Vorlesung: Scientific Update on the State of the Planet

It is increasingly clear that humanity, our world is not only in the Anthropocene, we are deep into this new epoch, where human activities constitute the largest driver of planetary change. The Anthropocene is no longer only about rising human pressures on the planet. For the first time we are seeing signs of Earth losing resilience, leading to an accelerated rate of global warming. We face a dangerous mix of increased Earth system forcing (e.g., rising heat injection) and Earth system feedbacks (e.g., changes in Albedo, carbon uptake on land, and shifts in cloud dynamics). Together this confirms the dangers of breaching seven of the nine Planetary boundaries that regulate the stability and resilience of the Earth system. And these first indications of Earth losing resilience come before the crossing of large tipping points. The challenge is that these are approaching fast. Six of the 16 scientifically established climate tipping elements are likely to be crossed when exceeding 1.5°C of GMST, a temperature that inevitably will be breached within the coming 3-5 years. Our challenge is to minimize overshoot and do everything we can to avoid tipping points to be crossed.

 

Vorlesungssprache ist englisch.

anschl. Umtrunk im Foyer des Hörsaalgebäudes

Veranstaltungsort: Universität zu Köln, Hörsaal B (Hörsaalgebäude)