Topic area: Animal and plant world

Plants photosynthesise and need light, water, CO₂, nutrients and certain temperature conditions to grow. In this respect, increasing the CO₂ concentration in the air could be seen as something positive, i.e. a kind of fertilisation that leads to increased growth. CO₂ fertilisation is indeed also used successfully in greenhouse crops. However, my presentation will show that this effect cannot be transferred to the open field.

Prof Dr Gerhard Zotz / University of Oldenburg, Institute of Biology and Environmental Sciences

The video input and the climate talk are suitable for 9th-13th grade & BBS.

Topic area: Climate in everyday life

Have you ever felt fear, sadness, anger, insecurity or helplessness when thinking about the climate crisis? Have you ever longed for someone who understands you out of sheer world-weariness? Can you relate to terms such as #ecoanxiety, #climate anxiety and #flightshame? Or would you simply like to take a closer look at the psychological consequences of climate change? Then my talk on "Climate change and the psyche" is just the thing for you.

I am Hannah, 27 years old and have been studying the Sustainability Economics & Management degree programme for the last 2 years. I have just submitted my Master's thesis on "The mental consequences of climate change for students in Germany" to the Chair of Ecological Economics at the University of Oldenburg. For the master's thesis, I also conducted a study with over 800 participants aged 17-30.

On the project day, I want to show you that you are not alone with your fears, worries or anger about climate change - because the results of my study clearly show that. You will find out what else I have found out, how psychologists assess the whole thing and what my own conclusions are on the subject. We can also explore, share and discuss your feelings or questions about the climate crisis together. I will try to give you tips on how to stay positive and not lose heart despite the omnipresent psychological stress and I look forward to the exchange!

Hannah Klenk / University of Oldenburg, Sustainability Economics & Management

The video input and the climate talk are suitable for 9th-13th grade & BBS.

Topic area: Food & land use, flora & fauna

Numerous actors are promoting the planting of trees and the protection of forests as measures to combat climate change. They come from business, science, politics and NGOs. However, forests continue to be destroyed on a large scale worldwide. In many regions, smallholder land use and the use of forests by indigenous peoples is being restricted by deforestation and often also by forest protection measures. What impact does it have on the forest and the people who live from the forest if forest protection measures do not address the causes of deforestation? And what does the interest of oil companies in protecting forests and planting trees have to do with their core business?

Jutta Kill / World Rainforest Movement

The video input and the climate talk are suitable for 11th-13th grade & BBS.

Subject area: Climate science

The climate of the Earth's history has repeatedly fluctuated between greenhouse and icehouse conditions. How do we know this? What factors have led to these fluctuations? And how do these natural climate fluctuations differ from the warming we observe today?

Answers to these questions are provided by the sediments on the sea floor and the information stored in them. The lecture will explain the methods used in climate and marine research and the current status of the questions outlined above.

Prof Dr Katharina Pahnke / University of Oldenburg, Institute of Chemistry and Biology of the Marine Environment (ICBM)

The video input and the climate talk are suitable for 9th-13th grade & BBS.

Topic area: Economy & Politics

We've probably all heard it many times at climate demos: "WHAT DO WE WANT?", "CLIMATE JUSTICE!". But for many, the question echoes. What do we actually want? What is this "climate justice" that is so often talked about?

To answer this question, we will take a journey together through the world, into the past and into the human mind. We look at the many facets of social sustainability and try to develop possible courses of action together to minimise global injustices.

Florian Lotties / Climate class

The video input and the climate talk are suitable for 9th-13th grade & BBS.

Topic area: Energy & transport

In 2020, more electricity was generated from renewable energies in Germany than ever before. With a 52.7% share of net electricity generation, renewables now have the upper hand over fossil fuels. However, renewables are still underrepresented in the heating and transport sectors. What expansion potential is still available? Can the climate targets be achieved through the use of renewable energies alone?

Prof. Dr.-Ing. Iván Herráez / Emden/Leer University of Applied Sciences, Department of Technology

The video input and the climate talk are suitable for 9th-13th grade & BBS.

