European Climate Conference in Warsaw
The European Climate Conference, co-organised by the German National Academy of Sciences Leopoldina and the Polish Academy of Sciences (PAN), took place in Warsaw between 15-16 May 2023. The inaugural European Climate Conference brought together 90 scientists from 45 countries across Europe and Central Asia to assess climate change and progress towards reaching climate neutrality.
MTA was represented by two researchers: Professor András Szöllősi-Nagy, member of the MTA Presidential Committee on Sustainable Development and Professor in the Department of Water and Environmental Policy, Faculty of Water Sciences, University of Public Service, and György Kröel-Dulay, PhD, Team Leader of the Experimental Vegetation Ecology Research Group, Centre for Ecological Research.
The conference dealt with the scientific contributions to climate change transformations on the European continent. Key messages included the importance of science in the study of human-induced climate change, mitigation and adaptation strategies to address the global challenge, and the need to improve public literacy. Experts shared insights on climate research, developed common understandings and discussed regional approaches to climate change.
The Crutzen Anthropocene Distinguished Lecture “Sliding into the Anthropocene: Surprises Ahead?” by Thomas Stocker was followed by a panel discussion with György Kröel-Dulay on day one of the conference. The morning session on the second day included two roundtable discussions on the responses by society, business and politics. In the afternoon there were parallel clusters on agriculture and land use, industry and energy, water and ecosystems, as well as infrastructure, mobility and risks. Professor Szöllősi-Nagy made a contribution in the area of water and ecostystems as requested.