Mercator Research Institute on Global Commons and Climate Change

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Mercator Research Institute on Global Commons and Climate Change
MCC-Research-Institute.jpg
MCC located at the EUREF-Building, Berlin
Other name
MCC
TypeEconomic research, social sciences
Established2012(11 years ago) (2012)
Founders
Director Ottmar Edenhofer
Academic staff
circa 50
Location
Berlin
,
Germany
Website www.mcc-berlin.net

The Mercator Research Institute on Global Commons and Climate Change (MCC) conducts research and fosters dialogue about how the global commons, such as the atmosphere and the oceans, might be used and shared by many yet nevertheless be protected. In 2021, the International Center for Climate Governance ranked MCC among the top ten think tanks worldwide for the fourth consecutive year.

Contents

Organization

Based in Berlin, the institute was founded in 2012 by Stiftung Mercator and the Potsdam Institute for Climate Impact Research (PIK). [1] The research team is composed of an interdisciplinary group of scientists from economics and the social sciences. Directed by the climate economist Ottmar Edenhofer, [2] MCC currently employs some 50 staff. [3] In 2015 the MCC was designated as the world's second best climate think tank. [4]

Work

The work of MCC falls into two main areas: research and policy dialogue. The aim is to gain interdisciplinary insights and to provide a basis for decision-making in politics, industry and civil society. The theme spanning across all the work is the global commons (i.e., natural resources such as the atmosphere, land, oceans and forests) and the premise that international cooperation is indispensable for the sustainable use of the commons.

For example, when the atmosphere is understood as a global commons, it is seen to belong to everybody despite its physical presence at the national, local and regional levels. In this case, overarching rules are needed to prevent this resource from being overused (see "tragedy of the commons"). Other examples include the overfishing of the oceans or the exploitation of wildlife.

The lack of availability of public goods, which provide access to health care, education, clean water and much more, the so-called social commons, comprises a core focus of the work of MCC. Based on scientific findings, potential solutions are identified, evaluated and provided.

The global commons (Source: MCC) Global-Commons MCC-Research-Institute.png
The global commons (Source: MCC)

Research

The research of MCC is divided into seven working groups and one task force: [5]

In addition to scientific research, policy advice is central to the work of MCC. Moreover, these two focal points build on each other and give rise to a self-perpetuating cycle: The scientific research findings form the basis of the consulting work ("policy dialogue"), while the consulting becomes the subject of research in that it is subjected to scientific evaluation.

Policy dialogue

Climate protection and sustainable development are areas that are intricately interwoven over the long term. For example, using biomass to produce "clean" energy to limit global warming could potentially result in increasing deforestation, biodiversity loss or rising food prices. [9]

The earth's soil is still home to vast amounts of fossil fuels; yet the atmosphere's capacity to absorb CO2 is limited. (Source: MCC) CO2-Budget MCC-Research-Institute.png
The earth's soil is still home to vast amounts of fossil fuels; yet the atmosphere's capacity to absorb CO2 is limited. (Source: MCC)

The complexity of the possible consequences of these (climate) policy actions requires a forward-looking, international perspective. Here, the role of science could be to provide a sound informational basis without prescribing policy decisions.

The target groups of the policy advice of MCC are, among others, decision-makers from international organizations, parliaments and public administration as well as stakeholders from private-sector companies and NGOs. [10]

Bibliography

Related Research Articles

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Sabine Fuss is a German climate scientist. She heads the "Sustainable Resource Management and Global Change" working group at the Mercator Research Institute on Global Commons and Climate Change (MCC). She is a professor at Humboldt University of Berlin.

Brigitte Knopf is a German climatologist. Since February 2015 she has been Secretary General of the Mercator Research Institute on Global Commons and Climate Change and since 1 September 2020 has been a member of the Expert Council on Climate Issues.

Helga Weisz is an Austrian industrial ecologist, climate scientist, and professor of industrial ecology and climate change at the Institute for Social Sciences at the Humboldt University of Berlin. She heads the FutureLab "Social Metabolism & Impacts" at the Potsdam Institute for Climate Impact Research (PIK).

Ricarda Winkelmann is a German mathematician, physicist, and climatologist. She is a professor of Climate System Analysis at Potsdam University and the Potsdam-Institute for Climate Impact Research. She studies interdependencies between climate, land ice, and the ocean.

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Felix Creutzig is a German physicist, and professor of Sustainability Economics at Technical University of Berlin.

References

  1. ↑ "Stiftung Mercator and PIK initiate new institute with EUR 17m budget". Potsdam Institute for Climate Impact Research (PIK). 28 November 2011. Retrieved 27 July 2016.
    "A new kind of dialogue at the science-policy interface". Potsdam Institute for Climate Impact Research (PIK). 16 November 2012. Retrieved 27 July 2016.
    "New prospects for the planet". Stiftung Mercator. Retrieved 27 July 2016.
  2. ↑ "Is it time for reform at the IPCC?". theguardian.com. 4 November 2015. Retrieved 2 June 2016.
  3. ↑ Website MCC. Archived from the original on May 30, 2016.
  4. ↑ "MCC Berlin designated as the world's second best climate think tank". Technische Universität Berlin. 30 June 2015. Retrieved 27 July 2016.
    "Climate Think Tank Ranking 2015". International Center for Climate Governance(ICCG). 23 June 2016. Retrieved 25 July 2016.
  5. ↑ MCC Working-groups. Archived from the original on May 30, 2016.
  6. ↑ "Fixing Climate Change May Add No Costs, Report Says". The New York Times . 16 September 2014. Retrieved 2 June 2016.
  7. ↑ "Low-energy urbanisation 'can help climate goals'". bbc.com. 13 January 2015. Retrieved 2 June 2016.
  8. ↑ "Food for thought on hunger – Globalization". dw.com. 2016-05-26. Retrieved 29 May 2016.
  9. ↑ "Leave fossil fuels buried to prevent climate change, study urges". theguardian.com. 8 January 2015. Retrieved 2 June 2016.
  10. ↑ MCC Evaluation Report Archived 2016-06-05 at the Wayback Machine . Archived from the original on May 30, 2016.
    "IIASA collaborates with the MCC". International Institute for Applied Systems Analysis (IIASA). 16 March 2016. Retrieved 27 July 2016.
    "Knowledge Partners". Green Growth Knowledge Platform. 2015-11-03. Retrieved 27 July 2016.
    "Experts". Clean Energy Wire (CLEW). 2014-10-21. Retrieved 27 July 2016.
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