Edenhofer chairs steering committee of “Science Platform Climate Protection”
Together with Sabine Schlacke from the University of Münster. The body is to advise the German Government and monitor the implementation of the climate package.
Focusing on an important issue: a new, high-profile body advises the government on climate policy. | Photo: Shutterstock/koja979
The steering committee of the “Science Platform Climate Protection” set up by the Federal Government a few months ago has elected Sabine Schlacke, a lawyer from the University of Münster, and economist Ottmar Edenhofer as its chairs. Edenhofer is Director of the Berlin Climate Research Institute MCC (Mercator Research Institute on Global Commons and Climate Change) and the Potsdam Institute for Climate Impact Research. As the voice of science, the platform will advise the government on the implementation and further development of the German climate strategy and contribute to the achievement of climate goals. It is independent and can act on its own initiative.
The science platform will also closely monitor the implementation of the current climate package and can make suggestions for improvement at any time. The aim of the package is to reduce carbon emissions across all sectors, from electricity and transport to buildings and agriculture. Only the reduction of greenhouse gas emissions can limit risks such as extreme weather events, worldwide and in Germany, and effectively stabilise our climate. The Science Platform is primarily concerned with the evaluation of measures and recommendations for practical use.
The members of the steering committee were selected by the Federal Ministry for the Environment and the Federal Ministry of Education and Research and have a term of office of three years. Apart from Schlacke and Edenhofer the following persons have been appointed: Timo Busch, a business economist from the University of Hamburg with a focus on financial markets; sociologist Anita Engels from the University of Hamburg; mechanical engineer Holger Hanselka, President of the Karlsruhe Institute of Technology; engineer Felix Matthes, Research Coordinator for Energy & Climate policy at the Öko-Institut Freiburg; the economist Karen Pittel from the University of Munich, Director of the ifo Centre for Energy, Climate and Resources; and the sociologist Ortwin Renn, Scientific Director at the Institute for Transformative Sustainability Research / Institute for Advanced Sustainability Studies in Potsdam.
