2019 Application Summer School

The 18th International Swiss Climate Summer School focuses on the theme «Carbon and climate in the Paris world: getting out of the fossil fuel carbon budget crunch».

It is motivated by the current paradoxical situation wherein the internationally recognized warming targets of 2°C or even 1.5°C imply a tightly limited fossil fuel emission budget for the entire 21st century, while the trends in the fossil fuel emissions suggest that this budget is consumed within the next one to three decades. With conventional mitigation and adaptation options not sufficiently exploited, humankind may need to deploy unconventional methods to meet its climate target. In this highly interdisciplinary summer school, we will learn about and discuss

• the nature, size, and controlling processes of this carbon budget,
• the drivers behind past and future fossil fuel emissions,
• the climatic consequences of the Paris agreement,
• the options available to us to create negative emissions, and
• the socio-economic drivers that can either accelerate or decelerate these developments.
  

This summer school addresses Early Stage Researchers from the climate, engineering, social and economic sciences. In addition to keynote lectures from internationally renowned experts and extensive time for discussions and poster sessions, two half days will be spent in smaller groups working jointly on concrete case studies, involving practitioners. The theme of the summer school is very timely, as the role and potential of negative emissions is a rapidly emerging topic for science, technology, and policymaking alike, and has also led to several initiatives around the world. All Summer School participants are expected to present a poster of their research.

Note that we provide a few grants covering the expenses for the registration fee (1300 CHF) for attendees from newly industrialising and developing countries. Travel and other costs are not reimbursed. When registering, please indicate that you apply for a grant in the comment field.