Getting expectations right more relevant than getting prices right: Credibility is key for policies to achieve net zero targets
09/18/2023 - For net-zero policies to be successful, it is key that they succeed in shaping the expectations of private investors that long-term targets are firm. This is the result of new research by scientists at the Potsdam Institute for Climate Impact Research (PIK) and Resources for the Future and the International Monetary Fund (IMF) published today in Nature Climate Change.
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More economic struggle, less care about the environment
09/15/2023 - When international trade hurts people economically, they care less about environmental issues, finds a new study published in the journal Nature Climate Change. An international team of scientists shows that economic shocks drive trade-exposed groups more doubtful towards climate change, leading to a withdrawing support for sustainable and green policies.
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A full picture of planetary resilience: All boundaries mapped out, six of nine crossed
09/13/2023 - For the first time, an international team of scientists is able to provide a detailed outline of planetary resilience by mapping out all nine boundary processes that define a safe operating space for humanity. From global warming to the biosphere and deforestation, from pollutants & plastic to nitrogen cycles and freshwater: Six of nine planetary boundaries are being transgressed, while pressure in all those boundary processes is increasing, cutting-edge research published in the journal Science Advances shows.
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Stability inspection for West Antarctica: marine ice sheet not destabilized yet, but possibly on tipping path
09/07/2023 - Antarctica’s vast ice masses seem far away, yet they store enough water to raise global sea levels by several meters. A team of experts from European research institutes has now provided the first systematic stability inspection of the ice sheet’s current state. Their diagnosis: While they found no indication of irreversible, self-reinforcing retreat of the ice sheet in West Antarctica yet, global warming to date could already be enough to trigger the slow but certain loss of ice over the next hundreds to thousands of years.
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On the DWD's Summer Report 2023: In the midst of climate change
08/30/2023 - The German Weather Service (Deutscher Wetterdienst, DWD) has presented its 2023 summer report. PIK researcher Fred Hattermann comments: "This year's precipitation cannot compensate for the precipitation deficit that has accumulated over the past years."
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Climate extremes hit stressed economies even harder
08/30/2023 - Economies already under stress respond more strongly to weather events like heat waves, river floods and tropical cyclones, a new study shows. A global economic crisis as during the Covid-19 pandemic strongly amplifies the price increases private households experience from the impacts of weather extremes, a team of researchers from the Potsdam Institute for Climate Impact Research (PIK) finds. The price impacts tripled in China, doubled in the United States and increased by a third in the European Union.
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Past abrupt changes in North Atlantic Overturning have impacted the climate system across the globe
08/29/2023 - Abrupt climate changes have affected rainfall patterns worldwide in the past, especially in the tropical monsoon region, a new study shows. An international team of scientists used dripstones from globally distributed caves together with model simulations to analyse the global impacts of rapid Northern-Hemisphere temperature increases, the widely studied Dansgaard-Oeschger events, that repeatedly occurred during the last ice age. The comparison of stalagmite and model data shows in unprecedented detail how these abrupt changes and the associated modifications of the Atlantic overturning circulation, AMOC for short, have affected global atmospheric circulation.
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John Schellnhuber new Director General at IIASA
08/02/2023 - PIK Founding Director Hans Joachim (John) Schellnhuber will take over the position of Director General at the International Institute for Applied System Analysis (IIASA) in Laxenburg near Vienna on 1 December 2023. His great expertise in the field of climate change has earned him worldwide recognition.
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Amazon in the firetrap: Deforestation and warming lock rainforest in dry and damaged grassland state
07/12/2023 - Global warming and drastic deforestation could dry out the Amazon rainforest faster and enforce the risk of keeping it downright fire-trapped. A new study published in Nature Communications Earth and Environment shows: Fire can be a decisive factor for a potential tipping of the Amazon rainforest, as it is capable of locking large parts of the Amazon in a treeless state. While naturally not occurring in rainforests, fire can play an increasing role once the forest is damaged, thinned or completely lost, up to a status where fire is the dominating driver of the ecosystem.
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New series of talks by the Federal President on transformation opens with Ottmar Edenhofer
07/11/2023 - At the start of a new series of talks at Bellevue Palace, Federal President Frank-Walter Steinmeier discussed ways to achieve climate neutrality with PIK Director Ottmar Edenhofer and Christine Benner, the Second Chair of IG Metall. The "Forum Bellevue on the Transformation of Society" focuses on social issues of the future, profound upheavals and changes in Germany.
