“Humanity at risk “: climate scientist Schellnhuber speaks at the Vatican
06/18/2015 - Pope Francis’ much anticipated encyclical “Laudato Si” on inequality and the environment mirrors not only religious insights but also the findings of climate science. “Not the poor but the wealthy are putting our planet, and ultimately humanity, at risk,” said Hans Joachim Schellnhuber, director of the Potsdam Institute for Climate Impact Research (PIK), at the presentation of the encyclical in the Vatican today. “Those who profited least from the exploitation of fossil fuels and contributed least to greenhouse-gas emissions are hit hardest by global warming impacts, unless we strongly reduce emissions.” Schellnhuber is the only scientist who has been invited to speak, alongside Cardinal Peter Turkson.
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From power grids to heartbeat: Using mathematics to restore rhythm
07/15/2015 - When a rhythm stalls, the effect can be fatal – in a power grid it can mean a blackout, and in the human heart even death. An international team of scientists has now developed a new approach for revoking these undesired quenching states. They use an advanced mathematical methodology, building on complex networks analysis, and demonstrate it in experiments with chemical reactions. This could one day help to stabilize the flow of electricity in power grids challenged by the variable input from renewable energy sources. Future research could apply it to other complex networks, including processes within body cells and even the human cardiovascular system.
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Edenhofer speaking to finance ministers at OECD green tax conference
07/15/2015 - Strategies for environmental tax reform and growth were at the focus of a talk given by Ottmar Edenhofer, chief economist at the Potsdam Institute for Climate Impact Research, at a high-level conference in the run-up of the world climate summit in Paris COP21 later this year. The recent meeting was a joint initiative by the Organisation for Economic Co-operation and Development (OECD), the International Monetary Fund (IMF), the Worldbank and others. It was attended by Finance and Environment Ministers, senior policy makers and experts from more than 90 countries, including China and Indonesia, Mexico and Egypt, Sweden and Portugal.
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New super-computer for climate science ranks among world’s top 400
07/13/2015 - The new high-performance computer at the Potsdam Institute for Climate Impact Research ranks among the 400 fastest world-wide. This was announced today at the beginning of the International Supercomputing Conference in Frankfurt, Germany. The machine is able to do 212 trillion calculations per second – so called Teraflops. This allows simulations of the complex interactions between atmosphere, oceans, land and ice-sheets to a much larger extent than was hitherto possible on site. The computer’s waste heat is used – environmentally-friendly – to heat the new PIK research building.
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Our Common Future Under Climate Change
07/10/2015 - This week, thousands of climate and social scientists as well as policy experts have met for the “Our Common Future under Climate Change” conference at the UNESCO headquarters in Paris, among them a large number of experts from the Potsdam Institute for Climate Impact Research (PIK). It has been the biggest gathering of high-ranking scientists paving the way for COP21 in December, laying out the state of science for fact-based decision-making.
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Record-breaking heavy rainfall events increased under global warming
07/08/2015 - Heavy rainfall events setting ever new records have been increasing strikingly in the past thirty years. While before 1980, multi-decadal fluctuations in extreme rainfall events are explained by natural variability, a team of scientists of the Potsdam Institute for Climate Impact Research detected a clear upward trend in the past few decades towards more unprecedented daily rainfall events. They find the worldwide increase to be consistent with rising global temperatures which are caused by greenhouse-gas emissions from burning fossil fuels. Short-term torrential rains can lead to high-impact floodings.
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Waste works: new Artist in Residence
06/29/2015 - One ton of recycled plastic boards pose as surrogate books, filling library shelves – this is just one example of Dan Peterman’s works. The Chicago-based art professor from the University of Illinois is this summer’s Artist in Residence at the Potsdam Institute for Climate Impact research (PIK). With long-term commitment to the socially oriented and environmentally conscious art, he has widely exhibited in the United States and internationally. Now he’s seeking the exchange with climate scientists, from Antarctica experts to energy economists. On 30 June, he will give a talk at the Kunstraum, Schiffbauergasse Potsdam.
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Schellnhuber appointed to Pontifical Academy of Sciences
06/26/2015 - The Pontifical Academy of Sciences, one of the most renowned around the globe, has selected climate scientist John Schellnhuber to become a member. Pope Francis himself nominated him last week. Schellnhuber, a professor of physics and director of the Potsdam Institute for Climate Impact Research, participated in a number of the Academy’s workshops on the sustainability challenge before, and he was the only scientist to speak at the presentation of the environmental encyclical “Laudato Si” in the Vatican.
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