As part of the Public Climate School (PCS), the University of Augsburg invites the public to around 50 public events in the first week of November. The university aims to contribute to the communication of sound scientific knowledge about the climate crisis and therefore raise awareness about related issues. Researchers from various faculties are participating, and will provide information on the climate, environment, and sustainability. The University of Augsburg is once again taking part in the Public Climate School at the suggestion of its students.

This year’s Public Climate School will focus on the following questions: What will local public transport look like in future? What are the effects of climate change on our health? How can sustainability be taught in primary schools? How much can we consume in the face of climate change? How can the economy be transformed to be climate friendly? What does the law have to say about sit-in blockades on behalf of the climate?

Participants can gain tips about dealing with the heat as well as healthy and sustainable nutrition in a climate-related health advisory session. In a simulation of UN climate negotiations at COP29, which will take place in the middle of November in Azerbaijan, participants can practice making decisions about the climate at a global political level. There will also be events related to the climate outside of the lecture hall, as for example the climate pub quiz organised by the General Student Committee at “Flannigan’s Post” in Fuggerstraße 5–7, where anyone can come and test their climate knowledge.

The future of local public transport

The Public Climate School begins with a lecture on the 4th of November at 8:15 am and ends with a Climate Game Night at 18:00 pm on the 8th of November. The official opening and closing podium discussions are integrated into the programme: the opening event, a podium discussion on the future of local public transport with the Augsburg region as an example, will take place on the 4th of November at 18:00 pm in room 1009 at the Faculty of Law at the University of Augsburg (building H). The key question to be addressed is how the transition to sustainable transport can succeed and what mobility of the future might look like. Researchers from the University of Augsburg and the Augsburg University of Applied Sciences, as well representatives from the City of Augsburg and experts from the transport sector, will discuss how the best solutions for the City of Augsburg and the surrounding region can be achieved. The discussion will also be livestreamed on the internet.

A social and ecological transformation?

The closing podium discussion on the 7th of November at 18:00 pm will address contradictions and perspectives on the social ecological transformation. Why is it so difficult to implement important measures to address climate change? Where does the resistance to climate protection come from and what can we do to better protect the climate? This event will take place at the Stadtwerke Augsburg lecture theatre (Hoher Weg 1, 86152, Augsburg) and can also be followed by livestream.

As part of the Public Climate School week, students and employees at the University of Augsburg can also contribute to the university’s sustainability strategy, which is currently being developed. An open forum will take place for this, which will cover aspects concerned with energy management, mobility, sustainable university operations, and sustainability in research.

Further information:

• Programme overview (in German): https://www.uni-augsburg.de/public-climate-school/
• Livestream of the podium discussions (in German): https://uni-augsburg.zoom-x.de/j/69220401249?pwd=yhbFm97BCSyJLCwzwwP9luOpiisqnW.1
  (Kenncode: Lk9=Tb)