Helmholtz Climate Initiative
The Helmholtz Climate Initiative is a platform that researches current climate issues in an interdisciplinary and systemic manner in 13 projects and incorporates the existing climate research of the Helmholtz Association of German Research Centers . She communicates the results to politics, science and society.
| Helmholtz Climate Initiative | |
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| legal form | Part of the Helmholtz Association |
| founding | 1st July 2019 |
| Seat | Berlin |
| purpose | Climate research |
| people | Georg Teutsch (overall coordinator), Otmar Wiestler (President Helmholtz Association) |
| Employees | over 50 |
| Members | 15 Helmholtz centers |
| Website | www.helmholtz-klima.de |
overview
In climate research there is scientific consensus that humans are a major contributor to global warming. In order to reduce the effects of global warming to well below 2 ° C compared to the pre-industrial level, all countries of the world committed themselves in the 2015 Paris Climate Agreement to implement appropriate measures. In order to develop such, a profound, interdisciplinary understanding of the complex systemic relationships and interactions of climate change is necessary. That is why the Helmholtz Association of German Research Centers launched the Helmholtz Climate Initiative on July 1, 2019: The research platform brings together scientists from 15 Helmholtz centers who are active in six research areas: Energy, Earth and Environment, Health , Matter, key technologies as well as aviation, space travel and transport. They are researching ways to curb anthropogenic emissions as quickly and sustainably as possible and, at the same time, to find ways to adapt to a world that is changing massively. The overall coordinator of the Helmholtz Climate Initiative is Georg Teutsch, Scientific Director of the Helmholtz Center for Environmental Research - UFZ.
The communicative goal of the climate initiative is to carry scientifically based knowledge into many areas of society and to enter into dialogue with those responsible from politics and business, media professionals, the interested public and, above all, with young people. The Helmholtz Association is initially investing twelve million euros from the President’s Initiative and Networking Fund in this new initiative in a two-year pilot phase.
The need for rapid action is emphasized by international experts: In its special report "Global Warming of 1.5 ° C", published in 2018, the Intergovernmental Panel on Climate Change (IPCC) compiled the global scientific knowledge about which scenarios are to be expected if the global average temperature increases by 1, 5 ° C increased compared to the pre-industrial age. The report looks at specific measures that are intended to slow down and reduce climate change.
construction
The climate initiative brings together around 100 scientists from 15 of the 19 Helmholtz centers. At the interfaces of many research fields, they examine the influence of climate change on, for example, our health, new energy sources, our mobility and agriculture. The initiative is led by an eleven-member steering committee, in which, among other things, scientific board members from all Helmholtz research areas are represented. The initiative consists of 13 pilot projects that are assigned to two scientific focal points: Cluster I “Mitigation - Net-Zero-2050” is working on contributions to a roadmap that shows how Germany could reduce its carbon dioxide emissions to net zero by 2050 . Cluster II "Adaptation" examines adaptation options to climate-related changes in areas of life such as health, agriculture, energy supply or transport. Helmholtz aims to cooperate with other national and international partners in science in order to work on the topic of climate change globally and across sectors.
Projects
In March 2019, a 50-strong competence platform met scientists and communicators from 15 of the 19 Helmholtz centers for two days in Berlin. The two subject areas in which research is now being carried out were identified there: mitigation and adaptation.
Mitigation
Cluster I of the Helmholtz Climate Initiative, "Mitigation - Net-Zero-2050", is working on contributions to a roadmap that shows how Germany could reduce its carbon dioxide emissions to net zero by 2050. These so-called negative emissions are necessary to achieve the global goal of limiting warming to a maximum of +2 degrees Celsius compared to the pre-industrial age. On the one hand, however, this requires rapid and far-reaching emission reductions in socially and economically important areas. On the other hand, in addition to a strong reduction in greenhouse gas emissions, carbon dioxide (CO 2 ) must also be extracted directly from the atmosphere. The Mitigation cluster is therefore examining and evaluating different strategies and new ways of removing carbon from the atmosphere in 4 projects.
Projects in Cluster I "Mitigation - Net-Zero 2050":
Roadmap and scenarios
The main aim of this project is to make scientific contributions to the development of a national “Roadmap Net Zero 2050”. In dialogue with citizens and interest groups, various technologies and approaches to reducing net CO 2 emissions are discussed and analyzed for their social acceptance and political and economic feasibility. A particular challenge will be to consider the interactions between climate change and the restructuring of the energy system. A net-zero web atlas is intended to summarize the most important results of the projects in Cluster I and other initiatives
Circular carbon use
The project investigates how carbon can be used in a cycle: CO 2 from the atmosphere is to be converted into chemical energy carriers with high energy density using renewable energies. The resulting CO 2 is released into the atmosphere and starts the cycle again. By focusing on future liquid fuels, a reduction of up to 180 million tons of CO 2 emissions per year is expected for Germany alone .
Underground storage
With the conversion of the energy system from fossil fuels to renewable energies, the geological subsurface is becoming increasingly important as a storage facility. Its availability is locally limited and the theoretical storage potential clearly exceeds the currently forecast demand. The project therefore evaluates the technically and economically feasible potential and the resulting challenges. In addition, it evaluates underground processes that cause potential restrictions and the efficiency of the technical components available.
