CLIMATE SOLIDARITIES

Youth Climate Summit

IMPORTANT NOTE: CLIMATE SOLIDARITIES HAS BEEN POSTPONED TO NOVEMBER 2021. The new schedule will be published soon.

In cooperation with Kinderuniversität Leipzig/ Studium Universale Leipzig University

We invite you to participate in an international online youth congress. Expand your network, get creative, leave your impact! No admission fee. See the program below and register individually via email.

IMPORTANT NOTE: THE CLIMATE SUMMIT HAS BEEN POSTPONED TO NOVEMBER 2021. The new schedule will be published soon.

1a

World Climate Simulation with C-ROADS

In November 2021 | with Hans Dieter Kasperidus

“How much global CO2 emission reductions are required to limit global warming well below 2° C?”

The World Climate Simulation is a role-playing game that uses the interactive and dynamic computer simulation model C-ROADS (Climate-Rapid Overview and Decision Support). The simulation model supports people’s understanding of how national and regional greenhouse gas emission reductions will have impact on long-term climate change response at the global level. Participants come together in an UN emergency meeting playing the role of UN climate negotiators of the most relevant nations and regions. The goal of the meeting is to work out a global agreement for greenhouse gas reductions that is suitable to achieve a limitation of global warming well below 2° Celsius and that is fair and acceptable for all nations on the globe. C-ROADS can instantaneously test the negotiation outcomes if they are enough to meet the Paris goals or not. 

The expected use of energy from fossil fuels is the main driver for the expected global warming. By the end of this century, this energy demand is distributed differently depending on the economic status of the nations. Developed nations will reduce fossil fuels and developing countries will increase the use of fossil fuel for economic development if there are no alternatives. 

Hans Dieter Kasperidus studied Landespflege, which is the field of landscape ecology and landscape architecture, at the Technical University of Munich in Freising-Weihenstephan, Germany. He is senior scientist of the Department Conservation Biology and Social-Ecological Systems at the Helmholtz Centre for Environmental Research - UFZ, Leipzig, Germany. As associate lecturer at the Technical University of Munich and at the Chemnitz University of Technology he is teaching Systems Theory, Systems Thinking, and System Dynamics Simulation. As a Systems Thinker he explores with dynamic models the global and complex interactions and feedbacks of the greenhouse gas emissions from fossil fuels and the climate system.

2

A Critical View on Sustainable Development Goals

In November 2021 | with Parissa Chokrai & Benedikt Seger

“What have our smartphones to do with conflicting Sustainable Development Goals?”

In 2015 all UN member states have adopted the 17 Sustainable Development Goals (SDGs) with the aim of ending poverty worldwide, protecting the planet and thus improving the lives of all, including future generations. In this sense, they address the biggest social issues of our time in an ambitious and long overdue way.

However, the SDGs have also come under criticism. First, the implementation of the goals is progressing very slowly and with moderate success. Second, it is hardly discussed that the individual goals sometimes conflict with each other. Third, and finally, they are embedded in a mindset steeped in permanent economic growth, although exactly this principle is at least partly responsible for global social issues such as hunger or the climate crisis.

In this workshop, you're going to investigate conflicting SDGs involved in the life cycle of smartphones and reflect opportunities to use your smartphone in a more sustainable way. Finally, you're going to discuss the question of whether permanent economic growth can be sustainable.

Foreknowledge is not necessary. However, you're welcome to inform yourself in advance about the following topics: SDGs, smartphones and sustainability, (permanent) economical growth and sustainability..

Parissa Chokrai, M.A., M.Sc., is a social and environmental psychologist. Her main research interest lies in psychological processes underlying political engagement (e.g., supporting a social-ecological transformation or opposing the Far Right). Furthermore, she is involved in various voluntary projects (e.g., IPU e.V., S4F, Urban Garden DILL) aiming at strengthening democracy, empowering citizens, developing sustainable neighbourhoods and mitigating climate crisis.

Benedikt Seger, M.Sc., is currently finishing his PhD in Developmental Psychology at the University of Würzburg (Germany).  He has studied Environmental Psychology in Magdeburg and has been an active member of Initiative Psychologie im Umweltschutz  (IPU, society for psychology in environmental protection) since 2014.  One of his current research interests is how climate communication can work effectively for different age groups.

3

How to Improve the Global Governance of (Micro)Plastic Pollution

In November 2021 | with Giorgia Carratta

“How to improve the global governance of (micro)plastic pollution?”

In the last decades, the uncontrolled growth in the production, consumption and disposal of plastic materials has led to their overaccumulation in the environment. As a result, plastics of any size -from larger pieces to micro- and nano- plastics - are expected to have negative consequences on habitats, on wildlife and, potentially, on human health. As for other environmental issues, plastic pollution represents a global and transboundary threat asking for a joint action of States. This environmental challenge requires the international community to confront its limits, set shared goals and, potentially, develop a common strategy against it, while acknowledging local and regional specificities. 

