CO2-pricing: German chancellor Angela Merkel visited PIK for a scientific briefing

14/06/2019 - For more than two hours, German Chancellor Angela Merkel visited the Potsdam Institute for Climate Impact Research (PIK) last Thursday, June 13th, to discuss climate change and climate policy with Director Ottmar Edenhofer and other researchers. A special focus of the meeting lay on options for an effective and fair CO2 pricing. Besides Mrs Merkel, Minister of State to the Federal Chancellor, Helge Braun, spokesman State Secretary Steffen Seibert and experts from the Chancellery also took part. A good two dozen researchers from all research departments at PIK were involved in the round table discussion taking place the Great Cupola of PIK's historic Michelson building and presented research results on climate risks and possible solutions for the climate crisis.
CO2-pricing: German chancellor Angela Merkel visited PIK for a scientific briefing

"After the financial crisis and the refugee crisis, the Chancellor is now tackling the climate crisis, and of course we are trying to provide political decision-makers with relevant facts from the excellent research at our institute," said Ottmar Edenhofer, PIK-Director. "This was not about media, not about sightseeing – this visit by the Chancellor to our institute was really all about information. She asked important questions, it was an intensive discussion." In addition to CO2 pricing, the topics discussed included the increase and causes of devastating weather extremes, the effects of climate change on human health and on agriculture, as well as greenhouse gas neutrality, a target internationally agreed upon in the Paris Agreement. So far, however, the countries of the world have not yet embarked on a path of emission reductions making the goals of climate stabilisation achievable.


Foto: PIK/GrebScientists from all research departments were involved in the meeting with Chancellor Angela Merkel. Photo: PIK/Greb

Foto: PIK/GrebChancellor Angela Merkel discussing climate risks and policy solutions with experts from natural sciences and social sciences. Photo: Guido Bergmann/BPA


Weblink to the joint proposal by Ottmar Edenhofer (PIK/MCC) and Christoph Schmidt (RWI) for a CO2 pricing framework (in German):
http://www.rwi-essen.de/publikationen/rwi-positionen/450/

Weblink to the dossier by PIK and MCC: Eckpunkte einer CO2-Preisreform für Deutschland (in German):
https://www.pik-potsdam.de/news/press-releases/files/eckpunkte-einer-co2-preisreform-fur-deutschland