1 Jun 2026
How can we understand – and solve – the challenges of climate change? Students and researchers at LMU are embracing an interdisciplinary approach.
Heat waves, floods, wildfires, droughts: The challenges of climate change engage a wide range of scientific disciplines. Climate researchers model temperature trends, legal scholars discuss issues of climate criminal law, social scientists examine conflicts within society, and medical researchers investigate the consequences of increasing periods of prolonged heat for people’s health.
However, major problems can only be solved by joining forces. This is why LMU’s hybrid Munich Climate School is now bringing together students and researchers spanning all disciplines for the sixth time to examine the climate crisis from different perspectives.
Not only did we learn a lot academically, but we also gained a better understanding of what all the different challenges and solutions look like around the world.Hannah Verse, Participant in the Munich Climate School 2025
Students from LMU are invited to attend, along with interested students from other universities around the world. This will allow diverse experiences of climate change and climate policy to inform discussions and workshops. Law student Hannah Verse, who attended the Climate School in 2024, can confirm this: “We often came together during breaks to discuss how different countries approach climate policy, energy, or sustainability.” She found these informal conversations “incredibly enriching. Not only did we learn a lot academically, but we also gained a better understanding of what all the different challenges and solutions look like around the world.”
The idea for this interdisciplinary, international format originated in the LMU Climate Forum, a loose association of researchers from various disciplines. In 2021, legal scholar Professor Helmut Satzger and mathematician Professor Francesca Biagini – now Vice-President for Mathematics, Computer Science, Statistics, and International Affairs at LMU – then founded the LMU Climate School, a one-week, free summer school that takes place not in the summer, but in the first half of October.
Participants in the Munich Climate School 2025
Since it was established, the curriculum of every Climate School has included not only the fundamental aspects of the natural sciences but also legal, social, economic, and ethical issues. Among the more than twenty professors presenting their research and discussing it with students this year is Professor Julia Pongratz, Director of the Department of Geography. The renowned climate researcher’s introductory talk will address key topics: How does the greenhouse effect work? What exactly are tipping points? How do we even know that the climate change we are currently seeing is human-induced? And can the two-degree target still be achieved?
Other presentations will focus very much on the social and political consequences of climate change. What do more frequent extreme weather events mean for agriculture, healthcare systems, or financial markets? How are political debates and social conflicts changing? What role do questions of global justice play?
Legal perspectives will also form part of the program. For example, Professor Helmut Satzger and Dr. Nicolai von Maltitz will be addressing the question of what role bans and sanctions under criminal law can play in delivering effective climate policy. After all, the focus is increasingly shifting to who actually bears responsibility for the consequences of the climate crisis.
The five-day program, which will be filled with interactive, practical workshops, interesting talks, and lively discussions, will conclude with a COP simulation in cooperation with the Model United Nations Association Munich (MUNAM). The goal of the UN simulation is to familiarize the students with the structures and working methods of the United Nations in the most realistic way possible.
For Hannah Verse, the Munich Climate School was an “incredibly inspiring experience.” Not only has the Munich Climate School motivated her to carry on exploring climate issues, but she has also got involved herself: Hannah Verse is now part of the Climate School’s organizing team as a student assistant.
The Munich Climate School will be taking place at LMU from 5 to 10 October 2026. Applications to participate online can still be submitted . For more information, please visit: www.munich-climate-school.lmu.de