Home › News › PIK in the Media (Link collection)

PIK in the Media (Link collection)

"Economic optimization risks tipping of important Earth system elements"

Business Mirror (Philippines) - Scientists from the Potsdam Institute for Climate Impact Research (PIK) now used mathematical methods for the comparison of different economic and governance concepts. It turned out that the concept of profit maximization is not sufficient to avoid the tipping of critical elements in the Earth system that could dramatically change our livelihoods. And which of the other examined concepts (sustainability or the safe operating space approach, relying on the Planetary Boundaries concept) is most suitable, depends on the specific circumstances: "It turns out that there is no master concept for countering environmental challenges", says PIK-scientist Jürgen Kurths who contributed to the study. Source: Business Mirror (Philippines), 11.07.2018.

"Lab-grown livestock feed may ease climatic effects of feed production"

UPI News Agency (USA) - Today's conventional agricultural feed cultivation has severe impacts on the environment and climate. A new study with involvement of the Potsdam Institute for Climate Impact Research (PIK) now evaluated the potential economic and environmental effects of an increasing replacement of the conventional feed by industrial microbes. "Cultivating feed protein in labs instead of using croplands might be able to mitigate some environmental and climatic impacts of feed production", says PIK-scientist Benjamin Bodirsky who contributed to the study. Source: United Press International (USA), 20.06.2018.

"West Antarctic Ice Sheet unlikely to reverse retreat"

Iran Daily (Iran) - After the last ice age about 10.000 years ago, the Antarctic ice was melting due to rising temperatures. The retreat was then surprisingly reversed by processes which themselves were also caused by the melting. But these reversal processes are slow: "Given the speed of current climate change from burning fossil fuels, the mechanism we detected unfortunately does not work fast enough to save today's ice sheets from melting and causing seas to rise" says Torsten Albrecht from the Potsdam Institute for Climate Impact Research (PIK) who was one of the authors of the study. Source: Iran Daily (Iran), 17.06.2018.

"Scientists trace ice sheets in history of West, East Antarctica"

Xinhua News Ageny (China) - After the end of the last ice-age, the shrinking of the Antarctic ice itself stopped the shrinking: without the weight of the melted ice, the Earth crust lifted - and thus triggered the re-advance of the ice sheet. "[The ice] retreated inland by more than 1.000 kilometers in a period of 1.000 years in this region. [...] Instead of total collapse, the ice-sheet grew again by up to 400 kilometers. This is an amazing self-induced stabilization", says the concerning study's co-author Torsten Albrecht from the Potsdam Institute for Climate Impact Research (PIK). But this slow reversal mechanism will not stop sea-level rise today. Source: Xinhua (China), 14.06.2018.

"Global warming: trouble with water resources in Central Asia will increase"

Kabar News Agency (Kyrgyzstan) - At the Potsdam Institute for Climate Impact Research (PIK), more than 300 scientists investigate crucial topics of global environmental change, climate change impacts and sustainable development on a global and on a regional scale. Among the analyzed regions is Central Asia, where questions of water are particularly complex. "Water resources are the foundation for political, social and economic stability", says PIK-scientist Anastasia Lobanova in an interview with the major Kyrgyz news agency Kabar. Source: Kabar News Agency (Kyrgyzstan), 05.06.2018. Article in Russian.

"Trump's economic isolationism is climate-blind"

The Hill (USA) - "Trump does not believe in climate change, but that won't make it go away, and it does not only have consequences for the much-ridiculed polar bears and coral reefs. It spells trouble for national economies across the globe and all of our wallets as well", writes PIK-scientist Anders Levermann in a guest commentary. "The destabilization of the climate that we are causing by our carbon emissions needs to be stopped: The burning of coal, oil and gas has to be phased out. We need climate realism instead of national chauvinism." Source: The Hill (USA), 29.05.2018.

"Want to Escape the Coming Floods? Balance Global Trade"

Bloomberg (USA) - A new study with involvement of the Potsdam Institute for Climate Impact Research (PIK) shows: increasing floods worsened by global warming could lead to regional production losses worldwide - with effects that might propagate through the global network of trade and supply chains. Besides the rapid reduction of greenhouse gas emissions, "the answer is not isolationism", says PIK-scientist Anders Levermann who contributed to the study. "The answer is getting better trade relations." Source: Bloomberg (USA), 28.05.2018.

"Climate Change in South Asia"

KBIA (USA) - In a new Worldbank report, Southern Asia is identified as one of the world's most vulnerable regions to migration forced by climate change impacts. Along with a number of other economical and social factors, water scarcity and yield failures become more and more important drivers. PIK-scientist Jacob Schewe contributed to the report and joins the program on "Climate Change in South Asia" by Global Journalist aired by the award-winning US radio station KBIA. Source: KBIA (USA), 17.05.2018.

"Hot Nature Weakens and Wilts"

Radio Ecoshock (Canada) - The Atlantic Meridional Overturning Circulation (AMOC) was found weaker today than any time before in over 1000 years by a new study conducted by an international team of scientists around Levke Caesar from the Potsdam Institute for Climate Impact Research (PIK). Hundreds of millions of people on both sides of the Atlantic could be affected by the climatic consequences of an alteration of the major system of ocean circulations. Lead-author Caesar explains the study in detail in a 28 minute radio interview. Source: Radio Ecoshock (Canada), 03.05.2018.

"What if the ocean's climate-controlling 'conveyor belt' came to a halt?"

FOX News (USA) - "The specific trend pattern we found in measurements looks exactly like what is predicted by computer simulations as a result of a slowdown in the Gulf Stream system [...] And I see no other plausible explanation for it," comments Stefan Rahmstorf from the Potsdam Institute for Climate Impact Research (PIK) on a new study that delivers stronger evidence for a weakening of the Atlantic overturning circulation (AMOC). Source: FOX News (USA), 17.04.2018.

