Leading the way – the office of the Science Platform on Climate Protection
Germany wants to become climate neutral by 2045. This requires a radical restructuring of all economic sectors. This calls for technological innovations as well as changes in lifestyles and behaviour – and thus also broad social participation.
The Climate Protection Plan is the German government's long-term strategy for achieving these goals. Within the framework of the Climate Action Plan, the German government has set up the WPKS to facilitate an accompanying scientific process. A steering committee of eight renowned scientists provides scientific expertise and advice for the further development of the long-term strategy and networks with politics and society, for example through the Climate Protection Action Alliance, which was also established as part of the Climate Protection Plan.
Managing scientific climate policy
The staff of the office also advise the commissioning departments of the Federal Ministry for the Environment, Nature Conservation and Nuclear Safety (BMU) and the Federal Ministry of Education and Research (BMBF) on the further development of the platform and support exchange with society, for example within the framework of the Climate Protection Action Alliance. Furthermore, to ensure that the WPKS is also visible to the public, the office operates a website with all the information about the WPKS's work.
Regular exchange
The WPKS Steering Committee was appointed in 2019 by the Federal Minister for the Environment, Svenja Schulze, and the Federal Minister of Research, Anja Karliczek. Since then, regular exchange has been maintained between the steering committee and policy-makers, which increasingly involves the wider scientific community. In July 2020, a statement on a package of measures to stimulate the economy in the Corona pandemic was submitted and discussed with the state secretaries of the BMBF and BMU.