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EPICO KlimaInnovation

The launch of a new policy-oriented think tank for market-based and innovation-oriented climate and energy policy in Berlin

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

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