Outlook Research – Research on global change: Climate change: Time to act | Umweltbundesamt

At the 21st Climate Summit (COP 21), a modern, fair and contemporary agreement will be negotiated designed to engage all countries to take climate mitigation measures. In addition to climate change mitigation, adaptation, finance, technology and capacity building will also be discussed. The negotiations are the findings of the most recent IPCC report. The results show namely that despite previous mitigation efforts global greenhouse gas emissions have continued to increase as a result of population and economic growth. At the same time, the research results show that very ambitious mitigation measures would allow us to limit global warming to less than 2°C compared to pre-industrial levels.

The IPCC informs about the impacts of climate  change on all continents, in all ecosystems, human societies and not least its significance for human health. In its most recent report the IPCC increasingly addressed the world’s oceans.

CO2 is the main driver of global temperature increase, and it also dissolves in seawater thus causing ocean acidification. At the same time, the increased warming, stratification and eutrophication of the ocean cause a loss of oxygen to varying degrees depending on region.

In cases where warming, acidification and oxygen depletion join forces to form a “deadly trio”, marine species are particularly at risk to climate change.

2080-2100 (long term period)

An identified risk is flooding in settlement areas, which affects human lives and high economic losses. This is due to an increasing urbanization and increasing sea level and peak river discharges.

Reduced water availability is also an identified risk and is characterized by significant water availability from river abstraction and from groundwater resources combined with increased water demand. 

Another risk is heat waves which results in high economic losses. Human lives are also affected by heat events, which have effects on health issues, impacts on welfare, labor productivity, agricultural production and air quality.

For the sector energy refer to the Kopernikus projects. Within the” Koperniukus projects for the energy economy”, Academics, Economy and the civil society developed common solutions for the alteration of the energy economy.  It is the most important research initiative by Federal Ministry of Education and Research  (BMBF), in which new energy systems and concepts are being developed.

The rain forest is an essential CO2-sotrage. A brasilian-german cooperation made the construction of a measurement tower “Amazonian Tall Tower Observatory (ATTO)“ in the Amazon rainforest area possible, in which data for hazard potential and the importance of the forest fort he climate can be collected. Furthermore results can be data for greenhouse balancing such as data for the correlation of land surface with the atmosphere. 

Liveable and competitive cities need functioning infrastructures. Urban populations are, however, rising so rapidly that many local administrations are unable to provide adequate systems for the provision of electricity, water, sewerage etc. Cities in emerging and developing countries are particularly affected by these challenges, as they are often already under-supplied. The research project Rapid Planning will now develop instruments that allow rapidly growing urban centres to offer potential solutions for improved management within a short period of time.

The project COMTESS evaluates the consequences of climate change on conventional and innovative and assesses ecological, economic and sociological analyses.