Climate Crisis
The temperature on Earth is influenced by the greenhouse effect: greenhouse gases in the atmosphere reflect heat from the Earth's surface back to Earth, raising the global mean temperature to 15°C instead of chilly -18°C.
However, the concentration of the greenhouse gas CO2 has increased by more than 50% since the beginning of the industrial revolution in 1850 and was at a new record of 417ppm in 2022 [1]. The increase in CO2 concentration in the last 60 years is thus 100 times greater than the increase during the natural warming at the end of the last cold period 11,000-17,000 years ago [1].
As a result, the earth’s mean temperature is rising at an alarming rate. The global mean temperature in 2011-2020 was 1.09°C higher than in 1850-1900 [2]. In the last 100,000 years, similar temperatures only occurred during the Atlantic period around 6500 years ago. However, the temperature increase during the Atlantic period was caused by a different level of solar radiation and happened much slower than today [2]. Today, humans are the main drivers of climate change: By using fossil fuels and producing emissions from agriculture and industry, humans already contributed 1.07°C to global warming; natural drivers influenced the climate by only -0.1°C to 0.1°C [2]. This is why we now speak of an anthropogenic climate change.
Tipping points are critical thresholds in the climate system. If tipping points are reached, drastic and irreversible climate changes can occur, which can even intensify climate change. Many possible tipping points are known, e.g.:
Causes of Climate Change
Tipping Points
Effects
The effects of climate change are very diverse and vary greatly from region to region. But in principle, the following impacts can be expected:
- Increase in the frequency, severity and duration of extreme events such as droughts, storms, heavy precipitation events, floods and heat waves. This also affects ecosystems on land and in water. With a warming of 2°C, 18% of all terrestrial life could become extinct [2]. A decrease in biodiversity also endangers our livelihoods. Particularly in areas that are already at risk, extreme events can lead to considerable damage to infrastructures and even make them uninhabitable [2]. This primarily affects people, who contribute relatively little to climate change.
- Threats to food production and access to clean drinking water: Food production is increasingly threatened by higher temperatures, an increase in extreme events and pest infestations. In addition, the availability of drinking water will decrease, especially after the melting of glaciers [2]. Here, too, the Global South is particularly affected.
- Health risk: Heat waves and increased occurrence of smog in cities as well as the spread of diseases will endanger our health [2].
What can we do?
The unsustainable use of resources is the main driver of climate change. The implementation of the sustainability concept in all areas of society as well as the protection of natural ecosystems is therefore urgently needed. Strengthening social networks and international cooperation can mitigate regionally unevenly distributed impacts and social inequalities. The earlier climate protection and adaptation measures are implemented, the higher the probability that we can stop warming at 1.5-2°C and the lower the damage to the environment and society [2].
Climate action plan University 2030
- NOAA: Global Monitoring Lab. https://gml.noaa.gov/ccgg/trends/, as of 31/08/23.
- IPCC (2021): Summary for Policymakers. In: Climate Change 2021: The Physical Science Basis. Contribution of Working Group I to the Sixth Assessment Report of the Intergovernmental Panel on Climate Change [Masson-Delmotte, V., P. Zhai, A. Pirani, S.L. Connors, C. Péan, S. Berger, N. Caud, Y. Chen, L. Goldfarb, M.I. Gomis, M. Huang, K. Leitzell, E. Lonnoy, J.B.R. Matthews, T.K. Maycock, T. Waterfield, O. Yelekçi, R. Yu, and B. Zhou (Hrsg.)]. Cambridge University Press, Cambridge, United Kingdom and New York, NY, USA, pp. 3−32. doi:10.1017/9781009157896.001.
- IPCC (2019): Summary for Policymakers. In: IPCC Special Report on the Ocean and Cryosphere in a Changing Climate [H.-O. Pörtner, D.C. Roberts, V. Masson-Delmotte, P. Zhai, M. Tignor, E. Poloczanska, K. Mintenbeck, A. Alegría, M. Nicolai, A. Okem, J. Petzold, B. Rama, N.M. Weyer (Hrsg.)]. Cambridge University Press, Cambridge, UK and New York, NY, USA, pp. 3–35. doi:10.1017/9781009157964.001.
- Schuur, E.; McGuire, A.; Schädel, C.; Grosse, G.; Harde, J. W.; Hayes, D. J.; Hugelius, G.; Koven, C. D.; Kuhry, P.; Lawrence, D. M.; Natali, S. M.; Olefedt, D.; Romanovsky, V. E.; Schaefer, K.; Turetsky, M. r.; Treat, C.C.; Vonk, J. E. (2015): Climate change and the permafrost carbon feedback. Nature 520, pp. 171–179. doi:10.1038/nature14338.
- Doney, S. C.; Ruckelshaus, M.; Duffy, E. J.; Barry, J. P.; Chan, F.; English, C. A.; Galindo, H. M.; Grebmeier, J. M.; Hollowed, A. N.; Knowlton, N.; Polovina, J.; Rabalais, N. N.; Sydeman, W. J.; Talley, L. D. (2012): Climate Change Impacts on Marine Ecosystems. Annual Review of Marine Science 4, pp. 11-37. doi:10.1146/annurev-marine-041911-111611.
- Gruber, N.; Bakker, D. C. E.; DeVries, T.; Gregor, L.; Hauck, J.; Landschützer, P.; McKinley, G. A.; Müller, J. D. (2023): Trends and variability in the ocean carbon sink. Nature Reviews Earth & Environment 4, pp. 119-134. doi:10.1038/s43017-022-00381-x.
Contact - Green Office
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Sustainability Coordinator
Marco Lange, Coordinator of the Green OfficePhone: 0551 39-21356
Email: marco.lange@zvw.uni-goettingen.de
Staff
Tabea Kothe, Student of GeographyE-Mail: tabea.kothe@zvw.uni-goettingen.de
Anna von Borcke, Student of Ethnology and Sociology
E-Mail: anna.borcke@zvw.uni-goettingen.de
Hannah Kalden, Student of Philosophy
E-Mail: hannah.kalden@zvw.uni-goettingen.de