Climate protection management

As a university, we have set ourselves the goal of developing and implementing a comprehensive climate protection concept.
This concept should serve as a strategic decision-making basis and planning aid for our future climate protection activities and permanently anchor climate protection as a central task in all areas of our university.
In order to achieve this goal, we are committed to defining clear responsibilities and competencies in both university policy and administration.
We also attach great importance to actively involving our students, employees and external stakeholders in the process from the outset and promoting broad participation and cooperation.
Our climate protection concept aims to analyze and utilize the technical and economic possibilities for reducing greenhouse gas emissions.
We are committed to defining short-term (up to three years), medium-term (three to seven years) and long-term (more than seven years) targets and measures that identify concrete steps to reduce emissions.
Through this structured approach, we strive to make a significant contribution to climate protection and position our university as a pioneer in this important social issue.

The urgency with which we must dedicate ourselves to the fight against climate catastrophe cannot be overstated.
Since the signing of the Paris Climate Agreement in December 2015, which set the goal of limiting global warming to below 2.0 °C, the situation has only worsened.
Current forecasts show that we are on a direct path to achieving a warming of at least 2.7 °C compared to the pre-industrial age.
To stop this process, we need to multiply our efforts.
CO₂ levels in the atmosphere have risen dramatically since the beginning of the industrial revolution.
While CO₂ fluctuations in the atmosphere once followed natural, consistent patterns, human influence has profoundly disrupted this cycle.
The exponential rise in CO₂ levels, driven by the burning of fossil fuels, deforestation and other industrial processes, has led us into an era of uncertainty and impending catastrophe. Carbon dioxide, as one of the main greenhouse gases, plays a central role in the rising temperature of our planet.
The consequences of this warming are well known.
What is relatively new is that we are contributing to exceeding climate tipping points by reaching ever new average temperature records.
According to current knowledge and technology, these climate tipping points are not reversible.
On the contrary, once such a tipping point has been reached, it can serve as a catalyst.
For example, the thawing of permafrost soils causes the release of the highly potent greenhouse gas methane (CH₄).
This gas accelerates the effect of global warming many times over.
The urgency with which we need to take action to reduce CO₂ emissions, accelerate the transition to renewable energy and promote sustainable lifestyles has never been greater.
The climate crisis does not wait for our convenience or political decision-making processes.
Every day we procrastinate brings us closer to a point where the effects of climate change become irreversible.