Scientific Advisory Council of the Federal Government on Global Change

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Scientific Advisory Council of the Federal Government on Global Change
(WBGU)
logo
founding 1992
Seat Berlin , Germany
Website www.wbgu.de

The German Federal Government's Scientific Advisory Council on Global Change ( WBGU ) was set up in 1992 by the German Federal Government as an independent scientific advisory body in the context of the United Nations Conference on Environment and Development , UNCED ("Earth Summit of Rio de Janeiro") .

The main tasks of the WBGU are:

  • analyze global environmental and development problems and report on them in reports,
  • evaluate national and international research in the field of global change,
  • to point out new problem areas in the sense of early warning,
  • Identify research deficits and provide impulses for science,
  • observe and evaluate national and international policies for the implementation of sustainable development ,
  • To develop recommendations for action and research and
  • to promote awareness of the problems of global change through press and public relations work.

The WBGU also takes a position on current events such as the UN climate conferences (e.g. in Paris 2015 ), the United Nations Conference on Sustainable Development 2012 ( Rio + 20 ), the adoption of the Sustainable Development Goals 2015, the third conference of the United Nations Nations on housing issues and sustainable urban development ( HABITAT III ) and the G20 Presidency of Germany 2017 . The Secretary General Maja Göpel represents the WBGU in the Scientific Committee of the German UNESCO Commission .

Assessment

Main opinion

Our common digital future (2019)

According to this report, the digital change will further accelerate the consumption of resources and energy as well as the damage to the environment and climate if no active political shaping takes place. It is therefore an urgent political task to create the conditions for putting digitization at the service of sustainable development, according to one of the central messages of the report "Our common digital future". In the short term, the aim is to bring digitization into line with the global sustainability goals agreed in 2015 (SDGs, Agenda 2030) and the goals of the Paris Climate Agreement. New technologies should be used in a targeted and comprehensive manner to give people access to basic services such as health care, education, energy and (environmental) information and at the same time to prevent environmental degradation. Examples include promoting the energy transition through the use of intelligent energy networks, reducing the number of vehicles in cities through shared mobility, which makes car ownership superfluous, and the use of digital technologies for the circular economy. In addition, precautions must already be taken now to deal with the deep social upheavals that will accompany digitization in the medium term: Examples are the foreseeable radical structural change in the labor markets, the replacement of real-world experiences in virtual spaces, the diverse effects of artificial intelligence on education and science , Democracy or the challenge to democratically contain the surveillance potential of the new technologies. According to the WBGU in its new report, all digital changes should be geared towards the common good and improving people's quality of life. After all, it is also about preparing for possible long-term upheavals. So are z. For example, risks to human integrity can already be identified in human-machine interaction. This applies, for example, to sensitive neurodata or neuroprostheses for which ethical aspects have so far been insufficiently taken into account. In the age of digitalization, it is important to redefine our understanding of “human development”.

Human Movement: The Transformative Power of Cities (2016)

The impact of the current dynamic of urbanization and its effects are so great that cities, urban societies, governments and international organizations around the world have to face this trend. A “business as usual” would lead to a non-sustainable world-city society without a creative urbanization policy. Cities and urban societies can only develop their power for sustainable development if they are sufficiently capable of acting: It is in the cities that it will be decided whether the Great Transformation towards sustainability will succeed. The conditions for success for this are discussed in this book. The main report of 2016 The Movement of Mankind: The Transformative Power of Cities was published in the run-up to the UN world conference HABITAT III .

World in Transition - Human Heritage Sea (2013)

Despite numerous international agreements and voluntary commitments, the oceans are still massively overfished, polluted and increasingly exploited as the last major resource on earth. The WBGU is now taking the poor condition of the seas as an opportunity to develop a long-term vision for a sustainable approach to the blue continent: All marine zones with the exception of the coastal sea should be declared a common heritage of humanity. In order to come closer to this long-term goal for marine governance, the WBGU also presents recommendations for action that follow on from ongoing political processes. To this end, he looks at the two main areas of food - sustainable fishing and aquaculture - and energy from the sea. The report shows that sustainable use of the oceans is urgently needed, that a transformation to a climate-friendly, sustainable society is also possible with the oceans, and that it can bring significant benefits worldwide for sustainable energy supply and food security.

World in Transition - Social Contract for a Great Transformation (2011)

The main report presented in 2011 as World in Transition - Social Contract for a Great Transformation for the Rio + 20 Conference in June 2012 sees the urgent need for a post-fossil economy. In order to carry out the corresponding transformation, a social contract for innovation must be concluded through a new type of discourse between governments and citizens inside and outside the borders of the nation state.

