Shaping climate futures: The social drivers of deep decarbonization

22 May 2023, by Antje Katzschner

Photo: DWIH

Presentation of Hamburg Climate Futures Outlook 2023 at German House in New York

The recently published Hamburg Climate Future Outlook 2023 was central to the expert discussion, held at German House in New York on 16th May, an event jointly organized by the German Center for Research and Innovation (DWIH) and Universität Hamburg

The high-ranking and diverse expert panel consisting of Anita Engels, Andrés López-Rivera, Jan Wilkens (all Universität Hamburg’s Cluster of Excellence “Climate, Climatic Change, and Society” (CLICCS)), Johanna Lovecchio (Columbia University) and Samira Siddique (Climate Museum New York) discussed the plausibility of and ways forward to shape a positive climate future. Special attention of the discussion was on the role of underserved and marginalized communities, whose knowledge and potential in contributing to a sustainable and resilient future is often overlooked.

Within the presented study UHH researchers found, that reaching the goal of limiting global warming to 1.5 degrees Celsius is currently not plausible. They found that social drivers play a key role in meeting the temperature goals set in Paris, but current actions are insufficient. Physical tipping points have limited influence on these goals, but are important in shaping the conditions for life on earth. According to the study, the best hope for shaping a positive climate future lies in the ability of society to make fundamental changes.