22.05.2025
“I am very happy about this decision,” says Johanna Baehr, Professor of Physical Oceanography and CLICCS spokesperson. “Our unique combination of scientific depth and interdisciplinary diversity makes us unique in climate research. We investigate which futures are plausible for our climate—and how the futures that society desires can become reality.”
The future that awaits us depends not only on the climate system, but also on society—in other words, on how we live, work, and do business in the future. In CLICCS II, researchers from the natural and social sciences will work even more closely together to address these issues. Their approach: climate change and social development are linked by two central measures—avoiding CO2 emissions and adapting to a changing climate.
Which “adjustments” hinder and which enable effective action? The new Cluster of Excellence not only expands the previous approach, but also takes it further into the future. To this end, CLICCS will involve different parts of society and encourage them to think beyond established models for the future. CLICCS will use this to derive scientifically sound decision-making aids for policymakers and develop effective climate measures in dialogue with society.
In the cluster, the university conducts research together with twelve non-university partners, including the Max Planck Institute for Meteorology, the Helmholtz Center Hereon, and the German Climate Computing Center (DKRZ). Currently, more than 200 scientists from 16 disciplines are working together on interdisciplinary issues. As part of the German government's Excellence Strategy, the current CLICCS Cluster of Excellence will receive funding until the end of 2025, after which the CLICCS II research project, which has now been awarded funding, will begin.
The DKRZ, as the national high-performance computing center for Earth system and climate research, in which the City of Hamburg (on behalf of the University of Hamburg) holds a 27% stake, acts as a partner and important pillar in CLICCS. In particular, the DKRZ will support the research work aimed at in CLICCS II with its expertise in the application of artificial intelligence in climate research, thereby facilitating, for example, multi-year numerical climate predictions based on plausible socio-economic developments.