Headline: News 2014

<p>In recent years, the energy potential of unconventional gas reservoirs and especially shale gas has prompted strong interest from governments, business, and research sectors, leading to growing investments in exploration and development. In light of the projected growth in energy demand, natural gas is also often portrayed as a cleaner alternative to oil and coal (in terms of CO₂ emission per unit of energy) as well as a suitable back-up capacity for renewable energy. The current shale gas boom in the USA has spurred interest in other regions of the world.</p>

<p>Fishing, oil and gas development, industrial-scale mining, waste disposal and land-based pollution will cause lasting damage to the deep-ocean.</p>

<p>The <a href="http://unsdsn.org/" target="_blank">Sustainable Development Solutions Network (SDSN)</a> initiative, which was founded in 2012, launched the <a href="http://unsdsn.org/what-we-do/national-and-regional-networks/national-sdsn/germany-sdsn/" target="_blank">national SDSN for Germany</a> in April 2014. Professor <strong>Klaus</strong><strong> Töpfer</strong>, Executive and Founding Director of the IASS Potsdam, was appointed as a member of its Steering Committee.</p>

<p>“Research on climate engineering techniques must always be conscious of its associated societal issues”, was one of the key messages Mark Lawrence conveyed during the Great Debate of the European Geosciences Union (EGU) on May 1, 2014. Speaking to an audience of over 500 scientists, he highlighted the need to differentiate between the broad range of approaches that are currently being subsumed under the umbrella term climate engineering.</p>

<p>It is a profound contradiction that CO₂emissions have increased in recent years despite the expansion of renewable energies.</p>

<p>Climate Engineering (CE), large-scale intentional interventions into the climate system, might be capable of reducing some of the impacts of global climate change, but how can we avoid international tensions around this topic? On April 28, members of the <a href="http://www.eutrace.org/" target="_blank">EuTRACE (European Transdisciplinary Assessment of Climate Engineering)</a> consortium met with representatives of the European Commission and other decision-makers in Brussels to discuss the need for international governance of climate engineering.</p>

<p>What are realistic pathways to curbing GHG emissions from the energy sector? Nobel Laureate and IASS Scientific Director Prof. Carlo Rubbia presented his views on “The Future of Energy” during a guest lecture at the <a href="http://www.jinr.ru/news_article.asp?n_id=2043" target="_blank">Joint Institute for Nuclear Research</a> in Dubna, Russia.</p><p><img alt="" class="image-iass_large editor_image" height="345" src="/sites/default/files/styles/iass_large/public/inline_images/teaser-bild.png?itok=v0YpWFHN" width="460" /></p>

<p>Climate change is only one of many factors decisive for the future of resource extraction in the Russian Arctic and its social and ecological implications. During an Arctic Workshop in Moscow, stakeholders and researchers convened to better understand the challenges that decision-makers and communities face under changing political, economic, and ecological landscapes in Russia’s High North.</p>

<p><em>“In our scientific endeavours, we will never be able to achieve absolute certainty; however, we need to take actions also on the basis of imperfect knowledge.”</em> <a href="/node/180" target="_blank">IASS Executive Director Klaus Töpfer</a> referred in his opening statement to the workshop “Disentangling Climate Curiosities – If Climate Cannot Make Up Its Minds, How Can We Make Up Ours?”, held at the IASS on 9 April, 2014, to this well-known situation in which policy-makers have to make decisions.</p>