhuber, described the post-truth populism in a guest contribution to the leading German weekly "Zeit". In more than 500 cities worldwide, the "March for Science" - demonstrations for science - takes place on April 22nd. Schellnhuber supports the corresponding activities in Germany. Other PIK scientists are involved as well, a number of them have already articulated their stance in advance.

Energy transition: start-up costs of power plants increase only moderately

04/05/2017 - While start-up costs of thermal power plants increase due to the energy transition, they remain on a rather low level. This is shown in a new study published in Nature Energy by researchers from the Potsdam Institute for Climate Impact Research (PIK) and the German Institute for Economic Research (DIW Berlin). Before power plants fueled by coal, gas or oil are able to generate electricity, they have to be started up to a minimum load level. This incurs costs related to additional fuel consumption as well as wear and tear.

G20 policy brief on sustainable agriculture and ending hunger

03/31/2017 - In a policy brief for the G20, an expert group urges the governments of the world's leading economies to track progress on the state of food security and, based on this, to scale investment opportunities and target their interventions. Hermann Lotze-Campen, head of the research domain Climate Impacts and Vulnerabilities at the Potsdam Institute for Climate Impact Research, contributed to this report which is part of the Think Tank 20 (T20) process under Germany’s G20 presidency.

Building trust, not hate: When people know each other, cooperation is more likely than conflict

03/30/2017 - When anonymity between people is lifted, they more likely cooperate with each other. Playing nice can thereby become a winning strategy, an international team of scientists shows in a study to be published in Science Advances. The findings are based on experiments with a limited number of participants but might have far-reaching implications, if confirmed. Reducing anonymity could help social networks such as Facebook or Twitter that suffer from hate and fake news. It might also help in conflicts about environmental resources.

"Turning the US into a Jurassic Park run by dinosaur energy"

03/29/2017 - US President Trump recently signed an executive order to roll back US climate policies. "Donald Trump's attempt to turn the US into a Jurassic Park run by dinosaur energy will eventually fail," comments Hans Joachim Schellnhuber, Director of the Potsdam Institute for Climate Impact Research (PIK).

Weather extremes: Humans likely influence giant airstreams

03/27/2017 - The increase of devastating weather extremes in summer is likely linked to human-made climate change, mounting evidence shows. Giant airstreams are circling the Earth, waving up and down between the Arctic and the tropics. These planetary waves transport heat and moisture. When these planetary waves stall, droughts or floods can occur. Warming caused by greenhouse-gases from fossil fuels creates favorable conditions for such events, an international team of scientists now finds.

Kevin Simmons visits PIK

03/24/2017 - New strategies to deal with the growing risk of extreme weather events in the context of diminishing political support for environmental and climate issues in the US – to this Kevin M. Simmons recently gave a talk at the Potsdam Institute for Climate Impact Research entitled "Where are the Economists?".

Climate policy brief for G20 finance ministers

03/17/2017 - In a policy brief for the G20 finance ministers, an expert group led by Ottmar Edenhofer proposes low-carbon growth stimulation through a steep increase in sustainable infrastructure, mobilizing sustainable finance, and adoption of carbon pricing. This would simultaneously achieve the objectives of the Paris Agreement and the Sustainable Development Goals, the experts argue. The Finance minister and central bankers of the world's leading economies meet in Baden-Baden, Germany, this weekend. Edenhofer is chief economist of the Potsdam Institute for Climate Impact Research (PIK) as well as Director of the Mercator Research Institute for Global Commons and Climate Change (MCC).

Climate, science & the arts: Boysen's "Alice" in Nature Climate Change

03/16/2017 - The increasingly important connection between art and science is highlighted in March's Nature Climate Change edition. The book "Alice, the Zeta Cat and Climate Change" by Margret Boysen, Artistic Director at the Potsdam Institute for Climate Impact Research (PIK), serves a prime example in the highly renowned journal's article. It stands for many efforts to make the climate debate part of culture, and culture part of the climate debate.

Vicious circle of drought and forest loss in the Amazon

03/13/2017 - Logging that happens today and potential future rainfall reductions in the Amazon could push the region into a vicious dieback circle. If dry seasons intensify with human-caused climate change, the risk for self-amplified forest loss would increase even more, an international team of scientists finds. If however there is a great variety of tree species in a forest patch, according to the study this can significantly strengthen the chance of survival. To detect such non-linear behavior, the researchers apply a novel complex network analysis of water fluxes.