The historian Wolfgang Wippermann criticized the approach proposed in this report as an undemocratic dystopia with which the committee far exceeded its competencies. On the other hand, the daily newspaper ( taz ) writes about the report, social contract for a major transformation : “The Scientific Advisory Board has been brooding over the report for a long time, but with the nuclear disaster in Japan, the whole thing has become more explosive. Every day, the emergency measures on the Pacific coast make it clear that the energy transition is not a nice eco-dream, but a real necessity. (...) Now the important thing: There are enemies of such an energy revolution. (...) These enemies of the energy conversion must either be won over as advocates or removed from power. The last decades have shown that they can only be moved to act with clear laws. They then recognize their chances or get out. We can't wait another half a dozen reports, natural disasters and oil wars. That would be too expensive. "

Bernhard Pötter also wrote in the daily newspaper (taz) in June 2011: “But now you are taking the big stick. "Ecodictatorship" is the reproach of RWE boss Großmann to the federal government, the same is coming from the rest of the nuclear lobby, the Tagesspiegel believes the WBGU is on the way to the "Jacobin ecological dictatorship" and Springer's world is making a whole series of debates about it. They all do not denote norms that violate the constitution, but laws and ordinances that are publicly discussed and voted in parliament and against which German courts can take action. (...) These critics use a popular trick to defame ecological progress. Because the ecological dictatorship has already been proclaimed several times by its opponents: When the EU climate targets were announced, as well as when the energy-saving bulb was introduced or when depositing cans. The existence of our democracy has always been at stake, of course, but it has always somehow survived. No wonder: after all, the eco-dictatorship is just a bogus of the anti-eco without substance, theory or anchoring. Nobody wants it, it is only very practical for their opponents. (...) The old power elite of the fossil-conservative complex are swimming away because they have no better answers to the pressing questions of the future than the ecologists have been formulating them for decades. (...) The priority for survival has nothing to do with dictatorship, but is a rational weighing of interests. However, new definitions follow from this. “Freedom”, for example, is more than economic liberalism, it can also lie in doing without: freedom from traffic jams and cheap schnitzel, freedom from the fear of a nuclear meltdown. The decoupling of freedom and economic activity is even more important than the decoupling of economic growth and energy consumption. "No driving for free citizens" would be a slogan that would get to the heart of this new form of freedom. "

Claus Leggewie , professor of political science and former WBGU member, classifies the warnings of an “eco-dictatorship” as a conspiracy theory . Contrary to the claims of the critics, the WBGU report aims to strengthen democracy. The state must obtain legitimation for the challenges of the future through more citizen participation. The future chamber proposed by the WBGU should have an advisory function and in no way represent a restriction of democratic principles.

World in Transition - Sustainable Bioenergy and Sustainable Land Use (2008)

In view of the great opportunities and risks as well as the complexity, bioenergy has quickly become a demanding political regulation and structuring task that can only be solved through global cooperation and international frameworks. The central message of the WBGU is that the sustainable potential of bioenergy that exists worldwide should be used as long as threats to sustainability can be ruled out, in particular to food security and the goals of nature and climate protection.

World in Transition - Security Risk Climate Change (2007)

Without resolute countermeasures, climate change will overwhelm the adaptive abilities of many societies in the coming decades. This could result in violence and destabilization that threaten national and international security to a previously unknown extent. Climate change could also bring the international community together if it understands it as a threat to humanity and sets the course for avoiding dangerous anthropogenic climate change in the coming years through an energetic and globally coordinated climate policy. If this does not succeed, climate change will increasingly create divisions and lines of conflict in international politics because it triggers a wide range of distribution conflicts in and between countries: for water, for land, for dealing with refugee movements or for compensation payments between the main causes of climate change and the Countries that will be primarily affected by its destructive effects. Against this background, the WBGU summarizes with this main report the current state of knowledge on the future issue of the “security risk of climate change”. This is based on the findings of research into environmental conflict and the causes of war, as well as research on the effects of climate change. On the one hand, experiences from the past were processed, but at the same time a look far into the future was dared in order to assess the impending effects of climate change on national societies, world regions and the international system.

World in Transition - Combating Poverty through Environmental Policy (2004)

At the beginning of the 21st century, poverty reduction and environmental protection are among the greatest challenges facing the global community. In the future, environmental changes will have an even greater impact on the livelihood, which will particularly affect the poor. In order to meet these challenges, the partnership between industrialized and developing countries must be filled with new life. Poverty reduction and environmental protection must be linked from the local to the global level to form a coherent policy. In this report, the WBGU shows that global poverty reduction requires global environmental policy. It analyzes the relevant political processes and gives concrete recommendations for solving problems.

World in Transition - Energy Transition towards Sustainability (2003)

The right of developing countries to development and the preservation of the natural foundations of life are the main challenges in an energy transition towards sustainability and the starting point of this report. If politicians act decisively, the transformation of global energy systems is possible and financially feasible without serious restrictions: energy efficiency must be increased, the share of fossil fuels significantly reduced and renewable energies massively promoted. For the entry into the solar age, the WBGU has developed a timetable with specific goals and measures.

World in Transition - New Structures of Global Environmental Policy (2000)

Today over 900 bilateral or multilateral environmental treaties are in force, but the most pressing problems of global change remain unsolved or are only getting worse. The international institutional and organizational structure is proving too weak to meet these challenges effectively and efficiently. The WBGU is therefore developing a vision for a reform of the United Nations in the environmental sector (Earth Alliance). The Earth Alliance comprises three cooperating areas. Firstly, the establishment of an independent body is proposed as an authority in the assessment of environmental problems , which is supposed to give (early) warning to particularly high-risk developments in global change (Earth Assessment). Second, changes to the organizational core of international environmental policy are recommended (Earth Organization). The focus is on the gradual establishment of an international environmental organization, the nucleus of which will be the United Nations' existing environmental program. Thirdly, new ways of financing global environmental policy are shown (earth funding).

