The Steering Committee
The steering committee is made up of experts from various areas of society and enriches the work of the center with their professional perspectives.
The tasks of the Steering Committee are:
- Strategic supervision and decision-making function regarding the direction of the ZKfN office and its activities as well as quality assurance
- Advising the office and contributing topics and ideas
- Creating visibility for the entire ZKfN
- Strengthening and further developing the ZKfN network (regionally and nationally)
- Developing topics for new Climate Future Labs. The final decision is made by the MWK.
The members of the steering committee serve on an honorary basis until the end of the first funding phase on December 31, 2027.
Prof. Dr. Ute Clement
, President of the University of Kassel, Spokesperson of the Steering Committee“The only way to successfully tackle the great challenges of our time is by working together. It is a matter dear to me that we successfully cooperate across the boundaries of our disciplines and federal states so that we can collectively build a future worth living.”More
Dr. Marcus Beiner, Deputy Spokesperson of the Steering Committee
, Niedersächisches Ministerium für Wissenschaft und Kultur“Climate change is one of the biggest challenges of the present and the future, and one that we can only meet with the joint effort of science and society. Every day, interdisciplinary climate research shows us how crucial a role research and science play in societal development. Our Ministry’s aim for the ZKfN is to pool all the relevant expertise in Lower Saxony, to create momentum through our varied calls for proposals and inspire ideas from the scientific community, and to encourage cooperation with non-academic partners.”More
Prof. Dr. Elisabeth Broermann
, TU Berlin“In times of climate and resource crisis, we can no longer carry on as if there was no tomorrow. Here I rely on science that develops intelligent solutions that focus on ecology, climate and social justice. This is essential to make a future worth living possible.”Prof. Dr. Elisabeth BroermannMore
Arne Dunker
, German Climate Foundation“ ‘Spirits that I’ve summoned my commands ignore’ – Goethe’s Sorcerer’s Apprentice captures in words what more and more people are now realising. Climate change is here. For more than 50 years, science has been warning us with increasing urgency of the impacts of this change. At this point, the eleventh hour has passed. We have upset the system’s fragile balance and now can only hope to ward off some of the worst-case scenarios. I am glad to be a part of the ZKfN's Steering Committee. It is close to my heart that we shape our research projects with a view to how we can share their topics and results with the general public. ‘From knowledge to action’ has to be the motto when it comes to climate protection and adaptation.”More
Kathleen Fritzsche
, Stifterverband“The climate crisis and its impact pose the biggest threat of our time for humanity. It is imperative that we exhaust every possibility to identify strategies for climate protection and resilience and, more to the point, implement those strategies. I look forward to contributing my experience – in innovation and active nature conservation, as well as from my work with universities – to the Steering Committee.”More
Lena Hübsch
, Niedersächsisches Kompetenzzentrum Klimawandel“The climate crisis has long since become a reality. Our task now is to join forces and devote all our energy to climate protection and adaptive measures. On the Steering Committee, I am committed to bringing research and practice together.”More
Dr. Christine Merk
, Kiel Institute for the World Economy – Research Center Global Commons and Climate Policy“One of the major political and social challenges is to move from planning to action. With my work on the steering committee, I would like to contribute to ensuring that science communication, transdisciplinary collaboration and application orientation have a prominent place in the work of the ZKfN.”More
Prof. Dr. Gerd Michelsen
, Leuphana University Lüneburg“Climate change and the energy transition are two sides of the same coin and major societal challenges. The ZKfN is tackling these challenges and working on scientifically sound solutions. Against this background, I am very happy to support the Scientific Advisory Board with my expertise as a sustainability scientist.”More
The Scientific Advisory Pool
The scientific advisory pool supports and advises the ZKfN on fundamental technical issues, supports the Center's orientation with scientific expertise and, in particular, supports the preparation of the annual funding call. The scientific advisory pool is made up of experts from a wide range of scientific disciplines in Germany and abroad.