Anders Levermann: The Folding of the World – a Proposal for What Comes Next

We are at the end of the age of expansion – and we need a new narrative for the next step. The finiteness of our Earth collides with the reality and necessity of rapid societal development. If one accepts that both are harsh realities, then we face a dilemma of limitation and dynamism. The desperate, albeit understandable, call for renunciation and reflection is helpless and not very productive, as it does not resolve the dilemma. The mathematical concept of folding could provide this solution, as it allows for infinite development in a finite world through growth into diversity. Not growth into more, but growth into diversity. And not theoretically, but very practically – whether in the European emissions trading system or corporate taxation. In his book "The Folding of the World," internationally renowned climate researcher Anders Levermann presents scientifically based concrete perspectives to escape the growth dilemma and the climate crisis. It is about proposals on how our liberal-democratic order can be maintained on a finite planet. The event takes place as part of the series "Turning Points – European Perspectives in Light of New Global Challenges" in cooperation with the Cultural Foundation of the Kreissparkasse Heilbronn. The evening will be moderated by Prof. Erich Pelzer. Anders Levermann received his PhD in theoretical physics from the Weizmann Institute in Rehovot (Israel) in 2002. For more than 20 years, he has been working at the Potsdam Institute for Climate Impact Research, where he heads the Department of Complexity Research, and has published over 150 scientific articles. He is a professor at the Physics Institute of the University of Potsdam and conducted research at Columbia University in New York from 2015 to 2023. For 15 years, he has contributed to the reports of the Intergovernmental Panel on Climate Change (IPCC).