World in Transition - Conservation and Sustainable Use of the Biosphere (1999)

Based on an analysis of the crisis in the global biosphere and its significance for sustainable development, the WBGU derives principles for a successful international "biosphere policy". The advisory board assumes that the relationship between humans and nature is disturbed. In the course of cultural history it has changed from the harmonious oneness of the " ecosystem people " (which the Council also sees in the so-called " primitive peoples " that still exist today ) to the role of the "biosphere people" in global industrial societies, who are primarily destructive of nature ( now as an antithesis to culture ). Against this background, the council gives top priority to the knowledge and instructions for the design of the protection and use of nature and the environment in order to keep the biosphere intact in the long term. Policy advice is offered on a wide range of topics: from bio-prospecting to sustainable land use, from bioregional management to nature conservation, from combating the depletion of natural resources to earth system analysis . Special emphasis is placed on recommendations for the further development of the Biodiversity Convention, for international scientific policy advice, for biosphere research and for the financial framework for biosphere policy.

World in Transition - Strategies for Managing Global Environmental Risks (1998)

Global risk potentials and their interactions with economic, social and ecological change processes have become a challenge for the international community. Never before have human interventions in nature reached a global scale. On the one hand, the increase in world population, especially in developing countries, and on the other hand, the increase in the level of aspirations of people in connection with a certain economic and production mode, especially in industrialized countries, have contributed to this. With this report, the Advisory Board wants to make a constructive contribution to an effective, efficient and objective handling of the risks of global change. The globally relevant risks are typified and proven, but also innovative strategies for risk assessment and instruments for risk management are assigned to these types so that management priorities can be determined. At the same time, however, it is impossible to hedge against all global risks, especially since risks are also associated with opportunities. In order to keep the risks of global change for the international community as low as possible, the WBGU recommends overarching measures for international politics, such as a worldwide approximation of liability law, the creation of environmental liability funds, the establishment of a "UN Risk Assessment Panel" and strategies for Reduction of risk exposure. In addition, the WBGU advocates improved research funding and ensuring independent basic research.

World in Transition - Ways to Sustainable Use of Freshwater (1997)

The global freshwater crisis will worsen in the future. The latest analyzes by the German Advisory Council on Global Change show not only today's hot spots, but also the regions of the world that will be particularly vulnerable to water crises in the future. In addition, three "diseases of the earth" that are closely related to the global freshwater crisis are being investigated. From this synopsis, the scientists derive recommendations for policy-making in their report. Overall, the panel of experts proposes to initiate a "World Water Charter" which commits the international community to common principles for "good use of water". Building on this, a "global action program" should be developed for the detailed design and implementation of the agreed principles. According to the ideas of the scientists, such an action program can only be implemented internationally with the help of an assertive organization. The WBGU therefore calls for the existing environmental and development institutions and programs to be consolidated into a strengthened "Organization for Sustainable Development" within the framework of the United Nations.

World in Transition - A Challenge for German Science (1996)

For the first time in its history, humanity has reached a point where development and environmental problems have led to a serious global survival crisis. To date, science has provided no or only inadequate answers. The available individual scientific analyzes prove to be unsatisfactory due to the complexity and interconnectedness of the problems. In this report, the WBGU also criticizes the fact that German research on global change has too little international orientation, is too strongly oriented towards individual disciplines and is underdeveloped in terms of policy-relevant processing. As an alternative, new possibilities for structural changes in the research landscape are shown. To this end, the panel of experts has presented a new approach to researching global change: the syndrome approach . With this, the "diseases" of planet earth can be systematically described and analyzed with the aim of developing solutions. The 16 most important syndromes or diseases on earth have been identified.

World in Transition - Ways to Solve Global Environmental Problems (1995)

In this report, the WBGU describes ways of solving global environmental problems. Although final solutions are not recognizable in many areas, irreversible catastrophic damage to the global environment still seems to be avoidable in principle with the appropriate will and action of those involved. The future must show whether these paths will actually be followed, because this will require great efforts and considerable reorientations on a local, national and global scale. Two paths are to be pursued in parallel: On the one hand, the social conditions for solving global environmental problems should be improved. These measures at the individual and institutional level are a challenge for the state and society, and non-governmental organizations can also play an important role. On the other hand, international agreements should be formulated or tightened for various areas of global environmental problems in a democratic coordination process and implemented with suitable measures.

World in Transition - The Endangerment of Soils (1994)

The soils form an essential, so far neglected basis of human life. In very different ways, human activities lead to soil degradation in many parts of the world, ranging in gradual stages from decreasing fertility to irreversible destruction. Many local processes add up to a global environmental trend that urgently needs to be countered with political measures. The slow destruction of the soil, which is difficult for the human senses to perceive, has so far led to a rather marginal treatment of this topic in the environmental debate. The threat to soils should, however, be given a significantly higher priority on the environmental agenda: better legal framework conditions should be created both nationally and internationally for soil as a protected asset. The Advisory Council recommends that the Federal Government examine whether a differentiated "Soil Declaration" is sufficient or whether a global "Soil Convention" should be sought. The report provides relevant arguments for both. With such an instrument, global soil protection should be fought for a similar international status as it has already largely achieved for climate protection.

