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Editorial
A new chapter
“It’s real. It’s us. Experts agree. It’s bad. There’s hope.” In these short sentences, Anthony Leiserowitz from Yale University (USA) summarized what we know about climate change and what needs to be done about it: namely to drastically reduce greenhouse gases.
This is true not only for CO2, but also for a group of substances that is less well known outside the scientific community: short-lived climate-impacting substances. These include aerosols, methane, hydrocarbons and soot. In total, they have warmed the atmosphere by just as much as CO2. The latest report of the Intergovernmental Panel on Climate Change (IPCC) has dedicated a separate chapter to them for the first time. Jülich researchers led by Prof. Astrid Kiendler-Scharr, the chapter’s lead author, have been working on these substances for a long time. Our cover story shows how closely interrelated the substances are and how data and models help to understand these interrelations as well as to make predictions for tomorrow’s climate.
Other Jülich researchers also have their sights set on the future: for example, they are working on the computers of tomorrow – quantum computers – as well as helping to bring Germany and Africa together on the subject of hydrogen.
We hope you enjoy this issue,
Your effzett editorial team
Authors: Marcel Bülow, Dr. Janosch Deeg, Dr.-ing. Katja Engel, Dr. Frank Frick, Linda Herten-Gilleßen, Christian Hohlfeld, Katja Lüers, Dr. Regine Panknin, Dr. Arndt Reuning, Dr. Barbara Schunk, Tobias Schlößer, Brigitte Stahl-Busse, Annette Stettien, Angela Wenzik, Erhard Zeiss, Peter Zekert.
Photo: Cordelia Craigie Montage: SeitenPlan