Research stories

Actually, it’s all pretty straightforward: the European Union has set itself the goal of becoming climate-neutral by 2055, while Germany wants to do so by 2045. Accordingly, it has ratified a Climate Change Act and corresponding regulations are in place. For example, greenhouse gases are to be gradually reduced and climate...

How do you feel when you see the status quo in the Harz? Shock or sadness at the countless withered spruces? Hope, when you see a single green tree? Or nostalgia, because you’ve been atop the Brocken before? Individual perspectives on the dying trees can influence e.g. whether and how people support the forest or climate...

Due to climate change, extreme weather events like flooding, torrential rains and droughts will become more frequent. In cities like Hamburg, the citizenry and municipal authorities increasingly face the challenge of coping with these water-related risks. But what would Hamburg look like if it adapted to climate change? And...

Ever since I was 18, when I saw a poster that said “Polar Meteorology” during an open house day at the University of Hamburg, the Antarctic has been my greatest dream. From then on, I did everything I could to make that dream come true. Today, as a member of the University of Hamburg’s Center for Earth System Research and...

Canoes, sailboats and freighters drift by, while the surface of the Elbe glitters. At first glance, you can’t see the problems. Hamburg’s harbour is deepened by dredging to allow fully loaded container ships to enter. But this costs a lot, produces more CO2 and harms the ecosystem. Is there another way?

Everybody’s talking about it, many are promising to deliver it, and a few are making serious efforts to do so: sustainability. It’s a term that people around the world use for orientation, but which often serves as nothing more than a mantra. After all, being sustainable ultimately means maintaining equilibrium between the...