Erik Gawel

Prof. Dr. Erik Gawel serves as Head of the Department of Economics at the University of Leipzig and Helmholtz-Centre for Environmental Research (UFZ), where he also leads the Institute for Infrastructure and Resources Management. His research program spans environmental and energy economics, infrastructure economics, and new institutional economics with significant policy applications.

His educational background includes a PhD in Economics from the University of Cologne (1994) and a Diplom-Volkswirt (Master of Economics) from the same institution (1989). He completed his habilitation in 2004 at the University of Augsburg focusing on eco-tax systems.

Prof. Gawel's research interests focus on the economic dimensions of climate change, water resources management, bioenergy economics, and sustainable resource policies. His work integrates institutional economics perspectives with practical environmental challenges, particularly examining pricing mechanisms, regulatory frameworks, and policy instruments for sustainable development.

His recent publications reflect expertise in bioeconomy policy analysis and fiscal instruments for behavioral change, particularly regarding meat consumption reduction. These works demonstrate his commitment to developing economically sound environmental policies with practical implementation pathways.

• Member of the European Academy of Sciences and Arts (since 2015)

Prof. Gawel has led numerous significant research projects including GONASIP (Governing multi-scale heterogeneities to activate natural carbon sink potentials), FUSE (Food-water-energy for Urban Sustainable Environments), and MultiplEE (Sustainable deployment of renewable energies with multiple environmental impacts). His work bridges academic research and policy implementation through extensive collaborations with government bodies including his past role on the Enquete Commission 'Sustainable Energy Supply' of the German Bundestag.

At UFZ, he oversees a research team comprising multiple working groups focused on social-science water research and energy economics, fostering interdisciplinary approaches to complex environmental challenges.