Alpbach, Austria
“Just Climate Transition: The Energy Race Towards Net Zero Emissions”
Seminar co-chairs: Felix Creutzig, Keywan Riahi, Gernot Wagner, Caroline Zimm & Elina Brutschin
24 August 2023, 9:00-10:30 (Session 5)
Addressing climate change requires rapid and just systemic transformations at an unprecedented scale. The seminar will provide an overview of the scientific and political discussions pertaining to climate justice. Through interactive sessions students will learn about the main approaches to generate climate scenarios and critically reflect upon existing narratives that underpin them. We will illustrate both climate risks and climate opportunities and assess the impact of major climate policies, such as the US Inflation Reduction Act. Emphasis will be given also to the potential of the demand-side mitigation and the role of cities and digitalisation in accelerating clean technology diffusion, increasing innovation, and democratising the access to basic services.
“Will Tech Bail Us Out?”
Speakers: Heike Freund, Sophia Hamblin Wang, Keywan Riahi & Gernot Wagner
Moderator: Kalina Oroschakoff
29 August 2023, 17:00-18:00
Congress Centrum Alpbach
The global community may only have six years left to set actions that will limit global warming to 1.5 degrees. New technologies for carbon dioxide removal are expected to take about ten more years to become operational at a significant scale. This is a race against time. When will future tech breakthroughs be able to support an effective transformation towards net-zero? How do we align our actions and thinking today in view of these future tools?
“More Green, Less Grey”
31 August 2023, 9:00-12:00
Hike to Zirmalm; speakers: Roman Delugan, Sabine Dessovic, Christoph Stadlhuber & Gernot Wagner; moderator: Michael Köttritsch
Green facades are seen as a tool to strengthen the resilience of cities against the backdrop of climate change. However, the devil is in the details. Fire protection, the right choice of planting, and pressure of use of public space are examples of many factors that must be ensured to achieve optimum effect. Another highly effective form of not only protecting urban space from overheating, but also pushing biodiversity, is green roofs. During the Hike, national and international showcase projects will be discussed with high-level experts.
Book signing
31 August 2023, 16:30-17:00
Congress Centrum Alpbach
“Climate Shock” (Princeton, 2015) / “Klimaschock” (Ueberreuter, 2016) & “Stadt Land Klima” (Brandstätter, 2021) & “Geoengineering: the Gamble” (Polity, 2021) / “Und wenn wir einfach die Sonne verdunkeln?” (oekom, 2023)
“Stadt, Land, Suburbia, Klima” [German; “City, Countryside, Suburbia, Climate”]
31 August 2023, 18:00-20:00
Dinner keynote, organized by SIGNA Holding; speaker: Gernot Wagner, author of Stadt, Land, Klima [Update, 20 December 2023: “Signa’s debts: a speaker’s fee, tax advice, and lawyers” by Tom Sims, Alexandra Schwarz-goerlich and Matthias Inverardi, Reuters (18 December 2023)]
Compact, efficient living in the city protects the climate, as does living off the land in the countryside. The climate polluter par excellence? Suburbia in between. There, CO2 emissions are two or three times higher. The big question? How can you make cities attractive enough for the next young family to make the choice easy and actually like it — what role does climate technology play, what role do behavioral changes and policies play, and what about their interplay?