Dresden 2020 – scientific programme

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SYCE: Symposium Climate and energy: Challenges and options from a physics perspective

SYCE 1: Climate and Energy: challenges and options from a physics perspective

SYCE 1.3: Invited Talk

Wednesday, March 18, 2020, 10:30–11:00, HSZ 02

The challenge of anthropogenic climate change - Earth system analysis can guide climate mitigation policy — •Matthias Hofmann — Potsdam Institute for Climate Impact Research, Germany

Since the industrial revolution humanity exerts a steadily growing pressure on the Earth's climate system. Unbridled anthropogenic emissions of greenhouse gases, notably of carbon dioxide, have already caused an increase in global mean surface temperature of about 1 °C since the beginning of instrumental temperature records. Earth system analysis is regarded as a powerful method to gain new insights into geophysical and biogeochemical fundamentals of the climate system.

Mitigating future climate change to avoid the transgression of dangerous thresholds and tipping points of crucial elements in the Earth system is currently one of the biggest challenges of humanity. Therefore, Earth system analysis is an indispensable tool in assessing planetary boundaries and guiding decision processes by political stakeholders.