"The oceans' circulation hasn't been this sluggish in 1,000 years. That's bad news."

The Washington Post (USA) - Scientific analysis of sea surface temperature data provides new evidence that the major ocean circulation called Atlantic overturning has slowed down by about 15 percent in the last 70 years. Stefan Rahmstorf from the Potsdam-Institute for Climate Impact Research (PIK) tells the major US newspaper The Washington Post, that this was "something that climate models have predicted for a long time, but we weren't sure it was really happening. I think it is happening, [...] And I think it's bad news." Climate change is a prime suspect for the worrying weakening. Source: The Washington Post (USA), 11.04.2018.

"Study: Global Warming Is Weakening Key Ocean Circulation"

The New York Times (USA) - The Atlantic meridional overturning circulation (AMOC), of which the widely known Gulf Stream is a part, is one of our planet's most important heat transport systems. A new scientific study by a team around Levke Caesar and Stefan Rahmstorf from the Potsdam Institute for Climate Impact Research (PIK), provides stronger evidence for the weakening of the AMOC - which is weaker today than any time before in more than 1000 years. Source: The New York Times (USA), 11.04.2018.

"Wealth inequality: Closing the gap by taxing land and bequests"

Environews (Nigeria) - "To reduce wealth inequality without diminishing the economic performance of a country, a policy package of bequest taxes and land value taxes could be the optimal solution", reports Environews Nigeria on a new study led by Max Franks from the Potsdam Institute for Climate Impact Research (PIK). "The conceptual study shows how governments can help everyone to attain his or her fair share of the pie without shrinking it", he says. Source: Environews (Nigeria), 27.03.2018.

"Rising sea levels come at steeper cost"

Physics World (UK) - Our climate action now has substantial impacts for centuries. A new study from the Potsdam Institute for Climate Impact Research (PIK) and other international institutions found that "every delay in peaking emissions by five years between 2020 and 2035 could mean an additional 20 cm of sea level rise in the end", as lead author Matthias Mengel explains. "The Paris Agreement calls for emissions to peak as soon as possible. This might sound like a hollow phrase to some, but our results show that there are quantifiable consequences of delaying action" adds PIK-scientist Carl-Friedrich Schleussner, co-author of the study. Source: Physics World (UK), 16.03.2018.

"Paris takes lead in climate change efforts, passing Berlin"

Handelsblatt (Germany) - With Johan Rockström, an earth scientist, and Ottmar Edenhofer, an economist, the new leadership of the Potsdam Institute for Climate Impact Research (PIK) as one of the world's leading environmental think tanks will bring together natural and social sciences. In September, they will follow founding director John Schellnhuber as head of the institute. Speaking to the leading German business newspaper Handelsblatt, they assess the state of the art in global climate policies. Source: Handelsblatt (Germany), 06.03.2018.

"Arctic enveloped in warmth as Europe shivers"

Financial Times (UK) - "In winter, the freezing Arctic air is normally 'locked' by strong circumpolar winds several tens of kilometres high in the atmosphere, known as the stratospheric polar vortex, so that the cold air is confined near the pole," says Marlene Kretschmer from the Potsdam-Institute for Climate Impact Research (PIK) in the major British business newspaper Financial Times. But Arctic warming has led to a weakening of the circulation over the past decades. Source: Financial Times (UK), 01.03.2018.

"Why is Europe so cold right now?"

BBC World (UK) - In the end of February, cold air blew across the European continent. Last year, a study led by Marlene Kretschmer from the Potsdam Institute for Climate Impact Research (PIK) found, weak states of the so-called polar vortex allowing polar air to escape to the Northern hemisphere have become more persistent over the past decades. In an interview with BBC World, PIK-scientist Stefan Rahmstorf puts the present cold weather into the context of current scientific findings. Source: BBC World (UK), 01.03.2018.

"Radical change urged over 20 years to attain climate goals"

Reuters (UK) - In September, the German climate economist Ottmar Edenhofer and the Swedish Earth system scientist Johan Rockström will follow the footsteps of PIK's founding director John Schellnhuber and take the lead of the Potsdam Institute for Climate Impact Research (PIK). In an interview with the international news agency Reuters, they said radical change is urged over 20 years to attain the climate goals of Paris. Source: Reuters (UK), 23.02.2018.

"OUR BLUE PLANET: Saving the Earth for the Future"

JIB (Japan) - The Blue Planet Prize honors outstanding thinkers who help to meet challenges of planetary dimensions. The world’s most prestigious award for pioneers in environmental science was given to the internationally renowned climate scientist John Schellnhuber last year in Tokyo. The Director of the Potsdam Institute for Climate Impact Research (PIK) received the prize for establishing a new field of science, Earth System Analysis, and introducing most influential concepts including the notion of tipping elements in the climate system. On this occasion, the major Japanese television broadcaster JIB has now presented a portrait of John Schellnhuber and his work. Source: Japan International Broadcasting, 16.02.2018.

"Anders Levermann: The Great River Floods"

Radio Ecoshock (Canada) - Already today, fluvial floods are among the most devastating natural disasters. Rainfall changes caused by global warming will further increase river flood risks across the globe. Scientists from the Potsdam Institute for Climate Impact Research (PIK) have now calculated the required increase in flood protection until the 2040s worldwide. PIK-scientist Anders Levermann contributed to the new study and speaks in an interview with Radio Ecoshock about the estimated future flood risks. Source: Radio Ecoshock (Canada), 01.02.2018.