World in Transition - Basic Structure of Global Human-Environment Relationships (1993)

In its first report in 1993, the WBGU describes the close global networking of people and nature, society and the environment. Global environmental goals and further economic development should be better coordinated: environmental policy, both in our country and in developing countries, should include global environmental impacts much more strongly than before in the framework of economic activity. With a view to the main trends of increase in world population, long-term changes in the composition of the atmosphere, loss of biodiversity and damage to and loss of soil, the Advisory Board makes some overarching recommendations:

  • Increase in development aid in Germany to 1% of the gross national product with a redefinition of the group of "developing countries" including regions of the former Eastern Bloc.
  • Rapid implementation of the Climate Convention, d. H. Reduction of CO 2 emissions, preferably through a global certificate solution; parallel to this, increased and earmarked financial transfers to protect tropical forests.
  • Raising citizens' awareness of global environmental problems and programs to promote environmentally friendly action.

Special report

Development and Justice through Transformation: The Four Big I (2016)

In 2015, there was an historic double success for sustainability and climate policy. The 2030 Agenda for Sustainable Development with its Sustainable Development Goals (SDGs) and the Paris Agreement on Climate Protection define an ambitious global target system. The group of the twenty most important industrialized and emerging countries (G20) should now resolutely push ahead with the implementation of both agreements and perceive the Great Transformation towards Sustainability as a unique modernization project that offers significant economic development opportunities. For example, the complete decarbonization of the global economy, which is necessary to avoid the greatest climate risks, can only be implemented with a profound change in energy systems and other emission-intensive infrastructures. The transformation inspires innovations and directs investments in the direction of sustainability and climate protection, including in the sustainable infrastructures that are to be established and expanded. At the same time, the transformation can be used to combat inequality, i.e. to promote inclusion within societies as well as globally, and thus become a justice project.

Climate protection as a global citizenship movement (2014)

The 5th Assessment Report of the Intergovernmental Panel on Climate Change (IPCC) makes it unmistakably clear: Unacceptable climate impacts that are likely to accumulate beyond the 2 ° C guard rail can only be avoided if the further increase in greenhouse gas concentrations is stopped as soon as possible. The WBGU therefore recommends reducing CO 2 emissions from fossil fuels to zero by 2070 at the latest. This is a political goal that is as ambitious as it is succinct, because every country, every municipality, every company and every citizen must “create zero” if the world as a whole is to become climate-neutral. However, the 2 ° C line can only be maintained if numerous actors - in particular the OECD countries - cut their emissions much earlier. Global society as a whole has a very limited carbon budget at its disposal, so that the peak in emissions should be reached by 2020 if possible, but in any case by the third decade. In this report, the WBGU outlines a dual strategy for global climate protection that relies on the interaction between multilateralism and civil society. On the one hand, the Paris Climate Agreement aimed for at the end of 2015 should have certain characteristics that the Advisory Board names. In particular, a process should be agreed to ensure compliance with the 2 ° C guard rail. On the other hand, all social actors should make their specific contributions to decarbonisation. In this way, an entangled architecture of responsibility for the future of our planet can arise, in which vertical delegation and horizontal engagement do not form a contradiction, but mutually reinforce one another.

Kassensturz for the World Climate Agreement - The Budget Approach (2009)

The latest scientific findings show that only a limited amount of carbon dioxide is allowed to enter the atmosphere in order to avoid dangerous climate change. That is why the WBGU proposes a global upper limit for carbon dioxide from fossil sources ("global budget"), which may still be emitted until the middle of the century. As early as 1995 the WBGU proposed to name an upper limit for an acceptable increase in global mean temperature, the so-called "2 ° C guard rail" and, based on this, to determine the necessary emission reductions in a back calculation. The new WBGU approach develops this point of view and makes it compatible with international climate policy.

The future of the seas - too warm, too high, too acidic (2006)

New research shows that unchecked man-made emissions of carbon dioxide will have serious consequences for the world's oceans. The progressive warming on the one hand and the acidification of the seas on the other hand threaten the marine environment and the fish stocks, which are already weakened by overfishing . As sea levels rise, the coasts are increasingly exposed to flooding and cyclone risks. In order to keep the disadvantages for people and ecosystems within limits, new paths in coastal protection must be tread, marine protected areas must be set up and regulations for dealing with refugees from endangered coastal areas must be adopted. However, these measures can only be successful if global warming and ocean acidification are significantly limited. Ambitious climate protection is therefore a crucial prerequisite for successful marine and coastal protection.

