Dr. Jan Petzold
Dozierender und Wissenschaftler (Drittmittel)
Lehr- und Forschungseinheit Mensch-Umwelt-Beziehungen
Sprechstunde:
nach Vereinbarung.

My interdisciplinary research focuses on complex social-ecological systems and climate change adaptation in coastal cities and on islands.
Currently, I am project manager of the research project TRANSCEND, which deals with vulnerability and adaptation to flood risks in coastal megacities, specifically Mumbai (India) and Jakarta (Indonesia).
My research aims to contribute to a context-sensitive understanding of the diverse current and future challenges for adaptation, social actors’ diverse roles, capacities, and knowledge systems, and possible pathways that allow a systemic shift for marginalised populations out of the vulnerability trap. I apply the concepts of risk, environmental justice and leverage points and build on mixed empirical research methods, including vulnerability scenarios, household surveys, expert interviews, stakeholder workshops, and participant observations. Besides my conceptual and empirical work, I focus on evidence synthesis methods, such as systematic reviews and maps, and contribute to projects such as the Global Adaptation Mapping Initiative (GAMI).
Selected publications (see Google Scholar for a complete list of publications):
Petzold, J., M. Garschagen, … & D. Parthasarathy (2024): Identifying future challenges for climate change adaptation through insights from participatory scenario-downscaling in Mumbai, npj Climate Action, 3(111). https://doi.org/10.1038/s44168-024-00197-z
Petzold, J., A. Kosanic, … & M. Razanajatovo (2024): Nature's contributions to human well-being under climate change: Evidence from Central and Eastern Madagascar, People and Nature, 6(2), pp. 749-761. https://doi.org/10.1002/pan3.10595
Petzold, J., T. Hawxwell, ... & M. Garschagen (2023): A global assessment of actors and their roles in climate change adaptation, Nature Climate Change, 13(11), pp. 1250-1257. https://doi.org/10.1038/s41558-023-01824-z
Kosanic, A., J. Petzold, ... & M. Razanajatovo (2022): An inclusive future: disabled populations in the context of climate and environmental change, Current Opinion in Environmental Sustainability, 55, 101159. https://doi.org/10.1016/j.cosust.2022.101159
Petzold, J., N. Andrews, ... & J. Postigo (2020): Indigenous knowledge on climate change adaptation: a global evidence map of academic literature, Environmental Research Letters, 15(11). https://doi.org/10.1088/1748-9326/abb330
Kosanic, A. & J. Petzold (2020): A systematic review of cultural ecosystem services and human wellbeing, Ecosystem Services, 45, 101168 https://doi.org/10.1016/j.ecoser.2020.101168
Petzold, J. & A. K. Magnan (2019): Climate change: thinking small islands beyond Small Island Developing States (SIDS), Climatic Change, 152, pp. 145-165. https://doi.org/10.1007/s10584-018-2363-3
Petzold, J. (2016): Limitations and opportunities of social capital for adaptation to climate change: A case study on the Isles of Scilly, The Geographical Journal, 182, pp. 123–134. https://doi.org/10.1111/geoj.12154
Petzold, J. & B. M. W. Ratter (2015): Climate change adaptation under a social capital approach - An analytical framework for small islands, Ocean & Coastal Management, 112, pp. 36-43. https://doi.org/10.1016/j.ocecoaman.2015.05.003
Associate editor of the Island Studies Journal (https://islandstudiesjournal.org) since 2017.
Project coordinator of the junior research group “Transformation Decisions for the Adaptation and Sustainability of Cities in the Face of Environmental and Socio-economic Change” (TRANSCEND) (www.transcend-project.org) since 2021.
Co-lead of the DFG Scientific Network ‘Leverage Points for Climate Action’ (www.leverage-points.com) since 2022.
I am involved in various teaching activities in human geography at the BSc and MSc levels. Amongst others, I teach courses on sustainability assessments, scenarios and climate risk assessments, as well as geographic excursions focusing on climate change and flood risk.
Before joining the LMU in 2021, I worked in the Synthesis Project of the Cluster of Excellence ‘Climate, Climatic Change, and Society’ (CLICCS) at the University of Hamburg and as a Science Officer for the Technical Support Unit of Working Group II of the Intergovernmental Panel on Climate Change (IPCC). In this position, I supported and contributed to the writing and production of several IPCC assessment reports, including the ‘Special Report on the Ocean and Cryosphere in a Changing Climate’ (SROCC), the ‘Special Report on Climate Change and Land’ (SRCCL), and the 6th Assessment Report (AR6).
I have research and work experience in various countries, including the United Kingdom, The Bahamas, Madagascar, India, and Indonesia. I hold a PhD from the University of Hamburg (2016), where I also previously completed my Diplom-Geography studies (2011), including an Erasmus exchange at the University of Southampton (2009-10).