Prof. Dr. Harald Kunstmann, Director of the CCR, emphasises: ‘Thanks to its interdisciplinary expertise, the CCR is represented in a wide range of fields of negotiation.’ Prof. Dr. Claudia Traidl-Hoffman, deputy director of the CCR and an environmental physician, also emphasises: ‘The climate crisis is a health crisis. Our health is inextricably linked to an intact ecosystem. We must act now to build resilience and prepare health systems globally for the challenges of climate change.’

The CCR combines the expertise of over 50 scientists from all eight faculties of the University of Augsburg and the Science Centre for the Environment. CCR members regularly participate in the UNFCCC COPs. Some of them will also observe COP29 in a climate-friendly manner this year with a virtual badge from Augsburg. The following scientific goals are being pursued – due to the scope of the CCR's activities around COP29, only a selection is presented here:

Prof. Dr. Marco Wilkens, Chair of Finance and Banking and Deputy Director of the Center for Climate Resilience, wants to help ensure that, in addition to public capital, urgently needed private capital is also mobilised to finance the challenges of climate change mitigation and adaptation to unavoidable climate change. To this end, participation in network activities, panel discussions and other events is planned, among other things. At the same time, his activities as an observer of the German government's Sustainable Finance Advisory Board will be supported.

Alina Kaltenberg, research associate at the Chair of Political Science with a specialization in climate politics, is following the negotiations at COP29 from the perspective of climate-related migration and displacement. She is conducting empirical research into how the climate-mobility nexus is being negotiated discursively at the international level and what impact this is having on policy measures for affected people. During the conference, she is conducting interviews with negotiators and members of international organisations and observing the negotiations on a daily basis.

Prof. Dr. Angela Oels, Chair of Political Science with  a specialization in climate politics, is primarily observing the negotiations on the financing of losses and damages. As a discourse researcher, she is observing shifts in discourse in the context of the negotiations. In particular, she is looking at the extent to which the topic of climate-related migration/displacement is interpreted as a rational adaptation strategy or is already understood as ‘loss & damage’.

Prof. Dr. Harald Kunstmann, Chair of Regional Climate and Hydrology and Director of the Center for Climate Resilience, is conducting research on the development of early warning systems for drought and heat in close collaboration with decision-makers. He would like to learn about the development of new implementation initiatives for climate services and about the possibilities of new partnerships between research and practice. This is particularly important for countries in the Global South.

Through its interdisciplinary cooperation, the CCR is able to comprehensively address the challenges of climate change. The main objective of the CCR is to develop implementable strategies for adapting to the consequences of climate change at the regional, national and international level, based on inter- and transdisciplinary research.

Your contact persons:

Further members of the ZfK will be attending COP29:

Prof Dr Kerstin Schlögl-Flierl, Chair of Moral Theology
Prof Dr Claudia Traidl-Hoffmann, Chair of Environmental Medicine, Director of the Institute for Environmental Medicine and Integrative Medicine (TUNE)
Marie Fischer, M.A., Chair of Political Science with a specialization in climate politics
Stefan Jacob M.Sc., CFA, Chair of Finance and Banking
Linus Nolte, Chair of Environmental Sociology with a Focus on Socio-Ecological Transformation, Resilience Design and Climate
PD Dr Martin Rohleder, Chair of Finance and Banking

Please visit our list of members to get in touch.