Munich Climate School: Interdisciplinary for the climate

Enlarge

Whether mathematics, aquatic ecology or international law - no scientific discipline can avoid the topic of the climate crisis. It is one of the greatest challenges of the 21st century and is so global, complex and threatening that four years ago the Munich Climate School (MCS) an der LMU was formed at LMU: a climate school for students and doctoral candidates in which interdisciplinary research is presented for a week and strategies and answers are developed together. This year, the MCS will take place from October 6 to 11. Registration is still possible until July 15.

Interview with co-founder and coordinator Dr. Nicolai von Maltitz and program coordinator Elisabeth Tscharke.

How important is science in the fight against the climate crisis?

Nicolai von Maltitz: We are currently seeing that societies are struggling to find a common truth as a basis for living together. Different truths seem to exist side by side and are sometimes played off against each other with conflict and serious consequences. Science is the access to a truth that can be presented on the basis of methods and thus becomes verifiable. In this way, it can counter the panopticon of social truths and make an offer of social consensus and thus social cohesion. However, the term “the fight against climate change” seems to me to be politically tinged.

At least in my scientific work, I don't see myself as a “campaigner”, no matter how much I research and teach about climate change. I don't think we do ourselves any favors as scientists if we become political at the expense of our methods. Of course, this does not mean that we are not political in our private lives, have opinions and participate in public discourse, whereby we can of course also refer to our scientific findings. In this context, the Munich Climate School aims to provide a scientifically sound basis that equips students for the professional and personal world. You can only prepare yourself for the reality of climate change if you look at this problem from different perspectives.

You both come from a legal background. What does law have to do with the climate crisis?

von Maltitz: In principle, if climate change is to be tackled systemically, scientific research findings must ultimately lead to legislative initiatives. In order to integrate these into the existing legal system and implement them adequately in legal practice, we are particularly reliant on legal science. What's more, current societies simply seem overwhelmed by the complex challenges posed by climate change, and the climate targets agreed at international and national level seem increasingly unrealistic. This is increasingly bringing courts onto the scene, which are now playing a key role in shaping climate policy (worldwide).

A core area of my research is the topic of “criminal climate law”, which raises a number of complex questions. For example, what does it mean for legal systems if the climate crisis continues to worsen and we simultaneously want to adhere to the goal of climate neutrality? How can this goal be reflected and consolidated in a legal system? What role does criminal law play in this as the much-vaunted “sharpest sword” of the state? Furthermore, how do criminal courts deal with the phenomenon that crimes are already being committed for the supposed good of society? What if the limits of the Paris Climate Agreement are exceeded? Can climate activism then even disregard (criminal) laws? Are activists allowed to paralyze factories because this means fewer emissions? Are they allowed to throw cocoa and bean soup at art objects?

Of course, there are no easy answers to any of these questions. One thing is certain: we can only approach such questions if we understand the fundamentals and global complexity of climate change. Furthermore, we should soon face up to the interdisciplinary task of answering these questions so that we do not end up implementing illiberal solutions that call into question the rule of law, the separation of powers and democracy itself due to the ever-increasing challenge of climate change.

So it doesn't work without interdisciplinary exchange?

Tscharke: No. We owe so much in our legal work to the other sciences. In some cases, they have already achieved results that our research can build on and vice versa. This creates good and important synergies. We want students to be able to draw on precisely this interdisciplinarity through the climate school. If I myself have previously studied climate change from the perspective of law, then subjects such as medicine, for example, offer completely new and exciting aspects. This inevitably changes my view of my own field of research and inspires me to think in new ways.

von Maltitz: It is impossible to overemphasize and value the different disciplines' individual expertise. Law, for example, is not methodologically geared towards recognizing what happens in the world, how it is constituted. We often live in an abstract, normative space, analyzing and criticizing legal texts and proposing new laws and interpretations of laws. But in order to know what is happening with climate change, for example, we need the scientific basis and without the social sciences we would not be able to understand the associated social upheavals. At the same time, law cannot do without ideas about justice, so we inevitably have to turn to philosophy, theology and ethics. And vice versa. The geosciences are excellent at describing and predicting what will happen, but they also need to know how we deal with these predictions - politically, legally, communicatively.

What have you learned from this interdisciplinary exchange?

von Maltitz: Here I would basically have to report on many individual encounters and moments, but I will try to break my answer down to a basic interdisciplinary experience: I have learned to listen better and to understand the limitations of my own methods.

Is there still any discipline that can avoid the pressing issue of the climate crisis?

Tscharke: I don't think so. The first few months when the Climate School was founded and the associated search for suitable lecturers for the Climate School surprised me in terms of how many disciplines at LMU have long been dealing with the topic. Ultimately, our task was to bring this diversity together and recognize it in an effective way. I am proud that we are always able to attract disciplines to the Climate School that we might not always be aware of at first glance. For example, the communication sciences or, last year, the arts.

von Maltitz: In any case, I find it hard to imagine that there is a discipline that doesn't have any questions relating to climate change, but of course there may be areas of research that don't address these issues at the present time or simply focus on other areas.

No matter what scientific findings come to light, they have to be implemented in the end. Is that why a COP simulation is also planned, in which the UN Climate Change Conference is re-enacted?

von Maltitz: Ultimately, it comes down to the specific meaning of the term “must”. If we want to meet the international and national climate targets, then we as humanity “must” - and climate science shows us this impressively - actually act as quickly as possible. But of course, this does not mean that political and social processes are based on this “must”. It is precisely this realization that we want to make clear to students through the simulation game. The aim is for students to adopt different positions and experience how challenging many political processes are at international and national level - especially in the face of this complex challenge.

This, in turn, is an important experience for dealing with climate change adequately and effectively, especially in politics and society. Essentially, we must learn to understand why today's world is finding it so difficult to meet this major challenge. As lawyers, for example, we often have the feeling that we only need to change one word, one phrase in the law to solve a social problem. Here, too, we are quickly taught by the valuable perspective of other disciplines: Just because laws change doesn't mean that social realities will support these changes.

What is the goal of the climate school?

von Maltitz: First of all, we want to give students access to fundamental knowledge about climate change from a variety of different disciplines. Students should also get to know the boundaries of their own disciplines. However, the Munich Climate School should not only provide valuable experiences from a professional but also from a personal perspective. Every year, it is great to see how the Climate School brings such an international and interdisciplinary group together after just a few hours. It is precisely the interpersonal experience of facing a challenge together that gives us hope - especially in view of the fundamentally pessimistic nature of the subject matter.

What gives you both courage in this pessimistic topic?

von Maltitz: I am encouraged by interpersonal encounters, such as those that so often occur in the Climate School. People who are interested in each other, who listen to each other, who enrich each other and - against all pessimism - face this great challenge together with strength and courage. People who seek a common consensus in the turmoil of possible truths with a view to science.

Tscharke: I am currently sifting through the applications for this year and every time I open a new application, it is a reward for the whole project and gives me personal courage in terms of the possibilities for tackling climate change. So many young people are simply keen to get involved with the issue - I don't take that for granted! Young people in particular could feel powerless due to the overall political situation and the multitude of crises. But instead, by registering, the students are expressing: I want to learn something and I hope that I can make a positive contribution. That simply gives me hope.

The fifth Munich Climate School will take place at LMU from October 6 to 11, 2025. Further information can be found at www.munich-climate-school.lmu.de.