IPCC Reading – Berlin – November 2024

Nine years ago, the global community agreed under the Paris Climate Agreement to do everything possible to limit global warming to 1.5 degrees. However, our federal government, which also signed the agreement, is doing everything it can to ensure we fall far short of this target. Most recently, the Expert Council on Climate Issues gave the government a poor review in its report. There are countless examples of missed climate policy: new LNG infrastructure, lack of investment in sustainable mobility, neo-colonial raw material partnerships, and trade deals, to name just a few.

Yet, the policies of our government are anything but inevitable. On the contrary, an unchecked path toward climate collapse could be avoided if we would finally acknowledge the reality of the climate crisis and act accordingly. Since 1988, the Intergovernmental Panel on Climate Change, better known as the IPCC, has been compiling the latest scientific findings on climate change across disciplines in its reports and modeling possible transformation pathways. Although 2023 saw the release of the 6th IPCC report, and our knowledge has continued to expand since then, the government still fails to introduce measures compatible with the 1.5-degree target. There is something paradoxical about this since national governments indirectly participate in producing these reports, particularly in reviewing the summary for policymakers. How can it be that policymakers ignore the very experts they commissioned?

We, as Scientist Rebellion, want to confront this denial. From November 26th-28th 2024, we will, together with like-minded people, continuously read aloud from the 6th IPCC Synthesis Report at Freie Universität Berlin. By doing so, we aim to bring the urgency of the situation into everyday academic life and amplify the voices of countless scientists. Additionally, we seek to critically examine the current role of science and especially the widespread self-perception as politically neutral observers. We ourselves are professors, postdocs, doctoral candidates, and students from various disciplines, contributing in our way to the pursuit of new knowledge. But we also recognize that research confined to its ivory tower is not enough to prevent the scenario of a rapidly warming planet. We are convinced that it remains essential to provide science-based advice to policymakers and communicate findings to the public. However, being aware of the facts is not enough; political pressure is also needed. Science must explicitly advocate for the preservation of what makes the foundation of our lives, standing in solidarity with civil society movements.