Prof. Herbert Formayer (BOKU, Inst. for Meteorology and Climatology):
Impacts of climate change on Austria
Temperature rise, precipitation, flooding, drought, natural hazards, displacement of species...
Dr. Nicolas Roux (BOKU, Inst. for Social Ecology):
Land use, ecosystem services and health, food security, forest damage, international supply chains, healthy nutrition, reforestation, carbon storage in timber and ecosystems, conflicting objectives...
Following the two introductory talks, there'll be an opportunity for questions and discussion. Free entry. No registration required.
The 2nd APCC assessment report — Austria's equivalent of the IPCC — on climate change in Austria has just made waves in the media: warming in Austria has already reached 3.1°C compared to pre-industrial times.
But what does that actually mean for people and nature, and what else is in these 800 pages written by 200 scientists? Scientists for Future are addressing these questions through a series of discussion events featuring authors of the report. On 25 March, the second of these events takes place, this time at BOKU. Climate scientist Prof. Herbert Formayer and social ecologist Dr. Nicolas Roux will present the first and second chapters.
How does climate change affect weather patterns, heatwaves, heavy rainfall, storms, and dry spells? What's happening to our streams, rivers, lakes, and groundwater, and how does this affect our food and drinking water supply? How are soils and their fertility changing? What are the consequences of glacial retreat? Of increasingly shorter snow cover? Should we expect more rockfalls and mudslides? How is the biosphere changing — the world of animals and plants? Which species are disappearing, and which are moving in? What does this mean for people? How will various natural hazards and risks interact and amplify one another? Which tipping elements in the Earth system could have serious consequences for Austria? How would a collapse of the Atlantic Meridional Overturning Circulation (AMOC) affect our country? Or the melting of the Greenland ice sheet?
The second part looks at the connections between climate change, land use, ecosystem services, and health. How does the way we use land and soils alter biochemical cycles, and how does this in turn affect the climate system, biodiversity, and the contributions of ecosystems such as forests and bodies of water to human wellbeing? What happens when ailing forests lose their protective function against avalanches and landslides? Do we need to adapt irrigation systems for agriculture? What conflicting objectives arise in land use? For example, carbon storage vs. the extraction of timber for construction and fuel, land requirements for energy production vs. agriculture and nature conservation. How does "economic growth" affect the demand for agricultural and residential land? What options exist for mitigating climate change in Austrian agriculture and forestry, and in the way we use their products (e.g. food waste)?
What health consequences and risks arise from climate change? Heat stress, new infectious diseases, natural hazards, psychological impacts... How are the consequences distributed across different social and demographic groups?
After the two introductory talks, there'll be plenty of time to ask questions and raise points.
Wednesday, 25 March 2026, 6:00 pm
BOKU University of Natural Resources and Life Sciences Vienna
Wilhelm-Exner-Haus, 2nd floor, Lecture Hall EH05
Peter-Jordan-Strasse 82, 1190 Vienna