Topic area: Flora & fauna / Sea, water, coast

Rapid climate change poses a particular challenge for marine and terrestrial organisms. They can either move to new habitats ("move"), adapt to the new conditions ("adapt"), or they will not be able to survive ("die"). In this presentation, I will summarise how the composition of marine and terrestrial species communities is already changing under climate change - and what changes we can expect in the future. In particular, I will discuss how climate and other human interventions influence the diversity of life (biodiversity), with a focus on marine life.

Prof Dr Helmut Hillebrand / University of Oldenburg, Institute of Chemistry and Biology of the Marine Environment (ICBM)

The video input and the climate talk are suitable for 9th-13th grade & BBS.

Topic area: Climate in everyday life

We have been a throwaway society for many years and waste can now be found everywhere in nature. But that doesn't have to be the case, because waste can also be useful. I present the example of used tyre recycling and mobile phone recycling and illustrate what can be done with the materials. I also show what recycling has to do with saving the climate. After all, waste is our source of raw materials for tomorrow.

Dr Alexandra Pehlken / OFFIS e.V., Production

The video input and the climate talk are suitable for 9th-10th grade.

Subject area: Sea, water, coast / climate science

It was the largest Arctic expedition of all time: In autumn 2019, the German research icebreaker Polarstern froze in the Arctic sea ice and drifted through the Arctic Ocean for months. On the unique MOSAiC expedition, we, scientists from 20 nations, explored the Arctic over the course of the seasons. A research camp was set up on an ice floe to study the ocean, sea ice, snow and atmosphere in this extreme icy landscape. The better we understand this Arctic climate system, the more accurately climate models can predict climate change in our region. We were part of the MOSAiC expedition from January to June as a physical oceanographer and sea ice physicist. Our presentation will cover many exciting measurements, but also the special working conditions - in the freezing cold, in the dark and far away from everyday life at home.

Dr Stefanie Arndt, Dr Janin Schaffer / Alfred Wegener Institute Helmholtz Centre for Polar and Marine Research

The video input and the climate talk are suitable for 9th-13th grade & BBS.

Topic area: Economy & politics

In recent decades, the massive use of fossil fuels has enabled immense economic growth and material prosperity for large parts of the world's population. However, this was and is associated with an enormous increase in greenhouse gas emissions. This is why the current economic system is increasingly being called into question. In my presentation, I will therefore address the following questions: Can a growing economy go hand in hand with a climate-neutral economy? What could alternative economic practices and solutions to the climate problem look like? What concrete approaches are there for changes towards a less growth-dependent and climate-neutral economy?

Prof Dr Bernd Siebenhüner / University of Oldenburg, School II, Department of Economics and Law

The video input and the climate talk are suitable for 9th-13th grade & BBS.

Topic area: Climate in everyday life / Economy & politics

Imagine if every smartphone had a small chimney attached to it that quietly steams away in standby mode and really kicks in when streaming. Not only would it look funny, it would also be quite a burden for us and our environment. In fact, we consume more resources and burden more people with our little companions than many of us realise. The virtual rucksack of emissions, used raw materials and future electronic waste that we carry around with us is often out of sight - but we want to bring it back to mind with this presentation. We will follow the journey of a smartphone from production to disposal. At every stage of consumption, we are faced with decisions that can contribute to or reduce the burden on natural and social systems. At the same time, however, our resources and our room for manoeuvre are limited - sustainable consumption is often also a question of incentives. The fact that smart can also be green should not only be demonstrated on the basis of product features, but also via a growing number of apps and platforms that support more sustainable behaviour in everyday life. What contribution does your smartphone make? On the project day itself, we want to share our experiences of smartphone use and, optionally, get the discussion going with a decision-making experiment.

Markus Allbauer-Jürgensen, Gwen Schreiber / Carl von Ossietzky University of Oldenburg, Institute for Economics Education

The video input and the climate talk are suitable for 9th-13th grade & BBS.

