How to understand the climate system
- FREE
- 31 min
- Englisch
- Interdisziplinär
- mit Zertifikat
What is the course about?
Climate change is a fact, and humankind is the main cause of it. The observed changes in the climate system cannot be explained without considering human activity, in particular the burning of coal, oil, and gas. This is why we need to phase out burning fossil fuels now.
Continued greenhouse gas emissions will cause further warming and changes in all components of the climate system. It will also increase the likelihood of severe, pervasive, and irreversible impacts for all societies and the ecosystems worldwide.
This raises the question of how mankind deals with climate change. To make good decisions, we need to predict how the climate will change in the future.
Predictions always entail uncertainty, and so do climate models. Nevertheless, some model predictions are robust and can serve as a basis for decision-making. The main unknown is society itself. That is why we have different scenarios with different assumptions about future decisions for or against climate protection.
Who created this course?
This course was produced by WWF Germany (World Wide Fund For Nature) in cooperation with DKK (Deutsches Klima-Konsortium/German Climate Consortium), and funded by the Federal Foreign Office Germany.
Course content
What will you learn?
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The Climate System and Its Components
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How Does the Natural Greenhouse Effect Work?
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The Anthropogenic Greenhouse Effect
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Fossil Fuels: The Basis of Our Economy
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Climate Models - A Glimpse into the Future
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Basis for Climate Model Computations
Course instructors
Prof. Dr. Mojib Latif
Prof. Dr Mojib Latif is head of the ‘Ocean Circulation and Climate Dynamics’ research division at the GEOMAR Helmholtz Centre for Ocean Research Kiel. He studied meteorology at Universität Hamburg. After obtaining his doctorate in oceanography, he was a private lecturer at the Max Planck Institute for Meteorology in Hamburg, before moving to Kiel in 2003. He is a co-author of the Third and Fourth Assessment Report of the IPCC.
Website: www.geomar.de
Prof. Dr. Jochem Marotzke
Prof. Dr Jochem Marotzke is a director at the Max Planck Institute for Meteorology (MPI-M), where he heads 'The Ocean in the Earth System' department, and professor at Universität Hamburg. He studied physics at the universities of Bonn, Copenhagen, and Kiel, and obtained his doctorate in physical oceanography in Kiel. He worked as coordinating lead author and lead author for the Fifth Assessment Report of the IPCC.
Website: www.mpimet.mpg.de
Prof. Dr. Sonja Peterson
Prof. Dr Sonja Peterson is Scientific Director of the Kiel Institute for the World Economy. She studied mathematical economics and economics at Universität Hamburg and the University of Colorado at Boulder and completed her PhD at Kiel University. Her current research topics include international and European environment and climate policy, bioenergy and land use, and environmental policy instruments. She is an expert on climate-economy modeling and computable general equilibrium (CGE) modeling.
Website: www.ifw-kiel.de
