Mojib Latif receives the Honorary Award of the German Sustainability Award for his outstanding scientific work on the climate dynamics of the oceans and for his unique ability to communicate scientific knowledge to society with credibility, clarity, and human warmth.

Prof. Dr. Mojib Latif (* September 29, 1954 in Hamburg) is one of Germany’s most internationally renowned climate scientists. As a meteorologist and oceanographer, he has contributed over decades to deepening the understanding of the interactions between oceans, atmosphere, and climate. His research on decadal climate variability, ocean currents, and the impact of human emissions on oceanic systems has significantly broadened the empirical foundation of climate science and helped refine forecasting models in crucial ways.
Since 2003, Latif has been a professor at the Helmholtz Centre for Ocean Research Kiel (GEOMAR), where he heads the “Maritime Meteorology” department. He is a co-author of several IPCC reports and is among the leading voices of a science that recognizes its societal responsibility. His research has shown that the climate is not a static system but a dynamic interplay of natural rhythms and human influence — and that precisely in this complexity lies hope, because action remains possible.

Alongside his scientific excellence, Mojib Latif embodies a rare virtue in communication: he explains without oversimplifying; he warns without polarizing; he cautions without moralizing. Millions know his calm voice from television documentaries, lectures, and books such as Heißzeit or Countdown. He is a morally and intellectually reliable figure in a debate too often shaped by alarmism or relativization.

Mojib Latif receives the Honorary Award of the German Sustainability Award because he has made science a public good. His work represents enlightenment in the best sense: the connection of knowledge and responsibility. In the joint recognition together with Maja Göpel and Johan Rockström, one can see how three perspectives form a whole — nature, climate, and society. Rockström describes the planetary boundaries, Latif explains the physical processes, and Göpel interprets the cultural and economic transformation. Together, they form a triad of science that provides orientation in a time of great change.