CliMA - Competence Centre for Climate Change Mitigation and Adaptation | Umweltbundesamt

Background and Goals

The Competence Center for Climate Change Mitigation and Adaptation (CliMA) was founded in 2009 at the University of Kassel. It brings together research expertise on climate change mitigation, climate adaptation and social conditions and also promotes the transfer of this knowledge and experience. CliMA is involved in research projects at all levels, from the basics to implementation, and in various tasks within the fields of climate change mitigation and adaptation.

CliMA pursues an implementation-oriented approach by linking research and implementation skills in an interdisciplinary governance-concept:

In interdisciplinary project teams science and technology research and solutions are interrelated with social science research. Using this approach, both obstructive conditions and restrictions on actions as well as individual incentives for the implementation of solutions can be identified. Based on this, optimized methods are developed and implemented to transfer the theoretical results practically in regional politics, economics and society.

In accordance with both its objectives and its conceptional approach, CliMA is arranged into four divisions.

• The climate change solutions division focuses on developing solutions to satisfy global, regional and local concepts and actions for climate change mitigation with the focal points energy supply and distribution and energy usage.
• Interdisciplinary approaches to concepts and actions in terms of climate adaptation are developed by the climate adaptation solutions division. Focal points of the research are in the fields of resources, production and logistics, planning and construction, mobility, tourism and regional development.
• The social framework conditions division studies impeding and supporting social factors that influence the implementation of solutions in society. Focusing on law, economics, psychology, sociology and politics, it develops strategies for necessary social and economic change.
• The division responsible for the tranfer of knowledge takes an interdisciplinary approach to studying how the subject of climate change can be successfully communicated and implements these findings as examples. In addition to the fields of educational sciences and didactics, the practical partner UniKasselTransfer and the guest Climate Adaptation Academy are also represented within this division.

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