"Climate, humans and the sea" is the title of the Oldenburg Climate Days 2024, which will culminate in an evening lecture by Ottmar Edenhofer, an expert on the economics of climate change, on 11 September.
The symposium with renowned researchers from Germany and abroad will begin on Tuesday in the University's Lecture Centre, jointly organised with the Helmholtz Institute for Functional Marine Biodiversity at the University of Oldenburg and in co-operation with the University Society. The German-language lecture by Prof. Dr Ottmar Edenhofer will also take place in the Lecture 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 of the University of Oldenburg.
Can and must we humans soon remove greenhouse gases from the atmosphere on a large scale in order to achieve the targets agreed in the 2015 Paris Climate Agreement? This is the question addressed in Edenhofer's lecture "Global carbon management and planetary waste disposal". According to Edenhofer's analysis, the voluntary commitments made by states are hardly enough to adequately counter man-made climate change and limit global warming to 1.5 degrees Celsius. According to this, in the second half of the century, the aforementioned "rubbish collection" will probably have to take place, i.e. CO2 removal on a large scale - so-called negative emissions. In his lecture, Edenhofer sheds light on whether the technologies for this are ready in time, what they could be and what rules are needed to meet the "huge challenge" of global carbon management.
Broad programme for science
The Climate Days offer a wide-ranging programme, especially for scientists. The programme includes eight specialist lectures in English by researchers from countries such as the USA, Australia and the Netherlands. There will also be workshops with and for researchers at the start of their scientific careers as well as creative interactions at the interface between art and science.
"The Climate Days are another very special event to mark the university's 50th anniversary," says President Prof Dr Ralph Bruder. "Our marine and biodiversity research is one of the biggest beacons that the university has. It contributes significantly to the international visibility of our location. The Climate Days will once again make our campus a meeting place for leading climate researchers from several continents."
"We bring together the natural and social sciences, so 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 working 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 Ocean Decade with the Climate Days."
"The theme of this year's Oldenburg Climate Days affects us all - after all, the oceans cover 70 per cent of our blue planet and play an important role for the climate," emphasises the Chair of the Universitätsgesellschaft Oldenburg e.V. (UGO), Wiebke Schneidewind. "That's why I'm delighted that the symposium is also offering programmes for the general public in addition to specialist events." In addition to Edenhofer's lecture, this includes a film evening - although this is already fully booked: "Cine k" is showing the documentary "Arctic 2" about the work of an international team that set off for the North Pole on the research icebreaker "Polarstern". This will be followed by a discussion with two researchers who were on board.
The Oldenburg Climate Days have been held every two years since 2022 - in future, each time with a new focus in the title and programme alongside "Climate" and "People".
