Upcoming Talks
The lectures are held in English, and everybody interested is welcome to attend. Please note that the Colloquium is an in-person event.
Time: on Thursdays at 3:15 pm during the academic term. From 2:45 pm onwards some welcome coffee and cake will be served in room 024.
Location: room 022/023, Bundesstrasse 53, 20146 Hamburg
Organization:
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Nele Müller, CLICCS/CEN: nele.mueller@uni-hamburg.de, phone +49 (0)40 42838 - 4327
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Christina Rieckers, MPI-M: christina.rieckers@mpimet.mpg.de, phone +49 (0)40 41173 – 159
19.06.2025 - Esther Turnhout - Transformative change and the imperative to transform environmental science
Speaker: Esther Turnhout, University of Twente
Within climate and biodiversity science, we see increasing calls for transformative change. These calls are based on the recognition that fundamental shifts in economic and political systems are needed to secure a socially and ecologically just and sustainable future. These calls for transformative change coming from science are accompanied by repeated calls for the transformation of science. These calls are based on the recognition that fundamental shifts in how science is done are needed to strengthen its contribution to society. In this lecture, I will discuss the progress made as well as continued stagnation and inertia in response to these two calls. Specifically, I will argue that dominant norms and conceptualizations of what science is and how it should relate to policy and society, have locked environmental science into a situation in which it continues to serve vested interests and reproduce the status quo and that, consequently, environmental science has become an obstacle for the transformative changes it continues to call for. I will also outline what is needed to transform environmental science so that it can support transformative change.
Prof. Dr. Esther Turnhout is chair of Science, Technology and Society at the Section of Knowledge, Transformation & Society (KiTeS), University of Twente, The Netherlands. She is an interdisciplinary social scientist with expertise in science and technology studies, environmental studies and political science. Her research and teaching concern topics such as the politics of biodiversity knowledge, science-policy interfaces, and inclusion, justice and pluralism in knowledge making practices. She is also the first author of the book Environmental Expertise: Connecting Science, Policy and Society’ with Cambridge University Press and plays several active roles in the Intergovernmental Panel on Biodiversity and Ecosystem Services (IPBES).
26.06.2025 - Hirohiko Masunaga - Vertical air motion and tropical precipitation: New perspectives on an old problem
Speaker: Hirohiko Masunaga, Nagoya University Japan
The most abundant precipitation on the Earth occurs over the tropical oceans in the so-called Inter-tropical Convergence Zone (ITCZ), a band of moist air extending near the equator from east to west. While it is intuitive that a moist atmosphere favors rich rainfall, the mechanism of tropical moist convection is not as simplistic as it may seem. A counterintuitive example is that heavy precipitation in the tropical east Pacific is found from time to time to develop at the edge of ITCZ in direct contact with a dry subtropical air rather than in the middle of ITCZ protected by its own moist airmass. The talk will begin with addressing this puzzle and offer an explanation with focus on the thermodynamic action of vertical air motion: a modest, shallow updraft at the ITCZ edge tends to grow stronger on its own while an intense, deep ascent at the ITCZ center is destined to decay. Further observations suggest that such contrasting behaviors depending on the depth of ascent may be integrated into a theory shedding new light on understanding the driving mechanism of tropical precipitation over its lifecycle.
03.07.2025 - Daniel Schunk - Feeling guilty, anxious or still hopeful? The role of distinct emotions in climate change mitigation behavior
Speaker: Daniel Schunk, Johannes Gutenberg Universität Mainz
Myriam Bechtoldt, Carina Keller, Daniel Schunk, Isabell Zipperle
Abstract: Emotions are important drivers of human decision-making. This study examines the role of emotions in pro-environmental decision-making. Using short video treatments in an experimental laboratory setting (n=301), we induce climate-related hope, anxiety, and guilt—emotions commonly addressed by NGOs to raise funds. We investigate the potential of our videos to affect one key dimension of climate change mitigation: donations to NGOs engaging in CO2 emission reduction. We find that being in the guilt condition positively impacts donation behavior at the extensive margin, while being in the hope or anxiety condition negatively impacts donation behavior at the intensive margin. Experiencing anxiety leads to a relative higher probability to support spatially close donation beneficiaries. Finally, we find that donating reduces guilt levels, indicating emotional relief, and we argue that this aligns with theoretical considerations on the inclusion of emotions in the utility maximization framework.
06.11.2025 - Åsa Wettergren - Title tba
Speaker: Åsa Wettergren, University of Gothenburg
Abstract tba