“Climate, People and the Sea” – this is the theme of the 2024 Oldenburg Climate Symposium. The public highlight and, at the same time, the closing event will be an evening lecture by Ottmar Edenhofer, an expert on the economics of climate change, on 11 September.
The symposium, featuring renowned researchers from Germany and abroad, begins on Tuesday in the University’s Lecture Theatre Centre. It is jointly organised with the Helmholtz Institute for Functional Marine Biodiversity at the University of Oldenburg and in co-operation with the University Society. Prof. Dr Ottmar Edenhofer’s German-language lecture will also take place at the University’s Lecture Theatre Centre on Wednesday from 7.30 pm. The Director and Chief Economist of the Potsdam Institute for Climate Impact Research is one of the world’s leading experts on the economics of climate change. He is also a member of the University Council at the University of Oldenburg.
Can we – and must we – soon begin removing greenhouse gases from the atmosphere on a large scale in order to still achieve the targets agreed in the 2015 Paris Agreement? This is the question at the heart of Edenhofer’s lecture, ‘Global Carbon Management and Planetary Waste Collection’. According to Edenhofer’s analysis, voluntary commitments by nations are hardly sufficient to adequately tackle man-made climate change and limit global warming to 1.5 degrees Celsius as far as possible. Consequently, the so-called ‘rubbish collection’ – that is, large-scale CO₂ removal, or so-called negative emissions – will likely be needed in the second half of the century. In his lecture, Edenhofer examines whether the necessary technologies will be available in time, what forms they might take, and what regulations are needed to meet the “enormous challenge” of global carbon management.
A wide-ranging programme for the scientific community
The Climate Symposium offers a wide-ranging programme, particularly for the scientific community. Among other things, eight specialist lectures in English are planned, delivered by researchers from countries such as the USA, Australia and the Netherlands. In addition, there will be workshops with and for researchers at the start of their scientific careers, as well as creative interactions at the intersection of art and science.
“The Climate Symposium is yet another very special event to mark the University’s 50th anniversary,” said President Prof. Dr Ralph Bruder. “Our marine and biodiversity research is one of the university’s greatest flagships. It contributes significantly to the international visibility of our institution. Thanks to the Climate Symposium, our campus will once again become a meeting place for leading climate researchers from several continents.”
“We bring together the natural and social sciences; accordingly, our focus is on the role of the oceans both for the climate and for us humans,” adds HIFMB Director Prof. Dr Helmut Hillebrand, who is also head of the Planktology Research Group at the university. “The United Nations has dedicated the current decade to marine research for sustainable development – and we are delighted to be part of the UN Decade of the Ocean through the Climate Symposium.”
“The theme of this year’s Oldenburg Climate Symposium concerns us all – after all, the oceans cover 70 per cent of our blue planet and play a vital role in the climate,” emphasises Wiebke Schneidewind, Chair of the University Society of Oldenburg e.V. (UGO). “That is why I am delighted that, alongside specialist events, the symposium also has activities on offer for the general public.” In addition to Edenhofer’s lecture, these include a film evening – which is, however, already fully booked: ‘Cine k’ is screening the documentary ‘Arktis 2’, which follows the work of an international team that set off for the North Pole aboard the research icebreaker ‘Polarstern’. This will be followed by a panel discussion with two researchers who were part of the expedition.
The Oldenburg Climate Symposium has been held every two years since 2022 – and in future, alongside ‘Climate’ and ‘People’, each edition will feature a new focus in its title and programme.