Prof. Dr. Stefan Aykut presents the findings of the Hamburg Climate Futures Outlook on options for societal transformation. The lecture will be held in English.

The global shift towards climate neutrality has been passed as a political resolution and can be made feasible with technologically. However, this does not necessarily translate into direct implementation, and we even observe recurring setbacks at the moment. As a result, the gap to attain the internationally agreed objective to hold global warming to well below 2°C and if possible, to 1.5°C, relative to pre-industrial levels, is growing bigger.

In light of these problems, the Hamburg Cluster of Excellence CLICCS (Climate, Climatic Change, and Society) has developed a systematic framework to analyze social and political drivers of a global transformation towards climate neutrality, and to assess which climate futures are plausible based on the dynamics of those drivers.

The lecture will present the findings of the latest study released in 2023 in the annual Hamburg Climate Futures Outlook. Subsequently, the outcome of the assessment of plausibility regarding the objective to attain the 1.5°C temperature goal and the societal obstacles will be discussed, as well as what may leverage a social-ecological transformation. Attention will be paid both to the global extent and the German approach to climate change.

The event is organized by the M.A. Transformation Studies and M. Eng. Energy and Environmental Management. Admission is free.

Read the Hamburg Climate Futures Outlook 2023