Dealing with Climate Change Impacts

Avoiding the unmanageable, managing the unavoidable – even with ambitious climate mitigation, the impacts of climate change will be felt in this century. They have been programmed into the natural system by our greenhouse gas emissions: carbon dioxide remains in the atmosphere for hundreds and even thousands of years. From global sea-level rise to extreme events like floods or droughts, the third Potsdam Summer School from 5 – 14 September 2016 will focus on long-term climate change impacts and the challenge of dealing with them.

Any kind of assessment of long-term hazards is based on knowledge of the natural processes within the climate system, quantification by computer models and scenario analysis and must be supplemented by a risk assessment to evaluate the impacts in respect of potential mitigation measures. Participants at the 2016 Potsdam Summer School will learn to assess long-term hazards and conduct risk assessments to evaluate impacts and identify potential mitigation measures for impacts ranging from Arctic warming over sea-level rise to Amazon dieback. An intense ten-day programme will address four major topics.

The issues span a multitude of natural and social science disciplines and invite stakeholders from the public and private sector to get involved. The programme will comprise lectures, various discussion formats, and interactive project activities, including hands-on demonstrations, workshops, and group projects.

In partnership with the City of Potsdam, the 2016 Potsdam Summer School will be jointly organised by the Alfred Wegener Institute, Helmholtz Centre for Polar and Marine Research (AWI), the Helmholtz-Centre Potsdam – GFZ German Research Centre for Geosciences, the Institute for Advanced Sustainability Studies (IASS), the Potsdam Institute for Climate Impact Research (PIK), and the University of Potsdam.

The deadline for submitting completed applications will be 15 April 2016. Here you can find more information