Topic area: Climate in everyday life

Since the beginning of 2019, we at Klasse Klima have been helping pupils to take action for the climate! In our contribution to ClimateKnowledge 2021, we start by refreshing the basics of the greenhouse effect, determine the extent to which we ourselves contribute to climate change, learn which everyday behaviour accounts for the largest share of our CO2 emissions and consider how an ideal climate-friendly person would behave. Of course, we also look at how we can behave in a more climate-friendly way ourselves and how the school can become a climate-friendly place!

Further information can be found on the project's website www.klasse-klima.de.

Tobias Bach, Tina Werner / BUNDjugend, Klasse Klima (https://www.klasse-klima.de/)

The video input and the climate talk are suitable for 9th-10th grade.

Topic area: Nutrition & land use

In my presentation, I will shed light on the connection between our diet and climate change. I will provide answers to the following questions: How does our diet influence climate change? What impact does climate change have on our agriculture? And what can a climate-friendly diet look like?

Judith Busch / Nutrition Council Oldenburg

The video input and the climate talk are suitable for 9th-13th grade & BBS.

Subject area: Sea, water, coast / climate science

Greenland, the largest island on our planet, is over 80% covered by ice. This huge ice sheet is one of the most important elements of our climate system. For a long time it was regarded as untouchable - as "eternal ice". However, the man-made developments of the last 150 years have also left their mark on Greenland: the glaciers are melting, the sea around the island has warmed and even in the centre of the ice sheet, at an altitude of 3000 metres, temperatures of over 0°C are being measured more and more frequently in summer. This has various consequences not only for Greenland and its population, but for the entire planet Earth and therefore also for northern Germany. In my presentation, I will discuss these climatic developments and consequences. I will also give an insight into what it is like to research and live on the ice for several weeks at temperatures as low as -40°C.

Nicolas Stoll / Alfred Wegener Institute Helmholtz Centre for Polar and Marine Research, Geosciences - Glaciology

The video input and the climate talk are suitable for 9th-13th grade & BBS.

Subject area: Climate science

The following contents are addressed in the article:

• What is temperature?
• the different types of warming (conduction, radiation)
• Radiation balance of the atmosphere
• the greenhouse gases (H₂O, CO₂, CH₄,...)
• the natural greenhouse effect, the change caused by humans
• Change in the radiation balance due to the climate effect
• the perspectives depending on human behaviour
• How nature deals with CO₂: the CO₂ cycle (sources and sinks), changes to the balance caused by humans: fewer sinks (deforestation), increase in sources (burning of oil, gas, coal).

Prof Dr Michael Schlaak / Emden-Leer University of Applied Sciences

The video input and the climate talk are suitable for 9th-13th grade & BBS.

Topic area: Climate change & climate consequences

After an introduction to climate change, the IPCC 1.5 degree report is used to show where we stand and what the consequences of a further increase in greenhouse gases would be. From this, it is deduced why a rise in global temperatures should definitely be limited to 1.5 degrees. Subsequently, studies by Agora-Energiewende and the Wuppertal Institute will present what needs to be done to achieve this limitation.

The article will focus on the scientifically proven connections between greenhouse gas emissions and their climatic consequences.

Dr Bernhard Stoevesandt / Fraunhofer Institute for Wind Energy Systems (IWES)

The video input and the climate talk are suitable for 9th-13th grade & BBS.

Topic area: Flora & fauna

Most plant and animal species are adapted to very specific climatic conditions. Due to the ongoing warming and shifting of climate zones, range changes and rapid migratory movements have already become necessary and measurable for many organisms. This applies to migration to higher, cooler latitudes as well as high-altitude migration in mountainous regions. There are organisms that can cope well with this, but for many others it is to be feared that they will not be able to keep up with rapid global warming and will die out. This makes it even more likely that invasive organisms from other continents will push into the resulting gaps. The lecture will present botanical and zoological research on this topic, explain the techniques used and outline the consequences of climate change that can be expected in the coming decades.

Dr Klaus Bernhard von Hagen / University of Oldenburg, Botanical Garden

The video input and the climate talk are suitable for 9th-13th grade & BBS.

Topic area: Economy & Politics

Climate policy is a complex issue. The issues discussed are complicated and intertwined with so many other policy areas that it is difficult to understand the various interests and resulting decisions. A game can help you immerse yourself in a complex world and understand the players and positions.

