Climate related systemic risks: lessons learned from Covid-19

Travel Grants for ECR available! Climate change related systemic risks have the potential to be an even greater threat than those of the COVID-19 pandemic. Are we prepared for this? Join the Herrenhausen Conference in Hanover on June 21 - 23, 2023.

Within a short period of time, the COVID-19 (Coronavirus SARS-CoV-2) pandemic has fundamentally changed our lives worldwide with massive impacts on all fundamental systems: from health and well-being to economic, financial and political systems, food production and supply chains, to education, work and social life. It demonstrates the systemic nature of risk in a highly interconnected world challenging existing governance mechanisms. Thus societies need to learn and develop new approaches of dealing with these systemic risks.

Climate change related systemic risks have the potential to be an even greater threat than those of the COVID-19 pandemic. Both crises need a global approach, both threaten reaching the Sustainable Development Goals (SDGs) and postponement makes the situation worse. In either case the poor are disproportionally affected. As with COVID-19 communication, fake news and social media play an important role, and science, technology and governance are crucial for societal resilience in face of climate change systemic risks.

We want to debate, if the systemic risk awareness gained by COVID-19 is transferable to systemic climate risks – and vice versa? What are the lessons learned in both directions and what conclusions can be drawn?

The organizers acknowledge co-funding by the Deutsche Forschungsgemeinschaft (DFG, German Research Foundation) via the Gottfried Wilhelm Leibniz Prize to Markus Reichstein (Project 427307986).

Program

June 20, 2023: Arrival, Icebreaker
June 21, 2023: What are the lessons learned from Covid-19 for systemic risk and vulnerability?
June 22, 2023: What have we learned from climate related events for systemic risks and vulnerability?
June 23, 2023: Conclusions & synthesis: What do we need to be better prepared in the future?

The detailed program for the Conference can be found in the download section soon.

The following Systemic risk related themes of the conference will be covered:
1. Behavioural & Communication Sciences
2 .Impacts of Climate Extremes
3. Critical Infrastructures
4. Data Sciences
5. DRR
6. Economics and Transport Chains
7. Food Systems
8. Governance and Law
9. Health & Psychology
10. Systemic Risks

Language

The conference language is English.

Registration

There are no fees for attendance but registration is essential. If you would like to attend the Conference, please create a personalized account. Once you are logged in, you can sign up for the event.

Travel grants available

The Volkswagen Foundation offers travel grants for early career researchers (PhD students and early Post Docs up to 5 years since PhD) or young professionals working in the field of climate change and/or COVID-19 (e.g. Behavioural & Communication Sciences, Impacts of Climate Extremes, Critical Infrastructures, Data Sciences, DRR, Economics and Transport Chains, Food Systems, Governance and Law, Health & Psychology and Systemic Risks). Applicants can win one of up to 25 grants to take part in the Herrenhausen Conference "Climate Crisis and Systemic Risks: Lessons Learned from COVID-19" in Hanover, Germany, from June 21 - 23, 2023. Successful applicants will get the chance to present their research/project in a 3 minute lightning-talk and during the poster sessions. The travel grants include travel expenses to Hanover, visa fees (if applicable), as well as accommodation in Hanover.
Please apply by September 18th, 2022 by completing the online application form (please note that we will not accept any applications after the deadline).

Selection

Participants will be selected by the organizers. Acceptance will be based on qualification of the applicant as well as relevance, originality and potential to contribute to the goals of the conference. We will inform applicants about the results at the end of October 2022.

Accomodation for participants

Please note that participants are responsible for booking their accommodation.