Potsdam-Institut für Klimafolgenforschung

The Potsdam Institute for Climate Impact Research (PIK) was founded in 1992 and now has a staff of about 300 people. At PIK researchers in the natural and social sciences work together to study global change and its impacts on ecological, economic and social systems. They examine the Earth system's capacity for withstanding human interventions and devise strategies for a sustainable development of humankind and nature. PIK research projects are interdisciplinary and undertaken by scientists from the following Research Domains: Earth System Analysis, Climate Impacts and Vulnerabilities, Sustainable Solutions and Transdisciplinary Concepts & Methods. Through data analysis, computer simulations and models, PIK provides decision makers with sound information and tools for sustainable development. In addition to publishing results in scientific journals the Institute gives advice to national and regional authorities and, increasingly, to global organisations such as the World Bank. Understanding the Earth system is a huge task that no institution or country can tackle alone. PIK is part of a global network on questions of global environmental change. It closely collaborates with various international partners.