Thinking Beyond Kyoto - Climate Protection Strategies for the 21st Century (2003)

With this special report, the WBGU gives recommendations for future negotiations within the framework of the Framework Convention on Climate Change (UNFCCC), in particular the Kyoto Protocol . The focus is on three questions:

  • What is "dangerous climate change" within the meaning of Article 2 UNFCCC?
  • What socio-economically and technologically possible pathways are available to avoid such a dangerous climate change?
  • How can all countries be involved in the reduction obligations in a fair manner?

To do this, the view must extend far beyond the time horizon of the second commitment period of the Kyoto Protocol (after 2012), since a stabilization of greenhouse gas concentrations at a tolerable level can only be achieved with a long-term, ambitious reduction in greenhouse gas emissions. The report focuses on the potential for reducing emissions of carbon dioxide as the most important anthropogenic greenhouse gas. On the one hand, the economic and technological potential for reducing emissions and, on the other hand, the importance of biological carbon sinks and the possibilities for their preservation are examined. Finally, concrete recommendations for the design of political and economic instruments in the second commitment period of the Kyoto Protocol are derived. The WBGU recommends, among other things, that emission reductions should be distributed internationally in accordance with the principles of contraction and convergence .

Charges for the use of global common goods (2002)

Global commons such as international airspace and the high seas are increasingly being overexploited because users do not have to bear the full costs of their actions. The CO 2 emissions from international air traffic and shipping do not fall under the quantitative obligations of the Kyoto Protocol. By collecting user charges, these regulatory loopholes can be closed and ecological control effects can be generated to reduce environmental damage. In addition, funds are obtained that are earmarked for the protection and preservation of global common goods. In this special report, the Advisory Board gives recommendations for a politically viable implementation of the concept of global user charges.

Environment and Ethics (1999)

Are people allowed to do everything they can? Can mankind harness nature and the environment entirely for its own purposes? More and more people are asking about the limits of human intervention in nature. What is ethically allowed and what should be prohibited? The WBGU tries to provide an answer to these difficult questions in this book. In doing so, he sets out a number of principles that must not be violated, even if there are great economic advantages. In addition, it is the task of ethics to set up generally applicable criteria in order to be able to weigh up competing concerns. With this set of ethical and economic criteria, the Federal Government should aggressively represent nature and species protection issues at the international level.

The accounting of biological sources and sinks in the Kyoto Protocol: progress or setback for global environmental protection? (1998)

This special report evaluates the Kyoto Protocol with regard to the accounting for biological sources and sinks. The advisory board generally supports the idea of ​​combining climate and sink protection. However, the Advisory Board assesses the type of accounting for biological sources and sinks, as regulated in the Kyoto Protocol, as insufficient and in need of improvement in order to serve both climate protection and the protection of biological diversity. The current mode of crediting can lead to negative incentives for both climate protection and the protection of biodiversity and the soil. The reduction in net emissions that can be achieved through terrestrial sinks is also associated with many uncertainties and imponderables. Even with minor climate changes, sinks can become sources. The energy-related emissions cannot be compensated by the terrestrial biosphere in the long term. In this special report, the WBGU first analyzes the regulations of the Kyoto Protocol and presents the state of knowledge about the source and sink potential of terrestrial ecosystems as well as the existing uncertainties and open questions. This is the basis for an assessment of the regulations in the Kyoto Protocol as well as for Recommendations for interpretation and further handling.

Goals for climate protection (1997)

In this statement on the third Conference of the Parties to the Framework Convention on Climate Change, the WBGU gives recommendations on the structuring of the obligations to be agreed in a protocol to the Convention. This concerns in particular binding, temporally and quantitatively determined targets to limit the emission of greenhouse gases, which are to be agreed for the industrialized countries listed in Annex I of the Framework Convention on Climate Change in accordance with the "Berlin Mandate" agreed at the first Conference of the Parties. This is intended to achieve the central goal of the Framework Convention on Climate Change, namely to stabilize the concentration of greenhouse gases at a level at which a “dangerous man-made disruption of the climate system” is prevented.

Scenario for deriving global CO 2 reduction targets and implementation strategies (1995)

On the occasion of the first Conference of the Parties to the Framework Convention on Climate Change (UNFCCC), the WBGU is issuing the following statement on the derivation of global CO 2 reduction targets and implementation strategies. The Advisory Board derives a global CO 2 reduction target that was calculated in an "inverse scenario" on the basis of mathematical-physical models. Based on the analysis of the ecologically and economically acceptable pollution caused by climate change, a “tolerance window” for the permissible climatic developments is first established. Ecological limits result from the maximum temperature and the temperature gradient to which the biosphere can still adapt. Economic limits are determined by the climate impact costs that are just reasonable for the global economy.

Public events and knowledge communication (selection)

In May 2012 the WBGU organized a high-level international symposium “Towards Low-Carbon Prosperity: National Strategies and International Partnerships” in Berlin, where the various national strategies for building climate-friendly energy systems and opportunities for international partnerships were discussed. Chancellor Angela Merkel gave the main speech. The WBGU report "World in Transition - Social Contract for a Great Transformation" is also available as a video-based course in English. The “World in Transition” course of the WBGU was developed in cooperation with the Virtual Academy of Sustainability. The aim is to offer students and universities freely accessible and free online courses on the subject of sustainability. The video-based course is also a contribution to the 2012 Science Year of the BMBF “Future Project Earth”. On the occasion of the adoption of the new Sustainable Development Goals , WBGU Co-Chairman Dirk Messner comments in a video in which he emphasizes the consideration of planetary guard rails in the implementation of the SDGs. The WBGU has produced an animated short film to explain the concept of planetary guard rails.

