South German Climate Office

At the Karlsruhe Institute of Technology, the South German Climate Office serves as an example of regional knowledge transfer mediating between climate research and society. It provides scientific information on climate and the effects of regional climate change for the media, public organizations and decision-makers from business and politics, which need scientifically sound and tailored information to prepare themselves. The South German Climate Office at KIT has set itself the task of providing such information. It is one of four regional Helmholtz Climate Offices (Karlsruhe, Leipzig, Geesthacht, Bremerhaven), each with its own regional and thematic focus, disseminating socially relevant research results.

Following the overarching goal of making climate research useful for society, the core tasks of the South German Climate Office at KIT are “raising awareness”, “stimulating dialogue” and “coupling sciences”. Since climate change is already noticeable in a large part of our society, but the effects vary, raising awareness plays a major role. Therefore, the South German Climate Office at KIT holds lectures for associations, companies and school classes etc., and produces information material, also with the help of scientific institutions. Regular media presence is also part of awareness raising. However, many questions on the topic of regional climate change are interrelated in a complex of issues and call for an in-depth dialogue. This leads to an increased need for discussion because everyone assigns a different priority to this issue. The South German Climate Office at KIT offers a platform here by stimulating dialogue between interested parties, meaning that workshops are organised with scientists and society. Likewise, the South German Climate Office participates in committees and working groups to actively fulfil its role as a mediator. Finally yet importantly, the consequences of the current climate change are already reflected in many areas of everyday life. Science is reacting to this and is therefore investigating, among other things, climate adaptation measures. The South German Climate Office at KIT applies for scientific projects in which climate researcher work together with various scientific disciplines and beyond to find solutions. In addition, the South German Climate Office provides scientific support for questions from the economy, media and politics