Katherine Richardson - on climate tipping points and what humanity can learn from nature

In the fourth episode of the podcast, Dan Jørgensen talks with Katherine Richardson, Professor in Biological Oceanography at the University of Copenhagen and one of the world’s leading experts on climate change.

Based on her research article “Climate tipping points - too risky to bet against”, they discuss the notion of climate tipping points - such as the loss of the Amazon rainforest and the West Antarctic ice sheet – and how they can cause irreversible damage to the global eco-system. 

Richardson also explains about feedback loops, such as the “Albedo Effect” where if snow covering areas warm up and melts, more sunlight is absorbed, and the temperature tends to increase.

They conclude by discussing planetary boundaries and what humanity can learn from nature.

Katherine Richardson was born in the U.S. and educated at Harvard University, but have lived and worked in Denmark since the 1980’s. 

Aside from her extraordinary academic work, Richardson has been a member of numerous esteemed advisory groups, including the Danish Council on Climate Change and the United Nations Expert Panel that prepared the 2019 Global Sustainable Development Report.