To popularize its report "World in Transition - Social Contract for a Great Transformation" (2011), the WBGU launched a comic book in 2013 ("The Great Transformation; Climate - Are we going to get the curve?") That describes the complex contents of the study represents generally understandable. The English edition of the comic was published in 2014 under the title “The Great Transformation: Climate - Can we beat the Heat?” The French edition was published in 2015 under the title “La Grande Transformation - Climat, inverserons-nous la courbe?”. In 2016 the comic “The urban planet - How cities secure our future” appeared in German, English and Spanish.

In 2017 the WBGU organized the international conference “The transformative power of cities”. Two panels dealt with the topics “Do real estate markets lead to unjust cities?” And “Digital cities - Potential or Risk for Sustainable Development?”. Speakers were u. a. Stefan Bone-Winkel, Shivani Chaudhry, Leilani Fahra, Barbara Hendricks , Dirk Messner , Saskia Sassen , Hans Joachim Schellnhuber and Carlo Ratti .

The members of the advisory board

Current advisory board members

The WBGU has nine members who are appointed by the Federal Cabinet for a period of four years on the proposal of the Ministers for Education and Research (BMBF) and Environment, Nature Conservation, Building and Nuclear Safety (BMUB). When the Advisory Board was replaced in 2013, there were differences of opinion between the coalition partners of the federal government. The chairmen of the WBGU are elected by the members. The current appointment period ends in October 2020. The current members of the WBGU are:

  • Martina Fromhold-Eisebith , Head of the Chair for Economic Geography at RWTH Aachen University. Research focus: Innovation-oriented regional development, global-local relationships in economic development, sustainability and regional development (WBGU member since 2016)
  • Ulrike Grote , Director of the Institute for Environmental Economics and World Trade at Gottfried Wilhelm Leibniz Universität Hannover and Senior Fellow at the Center for Development Research (ZEF), Bonn (WBGU member since 2016)
  • Ellen Matthies , Professor of Environmental Psychology at Otto von Guericke University Magdeburg (WBGU member since 2013)
  • Karen Pittel (Co-Chair), Director of the Center for Energy, Climate and Exhaustible Resources at the Ifo Institute for Economic Research and Professor of Economics, especially Energy, Climate and Exhaustible Natural Resources, at the Ludwig Maximilians University of Munich (WBGU member since 2016)
  • Hans Joachim Schellnhuber , former director of the Potsdam Institute for Climate Impact Research (PIK) and external professor at the Santa Fe Institute (since 1992 in the WBGU, 1994–1996 vice chairman, 1996–2000 chairman, 2004–2008 vice chairman, 2009–2016 chairman)
  • Sabine Schlacke (Co-Chair), Professor of Public Law and Managing Director of the Institute for Environmental and Planning Law at the Westphalian Wilhelms University of Münster (since 2008 in the WBGU, since 2016 Chair)

Former advisory board members

Former advisory board members are:

