Climate research in Hamburg: Free lectures about our future!

Climate research in Hamburg: Free lectures about our future!

On March 26, 2025, the University of Hamburg is facing an exciting summer semester. The general lecture system will begin on April 7, 2025, with over 140 public lectures being offered to anyone interested. The focus is on the main topic of climate protection, accompanied by the lecture series “Hamburg Perspectives on Climate Research”, which deals with the social and political challenges of climate change. This series is on the occasion of the 50th anniversary of the Max Planck Institute for Meteorology (MPI-M) designed and coordinated.

The lectures offer an interdisciplinary perspective and involve experts from the CLICCS cluster and other collaborating institutions. The aim is to shed light on central climate issues from different scientific perspectives. Topics such as the historical development of climate research in Hamburg and modern approaches to climate modeling are covered, with the events taking place on Thursdays from 6:15 p.m. to 7:45 p.m. in the university's main building.

Diverse topics of the lecture series

In addition to the lecture series “Hamburg Perspectives on Climate Research”, further lecture series are offered. These include, for example, “Reclaiming Tomorrow”, which deals with the challenges of the climate crisis, and “Protection and sustainable use of our seas and coastal regions” as part of the “sustainMare” research mission. Another interesting discussion will be held on “Taming the Machines – AI: Social Foundations and Ethical Responsibility”, which addresses the socio-political challenges in dealing with artificial intelligence.

Other topics include the emotional distress of children and young people, the power of language and interdisciplinary perspectives on landscapes and ecology. A lecture will also deal with the war events and their interpretations in Europe in 1945. An accompanying program for the exhibition in the Medical History Museum in Hamburg complements these lectures.

Participation and exchange

Participation in the public lectures is free for anyone interested and does not require advance registration. After the events there is the opportunity to talk to the speakers and ask questions. The complete program can be viewed on the website of the Center for Continuing Education and on the MPI-M website, where detailed information on the individual events is also provided.

Given the enormous challenges posed by climate change, this interdisciplinary approach is crucial. The integrative exchange between different scientific disciplines is seen as the key to tackling complex problems. This highlights the need for diversity in scientific approaches and people involved to develop a holistic solution, as stated in a recent publication by Bordoni et al. (2025) is highlighted, which sheds new light on the use of climate modeling and forecasting.