Gunnar Luderer - Home

Gunnar Luderer is a senior researcher and group leader in Research Domain III - Sustainable Solutions.  He leads the Global Energy Systems Group within PIK's Research Domain III, and is the Lead Scientist for the REMIND Integrated Assessment Model. He was a lead author of the 2013 and 2018 UNEP Emissions Gap Reports and a contributing author to the Fifth Assessment Report, the Special Report on Renewable Energy Sources  as well as the Special Report on Warming of 1.5°C of the Intergovernmental Panel on Climate Change. He studied Physics, Economics and Atmospheric Sciences at the University of Heidelberg and Oregon State University. He performed his doctoral studies at the MPI for Chemistry in Mainz. Before joining PIK in October 2007, he worked in the Climate Policy Unit of the German Federal Environment Agency. Click here for a more detailed CV.

Research interests

• Integrated, model-based analysis of energy transformations and climate change mitigation pathways (REMIND model)

• Low stabilization of greenhouse gas concentrations and cost-efficient mitigation strategies

• Interrelation between near-term climate policies and the achievability of long-term climate targets
• Energy-Climate-Environment Nexus

Publications

• Full list of publications
• Google Scholar: https://goo.gl/sSbIk4
• Researcher ID: http://www.researcherid.com/rid/G-2967-2012
  

Past and current projects

• Kopernikus Project Energy Transition Navigation System (Enavi) - Work Package Leader

• Australian-German Energy Transition Hub (START) - Co-Director
• Advanced Model Development and Validation for Improved Analysis of Costs and Impacts of Mitigation Policies (ADVANCE) - Project Director
• Global greenhouse-gas emission pathways until 2050 (commissioned by the German Federal Environment Agency) - Project Leader
• Linking Climate and Development Policies: Leveraging International Networks and Knowledge Sharing (CD-LINKS) - Work Package Leader

• Roadmaps Towards Sustainable Energy Futures (RoSE)
• EMF-27 study by the Stanford Energy Modeling Forum (EMF)
• Scenarios on the feasibility of emission reductions towards limiting climate change to 2°C (commissioned by the German Federal Environment Agency) - Project Leader
• Mitigation potential of renewable methane and hydrogen (commissioned by the German Association of Gas and Water Utilities DVGW) - Project Leader
• Report on Energy and Climate Policy in Europe (RECIPE) - Scientific Coordinator and Leader of Model Intercomparison Project
• Development of the Integrated Assessment Model REMIND

• A Global Contract Based on Climate Justice  (project webpage) - Project Coordinator

News highlights

[November 2018] UNEP Emissions Gap Report 2018 published

[June 2018] Residual fossil fuel emissions from industry, transport and heating in buildings endanger climate targets

[December 2017] Low indirect greenhouse gas emissions for wind and solar

[August 2017]  Importance of solar energy underestimated by a factor of three

[December 2016]  ENavi Kopernikus Project on Systems Integration kicks off [environmental impacts work package]

[October 2016]  ADVANCE final conference "Deep decarbonization for staying well below 2°C" held in Brussels

[May 2015] What would it take to limit climate change to 1.5°C?

[Feb 2015] Clean technology policy helps overcome climate action gap

[Aug 2014] The cost of delay: White House report citing PIK research

[Apr 2014] IPCC Assessment Report on Climate Change Mitigation published

[Nov 2013] UNEP Gap Report 2013 released

[Sep 2013] New study on the effects of climate policy futures and technology availability on the economics of climate change mitigation: Economic mitigation challenges: how further delay closes the door for climate targets (journal article) (preprint)
Delaying climate policies would triple transitional mitigation costs (press release)
Policy brief for the German Federal Environment Agency (Umweltbundesamt) 

Media appearances (selection)

Interview in Der Standard on climate mitigation potential in Austria

In the Washington Post on requirements for the 1.5°C limit

Interview featured in Potsdamer Neueste Nachrichten on the climate action gap

Interview featured in Deutsche Welle on the costs of delayed climate action