Science Platform for Climate Protection submits report to German government
02/18/2022 - Today, the Science Platform on Climate Protection' delivered its first annual report to the German government. Sabine Schlacke, Director of the Institute for Energy, Environmental and Maritime Law at the University of Greifswald, and economist Ottmar Edenhofer, Director of the Potsdam Institute for Climate Impact Research, presented the group's insights at the Federal Press Conference. Their recommendations were well received by Federal Research Minister Bettina Stark-Watzinger and the State Secretary at the Federal Ministry of Economics and Climate, Patrick Graichen.
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Experiences of Climate Extremes likely to Lean European Voters towards Green Parties
02/07/2022 - Awareness of and concern for environmental issues has risen across Europe in the past two decades, and so has the willingness to vote for green parties. A new study has looked into this correlation, collecting subnational election data for a large number of countries and combining it with environmental data.
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India’s rice at risk: Brown planthopper a growing threat as global warming increases
01/28/2022 - Climate change increases the risk of brown planthopper rice pest in India, one of the most alarming pests of this important agricultural staple. This is the result of a new study. Particularly increasing temperatures play a crucial role in the spreading, potentially doubling the total area under high pest risk from seven to more than 15 percent – even if global temperature rise can be kept below 2 °C. If unabated, climate change could further contribute to the spreading of the pest in the future, possibly leading to more than 50 percent of Indian rice production areas under severe threat by the brown planthopper.
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Taxing Meat can Protect the Environment: New Study by Oxford, PIK, and TU Berlin
01/17/2022 - A 20-60 % increase in prices for meat through a tax could be an important lever for aligning Western diets with environmental goals and can be designed such that low-income households and farmers are compensated.
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Rainy days harm the economy
01/12/2022 - Economic growth goes down when the number of wet days and days with extreme rainfall go up, a team of Potsdam scientists finds. Rich countries are most severely affected and herein the manufacturing and service sectors, according to their study now published as cover story in the renowned science journal Nature. The data analysis of more than 1.500 regions over the past 40 years shows a clear connection and suggests that intensified daily rainfall driven by climate-change from burning oil and coal will harm the global economy.
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PIK Podcast: A plate full of sustainability - Chef Megha Kohli and scientist Hermann Lotze-Campen take a mouthful
12/20/2021 - A new episode of the podcast "Sustain Ability. The Potsdam Dialogues" is out. From cauliflower to climate change: Chef Megha Kohli from New Delhi, India, and agricultural economist Hermann Lotze-Campen from the Potsdam Institute talk about what’s cooking in our current food system.
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Climate policy: How to protect emissions trading from excessive financial speculation
12/15/2021 - CO2 emissions trading – a key element of EU climate policy – can be protected from distortions driven by financial speculators, a new report shows. The price for CO2 emissions allowances in the EU cap-and-trade scheme has almost tripled in the course of this year, and is now subject to unprecedented volatility levels. Financial speculation is increasingly blamed for this price rally, but evidence is lacking whether this can actually endanger the functioning of the trading system for the most relevant greenhouse gas. The researchers propose tools to detect speculation, evidence a substantial risk from a new breed of investors, and suggest improvements for market oversight.
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WBGU invites discussion on Planetary Health
12/14/2021 - Online discussion by the German Advisory Council on Global Change (WBGU) on planetary health kicked off with an impulse statement by Sabine Gabrysch on health and global sustainability.
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Kick-off: Global Commission on Science Missions for Sustainability with Johan Rockström
12/14/2021 - A newly formed Global Commission is to lead the ambitious plan to implement Science Missions for Sustainability: Political leaders, scientists - among them PIK Director Johan Rockström - and influential personalities have issued an emergency warning on sustainability inaction. By establishing a Global Commission, they aim to mobilize a global fund for Sustainability Science Missions.
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A Gender Dimension of Energy: Modern Cooking Fuels Connected to Quicker Demographic Transition
12/13/2021 - Switching to modern cooking fuels like gas or to electricity can improve the well-being of women in the global South, and eventually be connected to falling birth rates, a new study by researchers from the Potsdam Institute for Climate Impact Research shows. This highlights, for the first time, a connection between the global energy transition and the demographic transition in poorer countries.
