Tessa Möller

Tessa is a Luxembourgish climate researcher at the International Institute for Applied Systems Analysis (IIASA) in Austria, where she works in the Integrated Climate Impacts group within the Energy, Climate, and Environment Program. She is also pursuing a PhD in Geography at Humboldt-Universität zu Berlin. Her research focuses on long-term sea level rise projections — including contributions from the Antarctic  and Greenland ice sheet — and on the risks of overshooting the Paris Agreement's 1.5°C temperature limit for critical climate tipping elements. She also investigates the impacts of climate change and sea level rise on low-lying atoll nations. Before joining IIASA, Tessa worked at Climate Analytics in Berlin, where she focused on the vulnerability of freshwater systems in Small Island Developing States and the effectiveness of water-related adaptation options under climate change. She was a contributing author to the IPCC Sixth Assessment Report (Working Group 2).

Tessa holds a BSc in Geological Sciences from the Free University of Berlin and a Master's degree in Climate, Earth, Water, and Sustainability (CLEWS) from the University of Potsdam, during which she spent six weeks at the University Centre in Svalbard (UNIS), an experience that left her with a lifelong fascination for polar regions and, incidentally, a driver's licence she only got so she could legally drive a snowmobile.

Beyond her academic work, Tessa is committed to science communication and has been interviewed by outlets including Carbon Brief, taz, der Tagesspiegel, Klimareporter, Télécran and RTL Luxembourg. As a board member of Polar Luxembourg, she is passionate about connecting polar research with public engagement in her home country and abroad.