In the board game "Keep Cool" and the online game "Keep Cool mobil", players become actors in climate policy. During the game, you are responsible for how climate change develops. Your task is to find a balance between a sustainable economy in your country and effective climate protection. In the presentation, I will introduce the games, describe the advantages and discuss the critical aspects of our playful approach.

Nils Marscheider / University of Oldenburg, Economics of the Commons

The video input and the climate talk are suitable for 9th-13th grade & BBS.

Theme area: Sea, water, coast / flora & fauna

The deep sea begins below the light-flooded part of the sea. Not only the darkness, but also the high pressure and low food supply make this place seem hostile to life. But the deep sea is not only a habitat for fascinating creatures such as vampire squid, isopod spiders and brittle stars. It is also involved in key processes such as nutrient cycles and carbon storage. Environmental changes due to climate change can lead to changes in biodiversity and nutrient cycles in the deep sea, for example. With regard to the Arctic deep-sea regions, the Fram Strait between Greenland and Svalbard is of particular importance. It is the only deep waterway between the northern Atlantic and the central Arctic Ocean, which ensures the exchange of large volumes of water. The Alfred Wegner Institute for Polar and Marine Research (AWI) established the HAUSGARTEN Observatory 20 years ago in order to better research the effects of climate change in the Fram Strait. Permanently installed measuring stations and annual on-site investigations provide essential data on changes caused by climate change - from the sea surface to the deep sea floor. Using the Fram Strait as an example, in this lecture I will highlight the consequences of climate change for the Arctic deep sea and why these also directly affect humans.

Melissa Käß, Jannik Schnier / Alfred Wegener Institute Helmholtz Centre for Polar and Marine Research, HGF-MPG Bridge Group for Deep-Sea Ecology and Technology

The video input and the climate talk are suitable for 9th-10th grade.

Topic area: Climate in everyday life / Economy & politics

Dear students, climate change is an indisputable scientific fact that will not only affect you, but also future generations to a great extent. Ecological and social disasters are already on the horizon if we do not learn to make sustainable use of the increasingly scarce resources available to us. On the other hand, companies are keen to produce many products with a short lifespan so that people always have to buy new appliances and goods. The result is not only that we are leaving a devastated and depleted planet for future generations, but that we are already flooding our oceans with waste. But what can we do about it? On the project day, we would like to develop ideas with you on how to deal with short lifespans (so-called obsolescence), how to enable a culture of repair and thus increase the useful life of objects, and how school and learning can be rethought. We look forward to exchanging ideas with you.

Dr Jan Landherr, Dr Katharina Dutz, Henrike Haverkamp / Carl von Ossietzky University of Oldenburg, Institute of Physics, Technical Education working group

The video input and the climate talk are suitable for 9th-13th grade & BBS.

Topic area: Energy & transport

Car sharing is a way of sharing resources and thus protecting the climate, and is offered in various models. But how should car sharing be organised to make it attractive to as many people as possible, and where are the limits? This presentation looks at the car sharing model from the perspective of users, providers and local authorities. The traffic consequences of CarSharing use for "moving" traffic and for parked traffic will be presented.

Klaus Göckler / cambio CarSharing Oldenburg

The video input and the climate talk are suitable for 9th-13th grade & BBS.

Topic area: Food & land use

Major climate damage around Oldenburg! But there's nothing to see.... people think, and that's a big problem. There are many moors in northern Germany, including around Oldenburg. They have been drained for a long time and are used for agriculture. But dry organic soils release the carbon bound in them and become CO₂ guzzlers. The solution: rewetting peatlands, all of them worldwide! Only with them as carbon reservoirs could the goals of the Paris Climate Agreement be achieved. Agriculture would not have to be abandoned, but it would have to change. Paludiculture is the sustainable use of wet land. Instead of maize for biogas on drained moorland, reeds, cattails etc. can be grown as raw materials for energy, building and packaging materials or fodder.

Susanne Abel / Greifswald Mire Centre

The video input and the climate talk are suitable for 9th-13th grade & BBS.