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China’s crops at risk: Climate change boosts spread of crop pests and diseases
12/09/2021 - Crop pests and diseases in China have significantly increased, with climate change being one of the relevant drivers, new research in Nature Food finds.
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Alliance of Science Organisations: Call for more objectivity in crisis situations
12/07/2021 - The Alliance of Science Organisations has criticised the BILD newspaper for the way it reports on individual researchers who are contributing their expertise to contain the Corona pandemic. The researchers were personally defamed and held responsible for political decisions, the Alliance said in a statement. The Alliance consists of the German Research Foundation, the German National Academy of Sciences Leopoldina, and the Leibniz Association, of which the Potsdam Institute for Climate Impact Research is a member.
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Too dry, too hot, or too wet: Increasing Weather Persistence in European Summer
12/06/2021 - Global warming makes long lasting weather situations in the Northern hemisphere‘s summer months more likely – which in turn leads to more extreme weather events, a novel analysis of atmospheric images and data finds. These events include heatwaves, droughts, intense rainy periods. Especially in Europe, but also in Russia, persistent weather patterns have increased in number and intensity over the last decades with weather extremes occurring simultaneously at different locations.
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#PurpleLightUp for the Day of People with Disabilities
12/03/2021 - To highlight the inclusion of people with disabilities, the research institutions on Potsdam's Telegrafenberg have jointly hoisted a purple flag at the entrance of Albert Einstein Science Park. This was initiated, among others, by the Administrative Director of the Potsdam Institute for Climate Impact Research (PIK), Bettina Hörstrup. The activity is part of the international #PurpleLightUp campaign.
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German Sustainability award for John Schellnhuber
12/03/2021 - The Director Emeritus of the Potsdam Institute, Hans Joachim "John" Schellnhuber, was honoured, among other things, for his enormous influence on science, politics and business as a result of his early calls for sustainable solutions to the climate crisis. The focal points of his work include climate impact research and Earth system analysis.
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Postdoc Award of the State of Brandenburg for Björn Sörgel
12/02/2021 - PIK scientist Björn Sörgel has received the 2021 Postdoc Award of the State of Brandenburg in the category Humanities and Social Sciences. The award recognizes his work on jointly addressing two of the most pressing global issues of our time - the mitigation of climate change and the eradication of extreme poverty. It is awarded by the state of Brandenburg in recognition of excellent research achievements by outstanding young scientists from universities and non-university research institutions.
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Don’t risk temperature overshoot, climate science reaffirms
11/29/2021 - A new international study shows how near-term mitigation can help to prevent an overshoot in global temperatures – thereby reducing climate risks and bringing long-term economic gains.
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Accelerated renewables-based electrification paves the way for a post-fossil future: study
11/25/2021 - Cost-slashing innovations are underway in the electric power sector and could give electricity the lead over fossil-based combustion fuels in the world’s energy supply by mid-century. When combined with a global carbon price, these developments can catalyse emission reductions to reach the Paris climate targets, while reducing the need for controversial negative emissions, a new study finds.
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New study: World map of the most important protected areas to avert a climate catastrophe
11/18/2021 - New research out today from Conservation International maps the places on Earth that humanity must protect to avoid a climate catastrophe. These ecosystems contain what researchers call “irrecoverable carbon,” dense stores of carbon that, if released due to human activity, could not be recovered in time for the world to prevent the most dangerous impacts of climate change.
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12 PIK Researchers Among Most-Cited Scientists Worldwide
11/16/2021 - For the fourth year in a row, researchers from the Potsdam Institute for Climate Impact Research (PIK) are among the top 1 percent of the most scientifically influential authors worldwide. The influential "Highly Cited" ranking is published once a year by Clarivate Analytics' science platform Web of Science. The ranking is based on the frequency with which researchers are cited in other works - one of the most important indicators of scientific relevance. Twelve PIK researchers are listed, including the institute's directors, confirming the success of the previous year.
