Headline: News 2012

<p>Despite variances, a common approach to handling the risks of climate engineering is slowly emerging in Europe. This conclusion was presented by Achim Maas at the conference “Transatlantic Risk Governance: New Security Risks” on December 6, 2012, in Washington, D.C. The conference was organized by the American Institute for Contemporary German Studies (AICGS) and the German Institute for International and Security Affairs (SWP).</p>

<p>In December, two new colleagues joined the SIWA cluster, Dr. Galina Churkina and Dr. Axel Lauer. Dr. Churkina, formerly at the Humboldt University, Berlin, joined the group of Dr. Tim Butler to work on urban greening and, particularly, the advantages and disadvantages of reforestation in urban areas. Dr. Lauer will build up a new research group at SIWA focusing on black carbon in the Arctic and the Himalayan Region. More information will be soon available on SIWAs website.</p>

<p><strong>Click </strong><a href="http://climpol.iass-potsdam.de/about/working-group/webinars/science-and-policy-slcps" target="_blank"><strong>here </strong></a><strong>for the recording.</strong></p><p>In Doha on November 30th, Drew Shindell (NASA GISS), Myles Allen (Oxford University), Eduardo Calvo (National University of San Marco) and Adrian Macey (University of Victoria, Wellington) gave an up-to-date synopsis of the science and policy issues surrounding Short-Lived Climate Pollutant (SLCP) mitigation.</p>

<p>On November 20th and 21st, the TU Berlin hosted the &ldquo;Hochschultage Ökosoziale Marktwirtschaft &amp; Nachhaltigkeit&ldquo;. Peter Irvine and Thilo Wiertz from the IASS conducted a workshop on Climate Engineering. An introduction to the science of climate engineering was followed by a joint debate on the social and political concerns linked to large scale manipulations of the environment. In a role play exercise, participants discussed the potential positions and conflicts that could emerge in the future around Climate Engineering field experiments.</p>

<p><span lang="EN-US" style="color: rgb(31, 73, 125); font-family: &quot;Calibri&quot;,&quot;sans-serif&quot;; font-size: 11pt; mso-fareast-font-family: Calibri; mso-fareast-theme-font: minor-latin; mso-bidi-font-family: &quot;Times New Roman&quot;; mso-ansi-language: EN-US; mso-fareast-language: EN-US; mso-bidi-language: AR-SA;" xml:lang="EN-US">Achim Maas, Cluster Coordinator of SIWA, gave a presentation at the 58^{<font size="2">th</font>} Annual Session of the NATO Parliamentary Assembly in Prague on 11 November 2012.</span></p>

<p>Prof. Dr. Klaus Töpfer received the “Wilhelmine von Bayreuth Prize for Tolerance and Humanity in Cultural Diversity” from the city of Bayreuth for  “His lasting impact and his great commitment as Executive Director of the United Nations Environment Programme as well as Founding Director for the Institute for Advanced Sustainability Studies” (IASS). </p>

<p>The IASS, in cooperation with the Ministry of Environment, Science and Technology (MoEST) – Nepal, the International Center for Integrated Mountain Development (ICIMOD) and the Climate and Clean Air Coalition to Reduce Short-Lived Climate Pollutants (CCAC), will hold a science-policy seminar titled ‘Opportunity to Integrate Atmospheric Pollution Control and Climate Change Adaptation and Mitigation in Nepal’. The seminar will be held on November 22^nd, 2012 at the Hotel Himalaya in Kathmandu, Nepal.</p>