Kick-off for Lower Saxony's Climate Future Labs

How can Lower Saxony's cities and forests become more resilient to climate change? To this end, the Zentrum Klimaforschung Niedersachsen (ZKfN) hosted the symposium ‘Auftakt Klimaforschung Niedersachsen’ on 20 November with the aim of launching the work in the Climate Future Labs and networking among the participants. At the event at Hafven Hannover, the inter- and transdisciplinary climate future labs DIVERSA, FoResLab, OPEN_CULTURES and Urban Climate Future Lab met and presented their respective research projects. Falko Mohrs, Lower Saxony's Minister for Science and Culture, also attended the event and talked to the researchers. In addition to the project presentations, an important focus was on networking between the scientists from the future labs.

The kick-off event on 20 November marked the start of the six-year project period for the climate future labs. A total of around 60 participants from various scientific institutions throughout Lower Saxony were guests at the symposium. In addition to lectures, a panel discussion and workshops, Falko Mohrs, Lower Saxony's Minister for Science and Culture, also got to know the Climate Future Labs during his visit. In a personal conversation, he talked to the scientists about current topics in climate research and the respective research projects of the labs.

Dealing with new realities

In his welcoming address, Falko Mohrs emphasised the importance of climate research for the future: ‘Hurricanes in the USA, heat waves in India, floods in Spain and Lower Saxony – extreme weather events are noticeably increasing as a result of climate change. It is of central importance that we not only understand what is happening. We must also learn to deal with the new realities. Climate research builds precisely this bridge between knowledge and action. The first four Climate Future Labs, funded by the zukunft.niedersachsen funding programme, which are starting today, are excellent examples of this with their wide-ranging priorities. Our society needs change and resilience – and we in Lower Saxony have the expertise to shape that change.’

Focus on networking

An important focus of the symposium was also on the mutual networking of all the actors involved in the Climate Future Labs. ‘Our Climate Future Labs are highly interdisciplinary and transdisciplinary. That is why we were able to welcome and meet scientists from a wide range of disciplines here today,’ explains Katharina Zickwolf, managing director at ZKfN. ‘It is particularly exciting to see how these different disciplines come together, look at challenges from their different perspectives and develop solutions for a climate-friendly future together.

About the Climate Future Labs:

The Climate Future Labs DIVERSA and FoResLab conduct research with a focus on ‘Effects of climate change on forest ecosystems’, with a particular focus on the climate resilience of forests. The research focus ‘

Climate-adapted urban development and spatial planning’ is the focus of the two Climate Future Labs OPEN_CULTURES and Urban Climate Future Lab. OPEN_CULTURES is addressing the question of how design decisions in urban planning can promote climate-conscious action, while the Urban Climate Future Lab is researching the adaptation of climate change in Lower Saxony's settlement types. The interdisciplinary and transdisciplinary future labs are each funded with up to five million euros from the zukunft.niedersachsen programme of the Lower Saxony Ministry for Science and Culture and the Volkswagen Foundation. The projects will be funded for a period of six years.

Further information about the ZKfN and its Klima.Zukunftslabor climate future labs:

www.zkfn.de

Contact person

Katharina Zickwolf, M.A. / M.A.

Managing Director

katharina.zickwolf@tu-braunschweig.de

T+49 (0) 531 391 10070

M+49 (0) 151 100 22 545