  • Friedrich O. Beese , Agronomist: Director of the Institute for Soil Science and Forest Nutrition, University of Göttingen (1992–2000)
  • Nina Buchmann , Professor of Grassland Science, Institute of Plant Sciences, Swiss Federal Institute of Technology, Zurich Prof. (2004–2008)
  • Astrid Epiney , Professor of International Law, European Law and Swiss Public Law, Managing Director at the Institute for European Law, Université de Friborg (2004–2008)
  • Klaus Fraedrich , Meteorologist: Meteorological Institute of the University of Hamburg (1996–2000)
  • Hartmut Graßl , Director at the Max Planck Institute for Meteorology, Hamburg (Chairman 1992–1994, 2000–2004)
  • Rainer Grießhammer , member of the management of the Öko-Institut eV, Freiburg, and managing director of the Future Heritage Foundation (2004–2008)
  • Gotthilf Hempel , fishery biologist: Director of the Center for Tropical Marine Ecology University of Bremen (1992–1996)
  • Paul Klemmer , Economist: President of the Rhenish-Westphalian Institute for Economic Research (1992–2000)
  • Juliane Kokott , Lawyer, Chair of German and Foreign Public Law, International Law and European Law at the University of Düsseldorf (Deputy Chair 1992–2003)
  • Frauke Kraas , Professor of Anthropogeography at the University of Cologne (2013–2016).
  • Lenelis Kruse-Graumann , Psychologist: Focus on "Ecological Psychology", Fernuniversität Hagen (1992–2000)
  • Margareta Kulessa , Professor of General Economics and International Economic Relations, Mainz University of Applied Sciences (2000–2008)
  • Karin Labitzke , Meteorologist: Institute for Meteorology at the Free University of Berlin (1992–1996)
  • Claus Leggewie , Director of the Cultural Studies Institute Essen (KWI) and Professor of Political Science, University of Giessen. Co-Director of the Käte Hamburger Center for Political Cultures of World Society, University of Duisburg-Essen (2008–2016)
  • Reinhold Leinfelder , geologist and paleontologist with a focus on geobiology, integrative biodiversity research and knowledge communication; Professor at the Institute for Geological Sciences at the Free University of Berlin (2008–2013)
  • Peter Lemke , Professor of Physics of Atmosphere and Ocean, University of Bremen and Head of the Climate Science Department at the Alfred Wegener Institute Helmholtz Center for Polar and Marine Research (2013–2016)
  • Joachim Luther , Head of the Fraunhofer Institute for Solar Energy Systems in Freiburg (2000–2004)
  • Dirk Messner (Chairman), Director of the Institute for Environment and Human Security of the United Nations University (UNU-EHS) and Co-Director of the Center for Advanced Studies on Global Cooperation Research, University of Duisburg-Essen (since 2004 at the WBGU, Deputy Chairman 2009–2013, 2013–2019 chairman)
  • Heidrun Mühle , agronomist: Agricultural Landscapes project area at the Leipzig-Halle Environmental Research Center (1992–1996)
  • Nebojsa Nakicenovic , Professor of Energy Economics at the Technical University of Vienna, Deputy Director of the International Institute for Applied Systems Analysis (IIASA) and Director of the Global Energy Assessment (GEA) (2008-2016)
  • Christine Neumann , Doctor: Director of the Department of Dermatology and Venereology at the University of Göttingen (1996–2000)
  • Franz Nuscheler , Director of the Institute for Development and Peace in Duisburg (2000–2004)
  • Stefan Rahmstorf , Professor of Ocean Physics, University of Potsdam, and Head of the Earth System Analysis Department at the Potsdam Institute for Climate Impact Research (2004–2013)
  • Ortwin Renn , Sociologist: Academy for Technology Assessment in Baden-Württemberg (1996–2000)
  • Rainer Sauerborn , Medical Director of the Department of Tropical Hygiene and Public Health at Heidelberg University Hospital (2000–2004)
  • Ina Schieferdecker , Head of the Fraunhofer Institute for Open Communication Systems (FOKUS) in Berlin, Professor for Quality Engineering of Open, Distributed Systems at the TU Berlin and Director of the Weizenbaum Institute for the Networked Society (2016-2018)
  • Jürgen Schmid , former head of the Fraunhofer Institute for Wind Energy and Energy System Technology, IWES (2004–2013)
  • Uwe Schneidewind , President and Scientific Director at the Wuppertal Institute for Climate, Environment, Energy gGmbH and Professor for Innovation Management and Sustainability ("Sustainable Transition Management") at the Bergische Universität Wuppertal (WBGU member 2013–2020)
  • Renate Schubert , Professor of Economics and Director of the Institute for Environmental Decisions, Eidgenössische Technische Hochschule, Zurich (2000–2013, Chair 2004–2008)
  • Ernst-Detlef Schulze , botanist, director at the Max Planck Institute for Biogeochemistry in Jena (1996-2004)
  • Udo Ernst Simonis , Economist: Research focus "Technology - Work - Environment" at the Science Center Berlin (1992–1996)
  • Hans-Willi Thoenes , Technologist: Rheinisch-Westfälischer TÜV in Essen (1992–1996)
  • Max Tilzer , Limnologist: Faculty of Biology, University of Konstanz (1996–2000)
  • Paul Velsinger , Economist: Head of the Department of Spatial Policy at the University of Dortmund (1992–2000)
  • Horst Zimmermann , Economist: Department of Public Finance at the University of Marburg (1992–2000, Chairman 1994–1996)

