One third of the forest area in Germany is covered in forest. This adds up to more than 28,2 million acres. But our “green lung” is in bad shape. As the recent Forest Condition Survey of the Federal Ministry of Food and Agriculture shows. Andreas Huth and Friedrich Bohn from the Helmholtz Centre for Environmental Research research how climate change is affecting forests and what the conseque are.
The European Climate Research Alliance (ECRA) will be celebrating its tenth anniversary on March 10. In this interview, we talk to climate researcher and ECRA Chair Peter Braesicke about the idea behind the founding of the climate research network and about future challenges.
A new Helmholtz Climate Initiative factsheet spotlights the link between air pollutants and health. Meanwhile, the latest figures from the German Environment Agency offer hope: nitrogen levels in German cities decreased significantly last year.
The year 2021 could be a good one for climate policy, says Prof. Reimund Schwarze of the Helmholtz Centre for Environmental Research - UFZ. With Joe Biden, for example, the USA will embark on a new path. But international climate efforts could also get a breath of fresh air in other places.
We can still emit about 420 gigatonnes of CO₂ if we want to limit global warming to 1.5°C by 2100. If we continue to act too slowly, we will exceed our budget within a few years. To compensate for this, we would have to actively remove CO₂ from the atmosphere. Nadine Mengis from GEOMAR explains what options we have in Germany.
Five years ago, on December 12, 2015, the Paris Climate Agreement was signed - a milestone in global climate policy. 195 countries agreed to limit global warming - if possible to well below 2 degrees Celsius compared to the pre-industrial era. But where are we today? Are we on the right track? This is what our experts have to say.
Soil is our most important basis for life. More than 70 percent of the global, ice-free land surface is used by humans. Soil not only secures our food supply and protects us from flooding. It is also the largest carbon reservoir on land and counteracts global warming.
In early December, the Lancet Countdown published a new report on the global link between climate change and health. Annette Peters researches the consequential interconnections at the Helmholtz Zentrum München.
Wind, water, sun - nature offers us some energy sources that are practically inexhaustible. They can significantly contribute to climate protection. In addition to wind energy, photovoltaics is one of the most important renewable energies in Germany. Its expansion is a central pillar of the energy transition from fossil raw materials to climate-neutral, green energy.