New cooperation agreement with the Netherlands - with royal blessings

At a festive dinner with the Dutch king and queen, the director of the Potsdam Institute for Climate Impact Research, Hans Joachim Schellnhuber, and Jérôme Dangerman of the Kiemt Foundation have sealed a cooperation agreement for future research on energy issues and decarbonisation. The Dutch Minister for Foreign Trade and Development, Lilianne Ploumen had invited a handpicked number of guests from politics and enterprises to the exclusive dinner in Leipzig, among them the prime minister of Saxony, Stanislaw Tillich.

Sharing insights, shaping the future: PIK Research Days

02/10/2017 - This week, all scientists and staff of the Potsdam Institute for Climate Impact Research (PIK) gathered for their annual roadshow of scientific achievements and discussions of future projects. Packed with presentations and debates, PIK´s Research Days are an unequalled opportunity to share insights and shape the future course of the institute.

PIK ranked among top climate think tanks worldwide

01/27/2017 The Potsdam Institute for Climate Impact Research (PIK) belongs to the top environmental think tanks worldwide, a new ranking shows. Only the Stockholm Environment Institute (SEI) has scored better in this category, according to the "Global Go To Think Tank Index Report 2016" that has just been published by the University of Pennsylvania. PIK improved its position from rank 7 last year and rank 8 in the year before. Altogether, the ranking considered more than 6000 institutions across the globe.

"Transformation now": Earth League meets in Potsdam

01/23/2017 - Some of the most distinguished international climate experts are gathering in Potsdam this week for a symposium of the Earth League, a self-organized initiative of leading researchers on global change. During two days, they will discuss how the Great Transformation towards sustainability can be brought about. The success of the Paris climate agreement aiming at completely decarbonizing our economies within a few decades is by no means ensured; fulfilling its objectives requires a ratcheting-up of ambitions through social, political and economic progress.

New US President a risk for climate policy

01/20/2017 - Today, Donald Trump will be inaugurated as 45th President of the United States. "His populism as a business model will not prove viable in the long term," comments Ottmar Edenhofer, chief economist of the Potsdam Institute for Climate Impact Research (PIK) and director of the Mercator Research Institute on Global Commons and Climate Change (MCC), Professor at Technische Universität Berlin.

Harvests in the US to suffer from climate change

01/19/2017 - Some of the most important crops risk substantial damage from rising temperatures. To better assess how climate change caused by human greenhouse gas emissions will likely impact wheat, maize and soybean, an international team of scientists now ran an unprecedentedly comprehensive set of computer simulations of US crop yields. The simulations were shown to reproduce the observed strong reduction in past crop yields induced by high temperatures, thereby confirming that they capture one main mechanism for future projections. Importantly, the scientists find that increased irrigation can help to reduce the negative effects of global warming on crops – but this is possible only in regions where sufficient water is available. Eventually limiting global warming is needed to keep crop losses in check.

How the darkness and the cold killed the dinosaurs

2017/01/13 - 66 million years ago, the sudden extinction of the dinosaurs started the ascent of the mammals, ultimately resulting in humankind’s reign on Earth. Climate scientists now reconstructed how tiny droplets of sulfuric acid formed high up in the air after the well-known impact of a large asteroid and blocking the sunlight for several years, had a profound influence on life on Earth. Plants died, and death spread through the food web. Previous theories focused on the shorter-lived dust ejected by the impact. The new computer simulations show that the droplets resulted in long-lasting cooling, a likely contributor to the death of land-living dinosaurs. An additional kill mechanism might have been a vigorous mixing of the oceans, caused by the surface cooling, severely disturbing marine ecosystems.

Scientific policy advise for G20

14/12/2016 – Germany has taken the presidency of the G20 in the beginning of December. Leading PIK-scientists support the Federal Government in this process on several levels. Hans Joachim Schellnhuber, director of the Potsdam Institute for Climate Impact Research (PIK), handed over a Special Report with concrete recommendations for action on a transformation together with the German Advisory Council on Global Change (WBGU). Last week at the kick-off of the so-called T20-process, the team of PIK’s chief economist Ottmar Edenhofer took the lead of the task force on climate policy.

Water Future: PIK chairs new working group on groundwater management

23/12/2016 - Groundwater has contributed greatly to increasing food security by ensuring water availability for irrigation at critical times. Today, 43 percent of global food production depends on groundwater use. However, water reserves are not endless, and climate change puts additional pressure on groundwater management. A new transdisciplinary and international research group on Water Management in the Future Earth Framework will address these challenges, co-chaired by Anne Biewald of the Potsdam Institute for Climate Impact Research (PIK). As part of the Sustainable Water Future Programme, several research groups will bring together the best international expertise to drive solutions to the world’s water problems.

Previous 30 items
1
...
24
25
26
27
28
29
30
...
34
Next 30 items