Climate Change

Under the motto “Ecosystem Restoration”, the theme of Word Environment Day on 5 June 2021 is the restoration of the planet’s ecosystem. The only way to achieve this is through climate protection – one of the most hotly debated topics of our time. It is becoming increasingly obvious that this not only requires a drastic reduction in greenhouse gas emissions, but additional measures for reducing the level of carbon dioxide (CO₂) in the atmosphere. Unless this happens, it will be impossible to achieve the primary goal of the Paris agreement: to restrict global warming to no more than two degrees.

The Amazon rain forest may have reached a tipping point. According to a recent study, it now emits more CO₂ than it absorbs, which could speed the pace of climate change. Charlotte Grossiord, an expert in forest ecosystems and the head of EPFL’s Plant Ecology Research Laboratory, spoke with us about the mechanisms behind this shift and why we should be worried.

Climate-related temperature rises will further increase the cooling demand of buildings. A projection by Empa researchers based on data from the NEST building and future climate scenarios for Switzerland shows that this increase in energy demand for cooling is likely to be substantial and could have a strong impact on our future – electrified – energy system.

Some 250 million people depend on water from the glaciers of High Mountain Asia, which include the Himalayas, the Karakoram and the central Asian ranges. A study led by the Swiss Federal Institute for Forest, Snow and Landscape Research WSL shows that this largest non-polar ice mass on Earth is in dire condition. The research team has developed a new computational method that can determine the balance between ice accumulation and melt in glaciers with the help of satellite data.

The last ice age, about 20,000 years ago, was significantly colder than previously thought. This is shown for the first time by systematically analysed samples of groundwater collected around the globe and the inert gases dissolved in it. Swiss groundwater from Uster (ZH) also contributed to the results.