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In the past months, the planet has experienced the hottest months of June and August, boreal summer and day on record, with a global average temperature of 17.16°C on 22 July. While many have been getting on with their lives as best as they can, there are many more who are feeling the heat, as levels of climate anxiety continue to rise. At risk are people experiencing climate impacts in the Global South, but also professionals in the Earth sciences documenting and modeling them.

So how can we channel our alarm in a way that doesn't paralyze us, but propel us into action? To answer this question, The Conversation Europe spoke to one of the world's most public-facing climate scientists, the Vice-Chair of the Intergovernmental Panel on Climate Change (IPCC), Diána Ürge-Vorsatz.

Could you start off by describing your work? According to you, what have been the highlights of your career as a climate scientist?

So I mostly work in the area of energy efficiency. I have done a lot of modeling, including to demonstrate how higher efficiency buildings could reduce carbon emissions. Among others, I have alerted the world of what we call the carbon lock-in risks of inefficient building retrofits—when fossil fuel-intensive systems perpetuate, delay, or prevent the transition to low-carbon alternatives.

I've always tried to concentrate on solutions which not only allow us to solve environmental issues, but also to increase human well-being and meet other societal goals. That's because I come from a country [Hungary] where I see that while the environment and climate change are important, they typically play second fiddle to other priorities. Hence, I believe we have to solve these things in a way that makes it worthwhile.

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