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RCP-8.5: Business-As-Usual or Unrealistic Worst-Case? The contested interpretation of climate change scenarios

By Felix Schaumann

RCP-8.5 is not only the arguably most popular climate change scenario, it is also often framed in a very specific manner: as the business-as-usual trajectory that humanity is on if no climate change policies are adopted.

For an academic discipline that actively tries to be policy-relevant, climate science in the context of the IPCC is often weirdly inaccessible. An example of this is the rather cryptic naming of climate scenarios that form the backbone of IPCC reports and many climate modelling studies: names range from SSP1-1.9 to SSP5-8.5. A specific element of these mysterious scenarios – the so-called RCP-8.5 – has been the focus of a rather fierce academic debate.

Yet, more than being a somewhat nerdy scientific debate, the controversy around RCP-8.5 actually points to some fundamental disagreements about the communication of climate futures. Continue reading RCP-8.5: Business-As-Usual or Unrealistic Worst-Case? The contested interpretation of climate change scenarios

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Kontaktabbruch ist ein Irrweg

von Michael Brüggemann

Russland pauschal canceln, bringt erst recht keinen Frieden. Das sollte man nicht vergessen. Ein Gastbeitrag.

Joe Biden hat Wladimir Putin schon im März 2021 richtig eingeschätzt: He is a killer. Dem gibt es wenig hinzuzufügen. In Deutschland haben viele die russische Regierung falsch eingeschätzt und zu lange auf Appeasement, Gasimporte und zurückhaltende Diplomatie gesetzt und Putins militärische Interventionen in den Nachbarstaaten toleriert. Nun beeilen sich alle Akteure, Stellung zu beziehen.

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A Short Personal Guide to Climate Change Conversations

by Eduardo Alastrué de Asenjo

As natural scientists, we hopefully learn multiple concepts about uncertainty throughout our education and research, and, at some point, the time will come when we need to put them into practice. This post comes from the necessity of a first approach to assemble some of the multiple guidelines and recommendations that we receive regarding climate change communication. I am not referring particularly to the topic of communication in newspapers or TV, but to a much more mundane request. In this case, my goal is to have a structured set of rules or steps that a natural scientist working on climate change can follow when trying to address a day-to-day conversation on the topic.

Picture taken from Pexels. Author: Oleg Magni

Continue reading A Short Personal Guide to Climate Change Conversations

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Workshop: Redefining the Boundaries of Science and Journalism in the Debate on Climate Change

by Fenja De Silva-Schmidt

As a kick-off for a new research project, the research team of Prof. Michael Brüggemann organized a workshop at the University of Hamburg from June 21 to 23. The team discussed the changing roles of science and politics in times of post-normal science communication with national and international guests.

Continue reading Workshop: Redefining the Boundaries of Science and Journalism in the Debate on Climate Change