MAX-PLANCK-INSTITUT FÜR WISSENSCHAFTSGESCHICHTE Max Planck Institute for the History of Science

Event

Feb 15, 2023
Fundamental Research and Shaping the Future: "The Climate Crisis as a Societal Challenge—Why Is Knowledge Not Translated into Action?"

8th event in the presentation and discussion series

Fundamental Research and Shaping the Future

of the Scientific Council of the Max Planck Society for the Advancement of Science

The Climate Crisis as a Societal Challenge—Why Is Knowledge Not Translated into Action?

The series "Fundamental Research and Shaping the Future" is a debate-oriented forum of the Max Planck Society that was launched in 2014. It investigates how researchers from widely differing disciplines can contribute to the solution of urgent challenges with a view to the future development of humanity and its dynamically changing relationship with nature and technology. What knowledge must we generate for such solutions to emerge? What are its limits? And where do new potentials lie?

It is precisely within this array of questions that the significance of scientific communication, as well as the consideration and acknowledgment of scientific insights within policymaking becomes evident. The most prominent issue of our time in this regard—climate change—still remains to be debated. While scientists have not only been painting a gruesome picture of the future that lies ahead for all of us (of the floods, droughts, overheating, widespread fires, and the social disruptions and dramatic destabilization of societies that the climate crisis will cause), they have also brought forward specific points to be addressed immediately by direct policy implementations. Such recommendations, however, are rarely translated into societal action.

The shortcomings of the last UN climate conference, COP27, makes this particularly clear. Although science has generated sufficient knowledge, both about the dangers of progressive climate change and about scenarios through which it could be contained, the conference failed to live up to its high expectations to decisively move away from fossil fuels or greenhouse gas emissions.

In this regard, the eighth symposium of the series will address the following questions in particular: What prevents politics, the economy, and society from implementing scientific findings? How can we break through this great blockage? What structures have to change and which new interfaces are needed to overcome the deep-seated ties to the fossil fuel economy? How can scientific knowledge be more effectively integrated into climate adaptation mitigation strategies?

The symposium will be held in English.

Preliminary Program:

17:00–17:10 Jürgen Renn, Max Planck Institute for the History of Science
Welcome

17:10–17:40 Jochem Marotzke, Max Planck Institute for Meteorology, Hamburg
"The Plausibility of a 1.5°C Limit to Global Warming: Social Drivers and Physical Processes" 

17:40–18:10 Jens Beckert, Max Planck Institute for the Study of Societies, Cologne
"Why Does the Societal Response to Climate Change Fail?"

18:10–18:25 Coffee Break

18:25–18:55 Ralph Hertwig, Max Planck Institute for Human Development, Berlin
"Barriers to Action: Human Psychology and Beyond"

18:55–19:25 Ellen Matthies, Otto-von-Guericke-University, Institute of Psychology, Magdeburg
"Energy Efficiency and Neural Computing"

19:25–20:00 Discussion

Initiators: Karl-Ernst Kaissling and Alex Bradshaw
Chair: Jürgen Renn

Titles & Abstracts

  • Jochem Marotzke, MPI for Meteorology

    "The Plausibility of a 1.5°C Limit to Global Warming: Social Drivers and Physical Processes"

  • Jens Beckert, MPI for the Study of Societies

    "Why Does the Societal Response to Climate Change Fail?"

    Climate change and its consequences are known since half a century. Despite this knowledge carbon emissions have been dramatically increased since the 1970s. Why is the societal response to climate change so inadequate? I pursue the following thesis: Power and incentive structures in capitalist modernity are such that adequate responses to climate change are blocked. As a result, actual responses stand in contradiction to the “finite calendar” (Chakrabarty) that climate change presents.

  • Ralph Hertwig, MPI for Human Development

    "Barriers to Action: Human Psychology and beyond"

    Many people would agree that the challenges of climate change and lack of sustainability are important and even existential problems. And, yet, progress toward changing individual behaviors—from high-greenhouse emitting behaviors to behaviors that foster mitigation, adaptation and environmental sustainability—has been modest. Why is that? I will discuss—using insights and findings from psychology—individual and collective barriers that stand in the way of behavior change. 

  • Ellen Matthies, Otto-von-Guericke-University

    "From Denial and Resistance to the Preconditions for Change"

    Psychology has a more than forty years tradition of research into factors that may support—or undermine—pro-environmental behaviours. It has started with intervention studies in the eighties focusing on the households’ potential to save energy and has later taken up various climate relevant behaviours, from travel mode choice, car purchase, and use of heating energy up to support of climate policy measures, activism, and acceptance of wind turbines. Psychologists already know a lot about the prerequisites for individual change and policy support. Nevertheless, we have always been invited (in interdisciplinary contexts, in the media) to explain refusal and resistance. I will take up several common pessimistic assumptions about the individual in the transformation process and contrast it with results of newer studies.

