Climate Science and Economics of Global Climate Change

1. State of Climate Science My first lecture will provide an overview of the latest results of climate science. I will start out by putting some of the recently observed climatic extremes into context. Consequently, I will talk about new projections of sea level rise, the decrease in land and sea ice, and some of the often overlooked consequences of ocean acidification. I will also provide an update on tipping elements in the Earth System and present some preliminary research on the possibility of reaching a global tipping point, i.e., triggering a runaway greenhouse effect. Last but not least, some basic scientific facts about climate change will be discussed that highlight the urgency of the problem. Suggested reading:

Copenhagen Diagnosis Report PNAS Special Issue on Tipping Elements (PDF) NASA GISS Website S. Rahmstorf, Nature 2010 (PDF) Hoffman & Schellnhuber, PNAS 2009 (PDF) Loarie et al., Nature 2009 (PDF)