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Prepare for the challenge, unravel complexity

Sem02 (2024-2025) Climate Challenge: The butterfly effect, humans and global warming*

Are you ready to embark on a scientific journey into the most pressing issue of our time? Welcome to our course "Climate challenge: the butterfly effect, humans and global warming". Former Nobel Prize-winner Daniel Kahneman expressed a pessimistic view of our ability, as humans, to address global warming. His concerns stem from two main issues. First, climate change is often seen as a problem of the future, while action is required now. Second, understanding the complexities of climate change requires grasping abstract concepts, which can be challenging.

In this course, we will focus on the second issue. We will explore  the science behind climate change, and examine why it is so difficult for scientists to communicate this knowledge effectively – and why it remains challenging for society to take appropriate action. Through expert lectures and engaging discussions, we will navigate the complexities of the climate system, climate models, economics and policy of climate change, and much more. We will dedicate time to understanding abstract and counter-intuitive concepts, such as chaos or the “butterfly effect”. We will investigate why these concepts challenging to grasp and brainstorm ways to communicate them more effectively.

Get ready to be inspired, and help transform how we communicate about climate change!

You do not need a specific background  to attend this course, the more interdisciplinary the group, the better. However, you do need interest in both physical science and the human dimension of the climate challenge.

For more information and course details, go to 'Curriculum' at the top of the page.

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