Berlin, 18 February 2021: EPICO KlimaInnovation, the Energy and Climate Policy and Innovation Council e.V., a new, policy-oriented think tank is launched in Berlin. EPICO KlimaInnovation aims to advance the path to climate neutrality with a market-oriented and innovation-oriented perspective.
""Climate protection is a matter of existence for mankind and nature; at the same time, technological leadership is the guarantee of survival for the German economy. The reconciliation of ecology, economy and social issues through sustainable growth has to be made concrete. We must pursue the 1.5-degree target with a binding regulatory framework for massively accelerated innovation. EPICO KlimaInnovation will develop credible concepts for this," says Andreas Jung MdB, Chairperson of the Advisory Board of EPICO KlimaInnovation, on the occasion of the first Advisory Board meeting.
Dr. Bernd Weber, founder and Executive Director of EPICO KlimaInnovation emphasises: "Our approach is both innovative and pragmatic. We will develop viable, balanced strategies with and for policymakers to implement climate neutrality in an efficient, reliable and socially acceptable way. The lever for this lies in strengthening the dynamics of the market and innovation. The opportunities for additional value creation and new jobs through a consistent focus on climate innovation are enormous. We should seize them now."
EPICO KlimaInnovation is both a think tank and a network that brings together key players in climate and energy policy and provides a platform for contributing and discussing goal-oriented approaches and driving them forward in a socially just and equitable manner.
Management Board:
Dr. Bernd Weber
Founder and Executive Director of EPICO KlimaInnoavtion, previously Director Industry, Energy and Environment at the Wirtschaftsrat (Economic Council)
EPICO KlimaInnovation's independent advisory board is constituted:
EPICO KlimaInnovation is supported by an independent advisory board, which advises on the guidelines and fundamental direction of the think tank and its activities.
Experts from politics, business, science and civil society are engaged in the advisory board of EPICO KlimaInnovation. The membership of the advisory board is explicitly personal and the members are not performing this role in an institutional capacity.
Chairperson:
Andreas Jung MdB
Deputy Chairman of the CDU/CSU Parliamentary Group in the German Bundestag
Members:
Christoph Bals
Political Director, Germanwatch e.V.
Jörg Dürr-Pucher
Chairman of the Renewable Energy Platform Baden-Württemberg, President of the Lake Constance Foundation, Managing Director, Clean Energy GmbH
Prof. Dr. Ottmar Edenhofer
Professor for the Economics of Climate Change at the Technical University of Berlin, Director and Chief Economist of the Potsdam Institute for Climate Impact Research, Director of the Mercator Research Institute on Global Commons and Climate Change (MCC)
Tanja Gönner
Spokeswoman of the Board of Deutsche Gesellschaft für Internationale Zusammenarbeit (GIZ) GmbH
Dr Andree Groos
Managing Director, Vaillant Group
Ursula Heinen-Esser
Minister for the Environment, Agriculture, Nature Conservation and Consumer Protection of the State of North Rhine-Westphalia
Dieter Janecek Member of the Bundestag
Spokesman for Industrial Policy and the Digital Economy of the Bündnis 90/DIE GRÜNEN Parliamentary Group in the German Bundestag
Stefan Kapferer
Chief Executive Officer, 50Hertz Transmission GmbH
Dr. Lukas Köhler
Member of the Bundestag
Spokesman for Climate Policy of the FDP Parliamentary Group in the German Bundestag
Dr. Andreas Lenz MdB
Chairman of the Parliamentary Advisory Council for Sustainable Development in the German Bundestag, CSU
Prof. Dr. Andreas Löschel
Chair of Microeconomics at the Westphalian Wilhelms University Münster, Chairman of the Expert Commission for the Monitoring Process "Energy of the Future" of the German Federal Government
Dr. Johannes Merck
Board of Directors, Michael Otto Environmental Foundation
Hildegard Müller
President, German Association of the Automotive Industry e.V. (VDA)
Prof. Dr. Karen Pittel
Professor of Economics at the Ludwig Maximilian University of Munich, Director of the Ifo Center for Energy, Climate and Resources, Co-Chair of the German Advisory Council on Global Change (WBGU)
Cornelia Quennet-Thielen
Former State Secretary
Dr. Klaus Schäfer
Chief Technology Officer, Covestro AG
Prof. Dr. Dr. h. c. Christoph M. Schmidt
President of the RWI - Leibniz Institute for Economic Research, Vice President of the German Academy of Science and Engineering (acatech), Deputy Chairman of the Board of Directors of the ESYS project (Energy Systems of the Future)
Dr. Rolf Martin Schmitz
Chairman of the Board, RWE AG
Nadine Schön MdB
Deputy Chairwoman of the CDU/CSU Parliamentary Group in the German Bundestag, responsible for the "Digital Agenda", among other things
Olaf Tschimpke
Chairman, NABU International Nature Conservation Foundation
Michael Vassiliadis
Chairman of the Mining, Chemical and Energy Workers' Union (IG BCE)
EPICO KlimaInnovation is an independently financed non-profit organisation. Its independent work and projects are funded through the support of or in partnership with the Konrad Adenauer Foundation, the European Climate Foundation, and Breakthrough Energy.
Press contact:
Email: presse@epico.org
Phone: +49 (0) 30 985 024 88