Climate and Environment

Mission and Strategy

In the 21st century, climate and environmental change as well as demographic, economic, and technical developments are modifying living conditions on Earth as never before. This results in new big challenges for climate and environmental research, as the availability and quality of the vital resources of water, air, and food depend largely on these changes.

Contrary to former environmental problems, it is not only focused on eliminating the cause alone, but increasingly on adapting to changing natural and anthropogenically determined environmental conditions. While prevention strategies concentrate on global aspects, adaptation takes place on the regional scale. It is important to gain basic knowledge about all processes involved, their interactions with each other on local, regional, and global scales, and on their consequences and climatic, ecological, and economic impacts as well as to develop adaptation options and techniques.

Since its foundation on January 01, 2009, the KIT Climate and Environment Center with its about 500 scientists from 30 institutes has therefore been acquiring fundamental and application knowledge on climate and environmental change. From this knowledge, it derives strategies and technologies to secure the natural bases of life. The advantage of an already existing large scope of expertise in natural sciences, engineering, and social sciences is used to develop in multidisciplinary cooperation a center of outstanding international visibility.