Maximilian Kotz is a guest researcher in the Research Department 4 - Complexity Science, and currently holds a Marie-Curie post-doctoral fellowship, working in the Climate Variability and Change Group at the Barcelona Super Computing Centre.
Contact
14412 Potsdam
ORCID
Barcelona Supercomputing Centre 08.2024-present
Marie-Curie postdoctoral fellow - Climate Variability and Change Group
Potsdam Institute for Climate Impact Research 04.2023-08.2024
Post-doctoral Researcher
University of Queensland 09.2023-12.2023
Visiting scholar at the Centre for Biodiversity and Conservation Science and Australian Institute for Business and Economics.
University of Potsdam 09.2019-04.2023
PhD in climate physics/environmental economics
Summa cum laude
Leibniz Dissertation Award
Potsdam Institute for Climate Impact Research 09.2019-04.2023
Doctoral Researcher
European Central Bank 06.2022-12.2022
Part-time research consultant on climate impacts
California Institute of Technology 03.2019-06.2019
Field researcher on US GO-SHIP IO6S cruise in Southern Ocean
University of Cambridge 2017-2018
Master of Science in Natural Sciences
First class honours
California Institute of Technology 06.2017-09.2017
Summer Undergraduate Research Fellowship
University of Cambridge 2014-2017
Bachelor of Arts in Natural Sciences
First class honours
University of Reading 06.2016-08.2016
National Environmental Research Council summer fellowship
My work is broadly interested in understanding climate change and its impacts.
One part of this work involves analysing how human emissions are driving global climatic changes, using physical models and historical data.
Another part, this involves using statistical methods to identify the impacts of fluctuating climate conditions. Impacts can range from those visible within the market economy (such as economic growth and inflation), to important but non-market impacts including women's welfare in developing countries and biodiversity.
I am also interested in combining these approaches to project future (and attribute historical) damages from climate change, as well as using these results to inform climate policy, for example through their combination with Integrated Assessment Models to estimate the Social Cost of Carbon.
My work is regularly reported on by international media (see publications below), and has been used to inform the work of regulatory bodies such as the European Central Bank.
*Students I supervise.
+Corresponding author.
M. Zioga*, M. Kotz+, A. Levermann. Observed carbon decoupling of subnational production insufficient for net-zero goal by 2050. PNAS. (2024).
R. Carr*, M. Kotz+, P. Pichler, H. Weisz, C. Belmin, L. Wenz. Climate change to exacerbate the burden of water collection on women’s welfare globally. Wenz. Nature Climate Change. (2024).
Selected media coverage: Suddeutsche Zeitung, Suddeutsche Zeitung, Deutschlandfunk Nova
M. Kotz, A. Levermann, L. Wenz. The economic commitment of climate change. Nature. (2024).
Selected media coverage: The Guardian, Bloomberg, Forbes, The Washington Post, The World Economic Forum, Zeit Online
M. Kotz, Friderike Kuik, Eliza Lis, Christiane Nickel. Global warming and heat extremes to exacerbate inflationary pressures. Nature Communications Earth & Environment. (2024).
Selected media coverage: Forbes, The Independent, The Washington Post, Carbon Brief, Associated Press, ABC News, The New Scientist, The Conversation, Salon, Tagespiegel, Tageszeitung, Deutschlandfunk, ZDF, UN Office for Disaster Risk Reduction, Deutschlandfunk Radio Interview, Minnesota Public Radio Podcast, Newseria Interview.
M. Kotz, S. Lange, L. Wenz, A. Levermann. Constraining the pattern and magnitude of projected extreme precipitation change in a multi-model ensemble. Journal of Climate. (2023).
Press Release.
Selected media coverage: The New Scientist, Carbon Brief, CNN Indonesia
A. Stechemesser, M. Kotz, M. Auffhammer, L. Wenz. Prolonged exposure weakens risk perception and behavioral mobility response: Empirical evidence from Covid-19. Transportation Research Interdisciplinary Perspectives. (2023).
L. Wenz, R. D. Carr*, N. Kögel*, M. Kotz, M. Kalkuhl. DOSE - Global data set of reported sub-national economic output. Nature Scientific Data. (2023).
PIK News
M. Kotz, F. Kuik, E. Lis, C. Nickel. The impact of global warming on inflation: averages, seasonality and extremes. ECB Working Paper Series. (2023)
BBC Newsnight segment with interview
PIK News
Selected media coverage: BBC, Washington Post, Zeit Online, Der Standard, CBS, Bloomberg, Korean Broadcasting System, The Economic Times, Scientific American
Policy outcomes: SUERF Policy Brief; Green Central Banking Article; presented to IMF and ECB (multiple); informed Eurosystem macroeconomic projections and ECB Governing Body; development of Eurosystem tool to assess food inflation risks from extreme summer heat.
M. Kotz, A. Levermann, L. Wenz. The effect of rainfall changes on economic production. Nature. (2022).
Nature cover
Nature news & views
Press release
Selected media coverage: Süddeutsche Zeitung, Spiegel Online, Politico, Australian Financial Review, The Indian Express
A. Stechemesser, L. Wenz, M. Kotz, A. Levermann. Strong increase of racist tweets outside of climate comfort zone in Europe. Environmental Research Letters. (2021).
M. Kotz, L. Wenz, A. Levermann. Footprint of greenhouse forcing in daily temperature variability. Proceedings of the National Academy of Sciences. (2021).
M. Kalkuhl, M. Kotz, L. Wenz. DOSE - The MCC-PIK Database Of Subnational Economic output (Version 1) [Data set] Zenodo (2021).
Kotz, M., Wenz, L., Stechemesser, A. et al. Day-to-day temperature variability reduces economic growth. Nature Climate Change (2021).
Nature Research Highlight
Press release
Selected media coverage: New Scientist, Eos
World Business Council on Sustainable Development, invited seminar, June 2024.
The Venice Dialogue of the European Climate Research Alliance with European Political Parties, invited presentation, May 2024.
European Geophysical Union, Convener of session on physical risk for the financial sector, April 2024.
Climate Analytics, Berlin, February 2024.
Centre for Biodiversity and Conservation Science, University of Queensland, seminar, November 2023
International Institute for Applied Systems Analysis, invited seminar, November 2023
Network for Greening the Financial System Consortium Workshop, invited speaker, November 2023
Australian Institute for Business and Economics, University of Queensland, seminar, October 2023
Energietag Rheinland-Pfalz, invited speaker, October 2023
Panelist in discussion on Gender, Inequality and Climate Change for the German Embassy in Prague, April 2023
Barcelona Supercomputing Centre, seminar on climate damages, January 2023
ECB Green seminar series, December 2022
Mannheim University Ringvorlesung Klimawandel, September 2022