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Ricarda Winkelmann appointed Max Planck founding director in Jena
07/07/2023 - PIK researcher Ricarda Winkelmann has been appointed founding director at the Max Planck Institute for Geoanthropology in Jena, dedicated to understanding the interactions between humans and the Earth system. Winkelmann will take up her full-time position there in a few months time. She will remain affiliated with the Potsdam Institute for Climate Impact Research (PIK).
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Six decades and more than 1600 regions worldwide: New database on economic development and climate change
07/03/2023 - A new Database Of Sub-national Economic Output (DOSE) for the first time provides sub-national economic data for six decades and more than 1600 regions worldwide matched with climate observations. Developed by experts of the Potsdam Institute for Climate Impact Research (PIK) and the Mercator Research Institute on Global Commons and Climate Change (MCC) the database aims to o better understand the implications of global warming on regional economic development and the true costs of climate change.
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Worse than diesel and gasoline? Bioenergy as bad as fossils if there is no pricing of CO2 emissions from land-use change
06/26/2023 - Demand for modern biofuels is expected to grow substantially in order to mitigate climate emissions. However, they are far from being a climate neutral alternative to gasoline and diesel. A new study in Nature Climate Change shows that under current land-use regulations, CO2 emission factors for biofuels might even exceed those for fossil diesel combustion due to large-scale land clearing related to growing biomass. Before bioenergy can effectively contribute to achieving carbon neutrality, international agreements need to ensure the effective protection of forests and other natural lands by introducing carbon pricing, the expert team from the Potsdam Institute for Climate Impact Research (PIK) argues.
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EU climate Advisory Board recommends ambitious 2040 climate target and urgent transitions
06/23/2023 - The European Scientific Advisory Board on Climate Change (ESABCC), established by the European Climate Law, recommends in a new report EU emission reductions of 90–95% by 2040, relative to 1990, grounded on a science-based assessment addressing both fairness and feasibility.
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Women’s diet quality in India could be improved by forest foods
06/22/2023 - Wild foods from forests and common land play an important role in improving the quality of diets among Indian women, a new study finds. The harvest of wild, nutritious food, especially during June and July, is of vital importance to vulnerable women in India, where more than 80 percent are estimated to be micronutrient deficient and suffer from poor health.
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Greentech Honorary Award for Johan Rockström
06/21/2023 - Johan Rockström, Director of the Potsdam Institute for Climate Impact Research PIK, has been awarded the "Special Achievement Award" by the Greentech Festival. The Earth system scientist received the honour for his commitment and leadership in his field.
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Berlin-Brandenburg Academy of Sciences and Humanities appoints Ottmar Edenhofer
06/19/2023 - Climate economist Ottmar Edenhofer has been appointed to the Berlin-Brandenburg Academy of Sciences and Humanities (BBAW). The Director of the Potsdam Institute for Climate Impact Research and the Mercator Research Institute on Global Commons and Climate Change was admitted to the academy during Leibniz Day 2023 in recognition of his outstanding scientific achievements.
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From caves to soy schnitzel: PIK at Long Night of Science 2023
06/05/2023 - Lectures, information booths, hands-on experiments: Interested visitors can find out how stalactite caves and soy schnitzel are connected to the climate at this year's Long Night of Science on June 17, 2023 at the Potsdam Institute for Climate Impact Research (PIK). Researchers at the institute will be answering questions about the energy transition and climate neutrality, climate impacts in Germany, stalactites as climate archives, and what role nutrition will play in the future, among other things. They also invite you to learn more about their research.
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A just world on a safe planet: First study quantifying Earth System Boundaries
05/31/2023 - Humans are taking colossal risks with the future of civilization and everything that lives on Earth, a new study published in the journal Nature shows. Developed by an international science commission engaging more than 40 researchers from across the globe, the scientists deliver the first quantification of safe and just Earth system boundaries on a global and local level for several biophysical processes and systems that regulate the state of the Earth system. For the first time, safety and justice for humanity on Earth is assessed and quantified for the same control variables regulating life support and Earth stability. Justice, assessed based on avoiding significant harm to people across the world, leads to more stringent Earth system boundaries. This is extremely challenging, as the Earth Commission concludes that numerous of the safe boundaries are already crossed today.
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PIK expertise at "Leibniz in the Bundestag"
05/26/2023 - From hydrogen to the EU climate goals, from moorland protection to the animal welfare tax: researchers from the Potsdam Institute for Climate Impact Research (PIK) were represented across all research areas with numerous topics at "Leibniz in the Bundestag". With this political format, the Leibniz Association annually offers members of the German Bundestag one-on-one discussions with scientists.