Organizer(s)
Address
Harnack House, Conference Venue of the Max Planck Society, Ihnestraße 16-20, 14195 Berlin, Germany
2023-02-15T17:00:00SAVE IN I-CAL 2023-02-15 17:00:00 2023-02-15 20:00:00 Fundamental Research and Shaping the Future: "The Climate Crisis as a Societal Challenge—Why Is Knowledge Not Translated into Action?" 8th event in the presentation and discussion series Fundamental Research and Shaping the Future of the Scientific Council of the Max Planck Society for the Advancement of Science The Climate Crisis as a Societal Challenge—Why Is Knowledge Not Translated into Action? The series "Fundamental Research and Shaping the Future" is a debate-oriented forum of the Max Planck Society that was launched in 2014. It investigates how researchers from widely differing disciplines can contribute to the solution of urgent challenges with a view to the future development of humanity and its dynamically changing relationship with nature and technology. What knowledge must we generate for such solutions to emerge? What are its limits? And where do new potentials lie? It is precisely within this array of questions that the significance of scientific communication, as well as the consideration and acknowledgment of scientific insights within policymaking becomes evident. The most prominent issue of our time in this regard—climate change—still remains to be debated. While scientists have not only been painting a gruesome picture of the future that lies ahead for all of us (of the floods, droughts, overheating, widespread fires, and the social disruptions and dramatic destabilization of societies that the climate crisis will cause), they have also brought forward specific points to be addressed immediately by direct policy implementations. Such recommendations, however, are rarely translated into societal action. The shortcomings of the last UN climate conference, COP27, makes this particularly clear. Although science has generated sufficient knowledge, both about the dangers of progressive climate change and about scenarios through which it could be contained, the conference failed to live up to its high expectations to decisively move away from fossil fuels or greenhouse gas emissions. In this regard, the eighth symposium of the series will address the following questions in particular: What prevents politics, the economy, and society from implementing scientific findings? How can we break through this great blockage? What structures have to change and which new interfaces are needed to overcome the deep-seated ties to the fossil fuel economy? How can scientific knowledge be more effectively integrated into climate adaptation mitigation strategies? The symposium will be held in English. Preliminary Program: 17:00–17:10 Jürgen Renn, Max Planck Institute for the History of Science Welcome 17:10–17:40 Jochem Marotzke, Max Planck Institute for Meteorology, Hamburg "The Plausibility of a 1.5°C Limit to Global Warming: Social Drivers and Physical Processes"  17:40–18:10 Jens Beckert, Max Planck Institute for the Study of Societies, Cologne "Why Does the Societal Response to Climate Change Fail?" 18:10–18:25 Coffee Break 18:25–18:55 Ralph Hertwig, Max Planck Institute for Human Development, Berlin "Barriers to Action: Human Psychology and Beyond" 18:55–19:25 Ellen Matthies, Otto-von-Guericke-University, Institute of Psychology, Magdeburg "Energy Efficiency and Neural Computing" 19:25–20:00 Discussion Initiators: Karl-Ernst Kaissling and Alex Bradshaw Chair: Jürgen Renn Titles & Abstracts Jochem Marotzke, MPI for Meteorology "The Plausibility of a 1.5°C Limit to Global Warming: Social Drivers and Physical Processes" Jens Beckert, MPI for the Study of Societies "Why Does the Societal Response to Climate Change Fail?" Climate change and its consequences are known since half a century. Despite this knowledge carbon emissions have been dramatically increased since the 1970s. Why is the societal response to climate change so inadequate? I pursue the following thesis: Power and incentive structures in capitalist modernity are such that adequate responses to climate change are blocked. As a result, actual responses stand in contradiction to the “finite calendar” (Chakrabarty) that climate change presents. Ralph Hertwig, MPI for Human Development "Barriers to Action: Human Psychology and beyond" Many people would agree that the challenges of climate change and lack of sustainability are important and even existential problems. And, yet, progress toward changing individual behaviors—from high-greenhouse emitting behaviors to behaviors that foster mitigation, adaptation and environmental sustainability—has been modest. Why is that? I will discuss—using insights and findings from psychology—individual and collective barriers that stand in the way of behavior change.  Ellen Matthies, Otto-von-Guericke-University "From Denial and Resistance to the Preconditions for Change" Psychology has a more than forty years tradition of research into factors that may support—or undermine—pro-environmental behaviours. It has started with intervention studies in the eighties focusing on the households’ potential to save energy and has later taken up various climate relevant behaviours, from travel mode choice, car purchase, and use of heating energy up to support of climate policy measures, activism, and acceptance of wind turbines. Psychologists already know a lot about the prerequisites for individual change and policy support. Nevertheless, we have always been invited (in interdisciplinary contexts, in the media) to explain refusal and resistance. I will take up several common pessimistic assumptions about the individual in the transformation process and contrast it with results of newer studies. Harnack House, Conference Venue of the Max Planck Society, Ihnestraße 16-20, 14195 Berlin, Germany Europe/Berlin public