Topic area: Energy & Transport / Economy & Politics

Onshore wind turbines have been expanded in Germany for several years as a contribution to climate protection. Although these plants are now technologically mature and generate cheap electricity, they often meet with resistance and criticism locally. This often leads to major discussions and conflicts between those who install the turbines (so-called "developers") and local residents, nature conservation organisations and decision-makers in almost all regions in Germany. On the one hand, this lecture will shed light on the planning processes involved in the construction of new wind turbines: Which groups are involved in the process and how can they get involved? Secondly, the topic of "acceptance of wind energy" will be examined using examples from the Oldenburg region and the Uckermark in Brandenburg: Which issues often lead to conflicts? How do those involved deal with them and what solutions could there be? The presentation is based on the results of a research project at the University of Oldenburg, which is investigating the implementation of the energy transition in six regions in Germany.

Sebastian Rohe / Carl von Ossietzky University of Oldenburg, Institute of Social Sciences, "Organisation and Innovation" working group

The video input and the climate talk are suitable for 11th-13th grade & BBS.

Topic area: Climate change & climate impacts

The video lecture provides an overview of the causes of climate change (explanation of the greenhouse gas effect, sources of CO₂, overview of CO₂ concentration in the atmosphere compared to the last 800,000 years, increase in energy in our system), the effects (local and global climate effects, in particular heat waves, forest fires, increase in heavy rainfall events with the same increase in soil drought) and possible solutions (avoidance of fossil fuels, storage of CO₂, forest fires, increase in soil drought). heat waves, forest fires, increase in heavy rainfall events with the same increase in soil drought) and possible solutions (avoidance of fossil fuels, storage of CO₂ in the soil and in ecosystems, as well as adaptation measures such as greening measures to cool cities).

Yanna Badet / Silvestrum Climate Associates / Leuphana University

The video input and the climate talk are suitable for 9th-13th grade & BBS.

Topic area: Economy & politics

P.p. Fridays for Future Germany, the Wuppertal Institute analysed in 2020 how Germany can achieve the 1.5° target. We would like to present and discuss the results in our presentation. Major changes are needed quickly in all areas of society. The energy industry, as a key sector, must be converted to 100 per cent renewable energies. Industry must also play its part by switching to renewable energies and establishing a circular economy. A mobility transition can also reduce emissions through intelligent urban planning and a shift away from motorised private transport. In the building sector, this can be achieved through rapid and effective energy-efficient refurbishment of buildings.

Paul Hendrik Tiemann, Stephan Ferenz / Carl von Ossietzky University of Oldenburg, School II - Department of Computing Science, Division of Digitalised Energy Systems

The video input and the climate talk are suitable for 9th-13th grade & BBS.

Topic area: Energy & transport

When it comes to mobility, it is important to take as many people as possible with us. At the same time, it must be environmentally friendly, socially fair and affordable. Is this feasible? And if so, what framework conditions are required? The aim of this presentation is to show students the challenges facing cities and municipalities when it comes to achieving emission-free mobility. The example of the city of Oldenburg will be used to show which paths and measures are currently being taken to enable or offer emission-free mobility as far as possible in the area of urban transport. After all, the city council in Oldenburg has resolved to be a climate-neutral city by 2035.

Kerstin Goroncy / City of Oldenburg, Mobility Department / TeamRad

The video input and the climate talk are suitable for 9th-13th grade & BBS.

Topic area: Climate science

To mitigate climate change and the climate crisis, experts and laypeople need specialised knowledge. Climate knowledge. Experiments that can be carried out at school and at home play an important role in unlocking this knowledge. The presentation and talk will therefore focus on comprehensible experiments for secondary levels I and II, some of which can be carried out using kitchen utensils. They deal with sea level rise, atmospheric warming, atmospheric convection, the greenhouse effect, thermohaline circulation in the ocean and other phenomena that demonstrate climate change.

Prof Dr Michael Komorek, Dr Kai Bliesmer, Dr Christiane Richter, Dr Christin Sajons, Jonas Tischer / Carl von Ossietzky University Oldenburg, AG Didactics of Physics and Science Communication

The video input and the climate talk are suitable for 9th-13th grade & BBS.