See also

Web links

Individual evidence

  1. ↑ Sustainable Development Goals 2015 , WBGU, 2014
  2. ↑ Habitat III ( Memento of the original from January 18, 2017 in the Internet Archive ) Info: The archive link was inserted automatically and has not yet been checked. Please check the original and archive link according to the instructions and then remove this notice. , WBGU, 2016 @1@ 2Template: Webachiv / IABot / www.wbgu.de
  3. ↑ G20 Presidency of Germany 2017 , WBGU, 2016
  4. ↑ Dr. Maja Göpel to be the new General Secretary of the WBGU , press release, German Advisory Council on Global Change, July 4, 2017.
  5. ↑ Scientific Committee , German UNESCO Commission , accessed on March 13, 2019.
  6. ↑ Our common digital future. WBGU, 2019, accessed December 15, 2019 .
  7. ↑ Main report 2019 , "Our common digital future"
  8. ↑ Main report 2016 , "The move of mankind: The transformative power of cities", abridged version of the report, April 25, 2016 (the long version will probably appear in July 2016)
  9. ↑ Main report 2013 , "World in Transition: Human Heritage Sea"
  10. ↑ Main report 2011 , "World in Transition: Social Contract for a Great Transformation"
  11. ↑ On the direct route to the climate dictatorship? , June 6, 2011, FOCUS-Online, by Jan-Philipp Hein
  12. ↑ Rainer Metzer: Only laws can help against blockers. In: taz.de , April 7, 2011, page 1. Retrieved March 6, 2013.
  13. ^ Bernhard Pötter: The German ghost. In: taz.de , June 20, 2011. Retrieved March 6, 2013.
  14. ↑ Claus Leggewie : Warnings against an eco-dictatorship? Ridiculous! In: welt.de , May 25, 2011
  15. ↑ Main report 2008 , "World in Transition: Sustainable Bioenergy and Sustainable Land Use"
  16. ↑ Main report 2007 , "World in Transition: Security Risk Climate Change"
  17. ↑ Main report 2004 , "World in Transition: Combating Poverty through Environmental Policy"
  18. ↑ Main report 2003 , "World in Transition: Energy Turnaround Towards Sustainability"
  19. ↑ Main report 2000 , "World in Transition: New Structures of Global Environmental Policy"
  20. ↑ Ivana Weber: The nature of nature conservation: how concepts of nature and gender codes determine what is worth protecting. Oekom-Verlag, Munich 2007. ISBN 978-3-86581-082-3 . Section III.2.3: Analysis and criticism of the annual report “Welt im Wandel. Conservation and sustainable use of the biosphere ”of the German Advisory Council on Global Change (WBGU) from 1999. pp. 189, 198.
  21. ↑ WBGU: World in Transition - Conservation and Sustainable Use of the Biosphere. Springer-Verlag, Berlin-Heidelberg, 2000. ISBN 3-540-67106-4 . Pp. 124-126, 187.
  22. ↑ Main report 1999 , "World in Transition: Conservation and Sustainable Use of the Biosphere"
  23. ↑ Main report 1998 , "World in Transition: Strategies for Coping with Global Environmental Risks"
  24. ↑ Main report 1997 , "World in Transition: Ways to Sustainable Use of Freshwater"
  25. ↑ Main report 1996 , "World in Transition: A Challenge for German Science"
  26. ↑ Main report 1995 , "World in Transition: Ways to Solve Global Environmental Problems"
  27. ↑ Main report 1994 , "World in Transition: The Endangerment of Soils"
  28. ↑ Main report 1993 , "World in Transition: Basic Structure of Global Human-Environment Relationships"
  29. ↑ Special report 2016 , "Development and Justice through Transformation: The Four Big I"
  30. ↑ Special report 2014 , "Climate protection as a global citizen movement"
  31. ↑ Special report 2009 , "Kassensturz for the world climate treaty"
  32. ↑ Special report 2006 , "The future of the seas - too warm, too high, too sour"
  33. ↑ Special report 2003 , "Thinking beyond Kyoto - Climate protection strategies for the 21st century"
  34. ↑ Special report 2002 , "Remuneration for the use of global common goods "
  35. ↑ Special report 1999 , "Environment and Ethics"
  36. ↑ Special report 1998 , "The accounting for biological sources and sinks in the Kyoto Protocol"
  37. ^ Special report 1997 , "Targets for Climate Protection 1997"
  38. ↑ Special report 1995 , "Scenario for the derivation of global CO2 reduction targets and implementation strategies"
  39. ↑ International Symposium "Towards Low-Carbon Prosperity: National Strategies and International Partnerships" ( Memento of the original from January 10, 2014 in the Internet Archive ) Info: The archive link was inserted automatically and has not yet been checked. Please check the original and archive link according to the instructions and then remove this notice. , Video and text documentation, May 2012. @1@ 2Template: Webachiv / IABot / www.wbgu.de
  40. ↑ Video seminar "Transformation". In: Virtual Academy Sustainability. WBGU, 2012, accessed on April 12, 2019 (English).
  41. ↑ Statement by Dirk Messner on the consideration of planetary guard rails when implementing the SDGs
  42. ↑ Animated short film explaining the concept of planetary guard rails
  43. ↑ Archive link ( Memento of the original dated December 22, 2015 in the Internet Archive ) Info: The archive link was inserted automatically and has not yet been checked. Please check the original and archive link according to the instructions and then remove this notice.  @1@ 2Template: Webachiv / IABot / www.wbgu.de
  44. ↑ http://www.cambourakis.com/spip.php?article581
  45. ↑ Comic 2016 , "The Urban Planet - How Cities Secure Our Future"
  46. ↑ Süddeutsche Zeitung of May 2, 2013: FDP blocked climate experts Schellnhuber
  47. ↑ Frankfurter Allgemeine Zeitung of May 5, 2013: Rösler takes Schellnhuber to the advisory board
  48. ↑ Spiegel Online from May 2, 2013: Thick air around Merkel's new environmental whisperers
  49. ^ WBGU: Members of the WBGU newly appointed. ( Memento of the original from June 11, 2013 in the Internet Archive ) Info: The archive link was inserted automatically and has not yet been checked. Please check the original and archive link according to the instructions and then remove this notice. , Press release of May 8, 2013. Accessed May 13, 2013. @1@ 2Template: Webachiv / IABot / www.wbgu.de
  50. ^ BMU : Members of the Scientific Advisory Board on Global Change Appointed. Press release of May 8, 2013. Accessed May 13, 2013.
  51. ↑ WBGU: Advisory Board . Retrieved May 13, 2013.