A recent example illustrates just how urgent the topic of the evening is: on the very day of the Citizens' University event organized by TUM Campus Heilbronn, Heilbronner Stimme, and the Dieter Schwarz Foundation on the topic “Can the climate catastrophe still be prevented?”, a heat warning was issued in Heilbronn. And yet guest speaker Prof. Mojib Latif—introduced by host Luise Pufahl, professor of information systems at TUM Campus Heilbronn, as “one of Germany's most renowned climate researchers”—spreads optimism: “I could make it short, say ‘yes’ and leave,” says the meteorologist and oceanographer, anticipating the answer to the overarching question of the evening. Only to immediately qualify his statement at the event on Bildungscampus Heilbronn: "You can't negotiate with physics or make compromises. Physics – like the climate and nature as a whole – follows its own laws."
Global warming is indeed alarming, as the president of the Academy of Sciences in Hamburg shows in a film that visually depicts the development of global temperatures since 1880: in recent decades, more and more regions have shifted to the warning colors yellow, orange, and red. This means that the average temperature there is continuing to rise. This is particularly true for Europe, the continent that is warming the most worldwide.
Dramatic effects
Global climate change is in full swing and its effects are also being felt in Germany: drought is causing crop failures, forest damage and forest fires, leaving burned landscapes in some regions of eastern Germany. Heavy rainfall leads to flooding disasters such as in the Ahr Valley, while at the same time sea levels are rising in the North Sea and Baltic Sea. Last but not least, extreme temperatures also have dramatic effects on health: in Germany alone, thousands of heat-related deaths are reported every year.
Despite these obvious developments, climate change denial has a long history: in the past, it was authors such as Michael Crichton and Fritz Vahrenholt who publicly questioned the clear findings of climate researchers. Today, politicians such as Donald Trump and representatives of the AfD also deny that the Earth is warming or that humans are causing climate change.
Favorable conditions
Latif criticizes politics in general. He says the German government is pursuing a zigzag course in climate policy instead of providing industry with planning security. And politicians in other countries are also unwilling to admit that the goal of limiting global warming to 1.5 degrees Celsius has failed long ago.
But why does Latif remain optimistic despite everything? He is convinced that it is possible to limit global warming to at least 2 degrees Celsius compared to pre-industrial levels. The conditions are in place: renewable energy sources in abundance, as well as the technology, know-how, and financial resources to use these sources.
“Why should we do something, and why have we already done the world a great service?” he asks the audience, answering his own question: The German government's Renewable Energy Sources Act of 2000 set the development and use of sustainable energies in motion worldwide. Today, more than half of the electricity in Germany comes from sustainable energy sources. “If we hadn't started back then, renewable energies would not be booming worldwide today. This shows that even a small country like Germany can have an impact,” Latif is certain.
More courage and determination
Latif then outlined his wishes for politicians and the general public in a talk with moderator and Heilbronner Stimme editor Tobias Wieland: Politicians should finally abandon their wavering course and instead reach a consensus on climate issues and stick to it in the long term. More courage is needed: “You always have to start somewhere. With 80 million people, there is so much intelligence available that you can achieve anything.” And last but not least: “We should not become a nation of skeptics who reject every change. If we don't change, we will be changed – and to our disadvantage.”
To watch a recording of the event, click here. The Citizens' University will continue on November 19, 2025. Then Prof. Katharina Zweig will speak on the topic “Are machines better decision-makers?”