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High impact climate events: Better adaptation through earlier prediction
11/16/2021 - The prediction of high impact climate phenomena can be substantially improved by a new mathematical approach that analyses the connectivity and patterns between geographical locations, scientists say in a new publication. This can potentially save thousands of lives and avoid billions in economic losses. Prediction times for events like El Niño, monsoons, droughts or extreme rainfall could be increased substantially, to a month or in some cases even a year in advance, depending on the type of the event. The new framework can thus become key for improving adaptation to the global warming crisis.
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Ottmar Edenhofer receives Arthur Burckhardt Prize as outstanding economist and expert on CO2 pricing
11/11/2021 - Ottmar Edenhofer, Director of the Potsdam Institute for Climate Impact Research (PIK) and the Mercator Institute for Global Commons and Climate Change (MCC), receives the "Arthur Burckhardt Prize 2021" as an "outstanding economist as well as pioneer and expert in the field of CO2 pricing".
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10 New Insights in Climate Science 2021
11/04/2021 - As compounding impacts from our worsening climate crisis become more visible around the globe, leading researchers at COP26 highlight urgent and interconnected risks and solutions. The 10 New Insights in Climate Science series is a horizon scan of the most pressing research findings and emerging scientific insights to help inform immediate and equitable transformations across sectors to preserve a safe and habitable planet.
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COP26: PIK experts in Glasgow
11/03/2021 - Several experts from the Potsdam Institute for Climate Impact Research will be on site at the 2021 United Nations Climate Change Conference, also known as COP26, to contribute their scientific expertise. We collected some highlight events with PIK researchers organizing or participating.
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Climate change to stir up global agriculture within next decade, NASA/PIK study finds
11/02/2021 - New computer simulations predict deep changes in growing conditions affecting the productivity of major crops already within the next 10 years if current global warming trends continue. Maize crop yields are projected to decline by almost a quarter by the end the century, while wheat could potentially see global yield increases of about 17%. Current key breadbasket regions will see severe changes much quicker than previously expected, requiring farmers around the world to adapt to new climate realities now.
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Drought, heavy rain and heat waves will affect tourism business
10/28/2021 - A new study for the Federal German Environment Agency with PIK participation shows how travel regions can adapt to climate change. Climate change in Germany will lead to more heat, increased drought with water scarcity and forest fires, less snow reliability, and increased heavy rain and flooding. Tourism will have to adapt.
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The Ripple Factor: Economic losses from weather extremes can amplify each other across the world
27/10/2021 - Weather extremes can cause economic ripples along our supply chains. If they occur at roughly the same time the ripples start interacting and can amplify even if they occur at completely different places around the world, a new study shows. The resulting economic losses are greater than the sum of the initial events, the researchers find in computer simulations of the global economic network. Rich economies are affected much stronger than poor ones, according to the calculations. Currently, weather extremes around the world are increasing due to greenhouse gas emissions from burning fossil fuels. If they happen simultaneously or in quick succession even at different places on the planet, their economic repercussions can become much bigger than previously thought.
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New Lancet Countdown Policy Brief for Germany confirms considerable need for action
10/21/2021 - Despite a growing awareness of the situation's seriousness among those with political responsibility, Germany is only inadequately equipped for the health challenges of climate change. This is the conclusion of this year's report on climate and health, which is published annually by experts from the German Medical Association, Charité - Universitätsmedizin Berlin, the Potsdam Institute for Climate Impact Research and Helmholtz Zentrum München.
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Hotter, wetter, drier: the science behind extreme weather events
10/22/2021 - Extreme weather events are on the rise. Are these events connected? Are they becoming more likely with global warming? In the new episode of the podcast ‘Sustain Ability. The Potsdam Dialogues - Science for a Safe Tomorrow’, experts Friederike Otto and Stefan Rahmstorf give insight into their latest research.
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Schellnhuber awarded French Legion d'Honneur
10/06/2021 - In a solemn ceremony hosted at the Embassy of France in Berlin, PIK Director Emeritus Hans Joachim Schellnhuber was honoured with the highest order of merit in the Republic of France, The Legion of Honour, for his outstanding achievements in the field of climate science, particularly in the context of COP21.
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