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New framework from “Efficiency first” to “Decarbonization first” in European building sector needed
05/25/2023 - In addition to costly renovations, many inexpensive measures exist to facilitate the diffusion of renewables in the building sector. As of 2019, buildings were responsible for about a third of European GHG emissions. A key objective of EU energy use policies to reduce these emissions should therefore be focused on the decarbonization of buildings, beyond merely decreasing energy demand. This is stated in a new Commentary published in the journal Joule by a team of researchers from the Potsdam Institute for Climate Impact Research (PIK) and Fraunhofer Institute for Solar Energy Systems (ISE).
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Climate change risk to price stability: Higher average temperatures increase inflation
05/24/2023 - Increased average temperatures could drive up annual food and headline inflation by up to 1.18 percent by 2035, a new ECB working paper with PIK expertise shows. This effect persists over 12 months in rich and poor countries alike, making climate change an important economic factor for price stability.
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Limiting global warming to 1.5°C would save billions of people from dangerously hot climate
05/23/2023 - If climate change continues as it has so far, more than one-fifth of the global population could be exposed to dangerously hot temperatures by the end of the century, according to a new study involving the Potsdam Institute for Climate Impact Research (PIK). According to the study, the countries of the global South in particular will be affected by hotter temperature ranges.
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Effective capital markets are needed to protect the climate
05/22/2023 - A new study investigates the role of effective capital markets for climate protection and the energy transition. Banks collect savings and make them available as loans and the greater the difference between savings and loan interest rates, the more it costs to invest. This affects, for example, investments in fossil-free steel plants, power generation, or heating systems. The analysis by the Potsdam Institute for Climate Impact Research (PIK) and the Mercator Research Institute on Global Commons and Climate Change (MCC) has now been published in the renowned Journal of the Association of Environmental and Resource Economists (JAERE).
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Large-scale nature conservation efforts alone will not preserve benefits for our societies
05/16/2023 - The enlargement of protected areas and carbon price incentives for reforestation alone will not stop biodiversity decline and the ongoing loss of critical ecosystem functions, if they are not accompanied by measures that also target managed landscapes. A new study published in Nature Communications, led by the Potsdam Institute for Climate Impact Research (PIK), shows that even in scenarios with a high demand for land it is possible to maintain biodiversity-friendly landscapes, which also provide critical services such as pollination and healthy soils. The research demonstrates that land use is not a zero-sum game but that it matters where farmland is located in order to promote landscape diversity. With the right incentives, farmed landscapes could be managed in a way that enhances the numerous benefits nature offers to society and that support the biodiversity conservation targets of protected areas.
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High-level Pakistani delegation visit at PIK
05/12/2023 - A high-level Pakistani delegation, along with the GIZ Pakistan, visited the PIK research department Climate Resilience, to exchange ideas and approaches related to climate impacts and adaptation in the Pakistani context.
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Building back better: Resilience means more than bouncing back
05/11/2023 - Adapting to global shocks, transforming and creating new ways of functioning as a society: This is how reshaping a resilient future in the aftermath of a shock should look like, shows a new Nature Sustainability Perspective with PIK Director Johan Rockström.
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PIK expertise on the Petersberg Climate Dialogue
05/04/2023 - Ministers from 40 countries met this week at the Petersberg Climate Dialogue in preparation of the next UN Climate Conference COP28 in November. Johan Rockström, Director of the Potsdam Institute for Climate Impact Research (PIK), was among the invited speakers at the meeting, which is hosted annually by the German government with the conference presidency. “The Petersberg Climate Dialogue is an important stepping stone for the upcoming COP later this year in Dubai, where the Global Stocktake will be at the heart of international climate negotiations,” explains Rockström.
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Unique Institute for Sustainability: Alexander Popp is Professor at the University of Kassel
05/02/2023 - Since 1st of May 2023, Alexander Popp is Professor for Sustainable Land Use and Climate Protection at the Department of Ecological Agricultural Sciences at Kassel University. A unique scientific centre, the Institute for Sustainability, is currently being established there. It deals with the challenges of sustainable development in the sense of the 17 Sustainable Development Goals of the United Nations.
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Girls' Day at PIK: A day as a climate researcher
04/28/2023 - Exciting lectures, interactive workshops - that was the 12th edition of Girls´Day at PIK. Twenty schoolgirls aged from 12 - 16 years had the opportunity to look behind the scenes of the institute for one day.
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