The Helmholtz Climate Initiative REKLIM

The Earth is currently undergoing a fundamental transformation. The observed global rise in air temperature of more than 1.1 °C since the beginning of industrialisation; the warming of the oceans; the loss of glaciers, ice sheets and snow cover; and global sea-level rise are signs of the significant global warming that has taken place over the past several decades. That being said, the effects of climate change can vary considerably from region to region. This is the scale at which human beings can directly perceive climate change: every human being chiefly notices the regional effects of climate change that directly affect where they live – whether they’re a farmer affected by increasingly frequent droughts, or someone living on the coast, who has to adjust to the rising sea level.  

With regard to REKLIM’s work on regional climate change, another priority is to deliver findings that can be transferred to society. In this way, we can help to arrive at more accurate forecasts for future climate developments, which can in turn promote enhanced climate protection and more effective adaptation measures.

The REKLIM network was founded more than a decade ago, and has established a successful bottom-up strategy for prioritising research questions of social relevance and making its findings available to society at large by pursuing a knowledge transfer approach. In this way, the findings and insights produced can help to optimise adaptation and avoidance strategies, while also offering valuable support for decision-makers. (More information on REKLIM’s goals...)