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2012

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.

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.

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.

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.

"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.

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.

„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.

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.

„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.

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”.

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.

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).

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“.

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.

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.”

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.

„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.

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.

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.

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.