2014

Hans Joachim Schellnhuber and other researchers have developed a forecasting method that allows earlier predictions of the climate phenomenon El Niño. Russian, German and US scientists forecasting that an weather event is likely later this year. They say there is a 75 per cent chance of El Niño conditions emerging, which can produce abnormally low rainfall in eastern Australia. Source: Herald Sun, 13.02.2014.

Anders Levermann of the Potsdam Institute for Climate Impact Research says in his post on theguardian.com that an unmitigated climate change will hit global infrastructure hard and test the limits of our way of life. He defends scientific climate models and their capability of projecting the temperature of our planet against recent criticism and states that extreme weather is likely to intensify in the future. Source: The Guardian, 31.01.2014.

Brigitte Knopf of the the Potsdam Institute for Climate Impact Research says: “By 2030, it is possible to achieve a 40% emission reduction using existing technologies. But our models suggest that costs might rise sharply after 2040 if we do not incentivize technological innovation by clearly pricing greenhouse-gas emissions. Otherwise, the last step, from 70% or so to almost full decarbonization of the entire economy, could be hard to achieve.” Source: Nature, 28.01.2014.