Nature as storage
Natural greenhouse gas sources and sinks play an important role in the entire CO 2 cycle of our planet and thus also for the CO 2 budget. Both output and storage often depend on land use and management decisions. The project evaluates the potential of natural terrestrial and marine systems to reduce CO 2 emissions and store carbon.
adaptation
A warming of the global mean temperature brings numerous changes for our health, for urban planning, for our forests and many other areas of life. Cluster II “Adaptation” of the Helmholtz Climate Initiative is researching what this can mean in a total of nine projects. The results will simulate or model future situations. This will give stakeholders and decision-makers a new basis for their actions - for example when it comes to which forests will grow in Germany in the future, what sustainable mobility looks like or how certain infectious diseases or allergies could develop.
Projects in Cluster II "Adaptation":
Drivers
The project uses meteorological data sets to create “time slice experiments” for current and future time horizons. The focus is on possible extreme events in Europe (such as the hot summer of 2018) in the years 2030, 2050 and 2100. For each year it is simulated how the scenarios would change under warming of 1.5 ° C, 2 ° C and 4 ° C develop. The project examines internal and external variables that drive relevant feedback in the terrestrial system. In this way, the signals of climate change can be translated into information for impact models and used by other projects of the climate initiative.
Urban systems
Urban areas are extremely complex systems, their diverse building structures interact with the atmosphere and intensify climatic extremes and their effects: urban heat islands, droughts, storms and floods. The project uses detailed procedures to record the negative consequences of climate change-related hazards on the health of urban residents and to promote targeted climate adaptation measures.
Urban extremes
In recent years, the frequency and intensity of extreme events such as heavy rain, thunderstorms or periods of dry weather have increased, which is increasingly leading to damage to buildings / infrastructure and water pollution from untreated sewage discharges. The project is developing adaptation strategies for this, including structural measures (e.g. design of sewage and sewage treatment plants) and non-structural measures (e.g. communication, risk transfer, private provision). The concept is tested using the example of a city.
mobility
Cities and rural regions will have to deal much more intensively with adapting to climate change in the future in order to remain places of high quality of life and secure mobility. The aim of the project is therefore to examine future mobility under changing climatic conditions, extreme weather conditions and changed urban structures, to quantify emissions and energy consumption under such conditions and to derive recommendations for adaptation and socio-economic consequences.
Infectious diseases and allergies
Vector-transmitted infectious diseases such as tick-borne borreliosis and pollen-related allergies are intuitively understood as consequences of climate change. The project models possible developments and creates forecast models for pollen and spores. It draws on the results of the other projects of the climate initiative, for example on climate indicators, thunderstorm forecasts and forecasts for different climate scenarios in 30, 50, 80 years.
Weather and health
The NAKO and the Rhineland Study assess the health status of more than 200,000 adults, with the participants being phenotyped several times over the years. These cohort studies offer a unique opportunity to investigate the relationship between satellite-based, spatiotemporally resolved weather parameters, context-dependent factors and early physiological responses to weather. The project focuses on the influence of weather on cardiovascular and cancer diseases, metabolic and cognitive functions, and mental health.
Forest ecosystems
Forests are a relevant ecosystem of the biosphere. They cover 30 percent of the land area, store large amounts of carbon and are an important element of the carbon and water cycle. However, climate changes have a major impact on the productivity of forest systems, turning some of them from carbon sinks into carbon sources. The project investigates strategies of how forest systems can adapt to climate change and which strategies forestry must pursue in order to meet the required forest services in the next century.
Variable renewable energies
Renewable energies are subject to weather and climate-related variations. Comprehensive information on the effects of extreme weather events is therefore required for energy supply. Using current models and climate data sets, the project examines the influence of weather on energy demand and its changes due to climate change and extreme events.
Participating centers
A total of 15 of the 19 Helmholtz centers are involved in the Helmholtz Climate Initiative. All six research areas of the Helmholtz Association are represented: Energy, Earth and Environment, Health, Matter, Key Technologies as well as Aviation, Space and Transport.
Participating Helmholtz Centers:
- German Aerospace Center
- German Cancer-research center
- German Center for Neurodegenerative Diseases
- Karlsruher Institute for Technology
- research center Julich
- Alfred Wegener Institute Helmholtz Center for Polar and Marine Research
- GEOMAR Helmholtz Center for Ocean Research Kiel
- Helmholtz Center Berlin
- Helmholtz Center Dresden-Rossendorf
- Helmholtz Center Potsdam
- Helmholtz Center for Infection Research
- Helmholtz-Zentrum Geesthacht Center for Materials and Coastal Research
- Helmholtz Center for Environmental Research - UFZ
- Max Delbrück Center for Molecular Medicine in the Helmholtz Association
Web links
Individual evidence
- ↑ a b The Helmholtz Climate Initiative: The Helmholtz Climate Initiative. Retrieved April 16, 2020 .
- ↑ www.klimafakten.de: Facts instead of allegations. Retrieved April 16, 2020 .
- ↑ a b www.bmu.de: The climate conference in Paris. Retrieved April 16, 2020 .
- ↑ a b www.helmholtz.de: Helmholtz is investing 12 million euros in a new climate initiative. Retrieved April 16, 2020 .
- ↑ a b www.de-ipcc.de: Special report 1.5 ° C global warming - SR1.5. Retrieved April 16, 2020 .
- ↑ www.helmholtz-klima.de: Mitigation. Retrieved July 9, 2020 .
- ↑ www.helmholtz-klima.de: Adaptation. Retrieved July 9, 2020 .