Potsdam Institute for Climate Impact Research - Research Department 5
Research Department 5 (RD5), Climate Economics and Policy/MCC Berlin, brings economic and social science to the questions of how societies can govern the global commons and deliver climate change mitigation that is effective, feasible, and fair. As part of Potsdam Institute for Climate Impact Research (PIK), RD5 contributes solution-oriented analysis of policy portfolios, including carbon pricing, subsidy reform, and climate finance, with a strong focus on real world political economy and decision making. RD5 also strengthens the science policy interface through policy advice and public engagement, guided by a commitment to policy relevance without being policy prescriptive. RD5 includes the former Mercator Research Institute on Global Commons and Climate Change (MCC Berlin), integrated into PIK in 2025. This year's GCET chairs, Prof. Dr. Jan C. Steckel and Prof. Dr. Matthias Kahlkuhl, are both working group leaders at RD5.
Prof. Dr. Jan Steckel
Prof. Dr. Jan Steckel heads the working group "Climate Policy and Development" at the Potsdam Institute for Climate Impact Research (PIK). He is also a professor for the political economy of climate policy at the Technical University of Munich. Jan is author of multiple academic and non academic publications focusing on climate policy and economics, inter alia on the political economy of energy transitions, distributional effects of carbon pricing policies or acceptabiltiy of climate policy. He has contributed to various IPCC reports and led a chapter on the international coal phase out in UNEP's Emissions Gap Report 2017. Jan has advised governments and international organizations, such as IMF or World Bank, and NGOs. Jan co-leads the Climate Policy for Development Initiative hosted by EfD.
Prof. Dr. Matthias Kahlkuhl
Prof. Dr. Matthias Kalkuhl heads the “Climate Economics and Policy” department as well as the “Welfare and Policy Design” research group. He is also Professor of Economic Growth, Climate Change, and Development at the Faculty of Economics and Social Sciences at the University of Potsdam. His research areas include CO₂ pricing and other climate policy measures, distributional and tax policy analyses, and models for financing global public goods such as climate protection or biodiversity
