Projects and Themes

The cluster will provide scientific answers to the question: Which climate futures are plausible, and how can desired climate futures be realized?

CLICCS's integrating approach characterizes climate futures by focusing on two key dynamics and their coupling: The natural dynamics of the climate system and the social dynamics of society, which are coupled through mitigation and adaptation efforts. Accordingly CLICCS is now structured in four themes, social dynamics, mitigation, natural dynamics and adaptation. It is brought alive through 17 projects, each investigating fundamental aspects of climate futures

Social dynamics

S1 – Climate Emotions
S2 – Contested climate futures: Discursive powerplay in the media
S3 – Varieties of climate agency: Constitution, dynamics and effects
S4 – Climate policy formation: Predictions, preferences and politics

Mitigation

M1 – Decarbonization dynamics of companies
M2 – Renewables and carbon offsets in the Global South: Impacts and social conflict
M3 – Carbon dynamics and climate futures in drylands of Southern Africa
M4 – Earth system feedbacks in the land-ocean continuum

Natural dynamics

N1 – Ocean circulation
N2 – Low-level clouds
N3 – Precipitation
N4 – Scale interactions in a waming Arctic

Adaptation

A1 – Climate AI interaction with stakeholders in Northern Germany
A2 – Co-creating narrative-based near-term climate predictions to prepare for volatile future climates
A3 – Costs and consequences of extremes in a changing climate
A4 – Extreme adaptation to climate change
A5 – Co-creating socio-ecological transformation of climate change governance in North Germany