At the beginning of the session, a short online quiz will be proposed to the participants, as a way to introduce the topic and get to know each other. Subsequently, a little presentation providing some insights and an open discussion will take place. Even if it is still unclear whether and how the international community intend to act against plastic pollution, let’s talk about it!

Giorgia Carratta is a PhD Candidate at the HHL Leipzig Graduate School of Management (Germany) and an Early Stage Researcher for the research project called “LimnoPlast - Microplastics In Europe’s Freshwater Ecosystems: from sources to solutions”. Currently she addresses the issue of (micro)plastic pollution in freshwater ecosystems, from both a legal- and a business-oriented perspective.

Ressources

4

Lit4School – Digital Book Stand

In November 2021 | with Sarah S. Clart

„Why read about climate change? “

 Lit4School is a free database that aims to provide recommendations for authentic literature and media that can give students insight into a variety of different genres and topics, including current events. The website is an ideal resource for teachers and teacher students in the subjects of English and German.

In this workshop, students and teachers alike can reflect on the importance of authentic literature and media that addresses current issues like climate change; and how these can be implemented in the classroom. We will start off with a brief presentation of the Lit4School project and a short quiz to get an idea of the participants’ reading habits. With the help of concrete examples, participants will get the chance to talk about ways to include literature and media discussing climate change in the classroom. We’ll end the workshop with a short quiz and an open discussion round. Also just browsing the website and asking questions is highly encouraged!

 Sarah Clart is a student at the University of Leipzig. She is currently studying to become a teacher in the subjects of English and Chemistry. At the ZLS, she contributes to the project Lit4School as part of the English team.

 Resources: Lit4School: https://home.uni-leipzig.de/lit4school/

5

MOSAIC Expedition – Climate Change at the North Pole

In November 2021| with Christian Pilz

The Multidisciplinary drifting Observatory for the Study of Arctic Climate (MOSAiC) was the largest research expedition into the central Arctic in history. From September 2019 to October 2020, the German research icebreaker Polarstern operated in the Arctic Ocean to support a research camp deployed on an ice floe drifting across the Arctic from the Siberian Sea to the Fram Strait. One of the main goals of MOSAiC was the investigation of the complex and still poorly understood climate processes that work in the central Arctic by coupled observations of the atmosphere, sea-ice, ocean, ecosystem and biogeochemistry. As part of the atmospheric observations, a team of two scientists from TROPOS institute and the University of Leipzig operated a large tethered balloon with the size of a school bus up to altitudes of 1500 m in summer 2020. The presentation will give an overview of the changing Arctic climate and the MOSAiC expedition with deeper insights into the balloon campaign supported by personal experience of how it is to do research in one of the most remote places on earth surrounded by polar bears.

Christian Pilz is a PhD candidate at the Leibniz Institute for Tropospheric Research (TROPOS) in Leipzig and studies the role of aerosol particles in the rapidly changing Arctic Climate. In summer 2020, he participated in the MOSAiC expedition and operated a large tethered balloon to do atmospheric measurements above the melting Arctic sea ice.

1b

Climate Action Simulation with En-ROADS

In November 2021 | with Hans Dieter Kasperidus

“Which policy solutions and climate actions are required to limit global warming well below 2° C?”

Part II of Workshop 1a! (see above, to enroll)

The Climate Action Simulation is a role-playing game that uses the En-ROADS (Energy-Rapid Overview and Decision Support) simulation model. En-ROADS explores the global interactions of energy systems, economic and social development and the climate system. Participants come together in an UN emergency meeting playing the role of global stakeholders of a variety of interest groups like industry, business, environmentalists, NGO’s and governments that can significantly influence directly or indirectly the emission of greenhouse gases. The goal of the meeting is to work out policy solutions and concrete action plan that is suitable to achieve a limitation of global warming well below 2° Celsius. The stakeholder groups’ proposals are analyzed instantaneously with the En-ROADS simulator to show their effects on the climate system. 

Contextualization

If mankind is willing to combat global warming and is able to change the path of business as usual in the next decades, large scale policy, technological, and societal shifts are necessary. To change global carbon emissions and global temperature, a mix of changes in technological innovations, energy efficiency, taxes, subsidies, fuel mix, and other factors play together an important role. 

Additional events: En-ROADS Workshop 16.07.2021 19:00 and 22:00 hours (Lange Nacht der Wissenschaften in Leipzig)

Hans Dieter Kasperidus studied Landespflege, which is the field of landscape ecology and landscape architecture, at the Technical University of Munich in Freising-Weihenstephan, Germany. He is senior scientist of the Department Conservation Biology and Social-Ecological Systems at the Helmholtz Centre for Environmental Research - UFZ, Leipzig, Germany. As associate lecturer at the Technical University of Munich and at the Chemnitz University of Technology he is teaching Systems Theory, Systems Thinking, and System Dynamics Simulation. As an En-ROADS Climate Ambassador he explores together with a wide range of audiences the challenges of global climate change issues across economy, society and environment using integrated means of systems thinking and system dynamics models.