Ottmar Edenhofer

Ottmar Edenhofer serves as Director and Chief Economist of the Potsdam Institute for Climate Impact Research (PIK), Director of the Mercator Research Institute on Global Commons and Climate Change (2012-2024), Professor for The Economics and Politics of Climate Change at Technische Universität Berlin, and Chair of the European Scientific Advisory Board on Climate Change (ESABCC) since 2022. His affiliations span leading European climate research institutions and academic bodies.

Edenhofer's research focuses on climate change economics, particularly the impact of technological change on mitigation costs, public finance implications of climate policy, distributional effects of carbon pricing, and governance of global commons. His work bridges theoretical economic modeling with practical policy design, emphasizing equity considerations and institutional frameworks for effective climate action. He pioneered social science research at PIK, establishing rigorous methodologies for translating scientific findings into actionable policy advice.

His publication record demonstrates consistent leadership in high-impact climate economics research, with seminal contributions to IPCC assessments (serving as Co-Chair of Working Group III for the Fifth Assessment Report) and influential analyses of carbon pricing mechanisms. Recent work increasingly addresses carbon dioxide removal governance, distributional justice in climate policy, and the integration of climate action with broader sustainable development goals. His research consistently appears in top journals including Nature, Science, and Nature Climate Change.

Edenhofer has received numerous scientific honors including the Romano Guardini Prize (2018), Deutsche Umweltpreis (2020), and Arthur Burkhardt-Prize (2021). He belongs to the top 1% of most cited scientists globally (2018-2022) and was ranked among Germany's top 10 economists (2019-2020). His policy influence extends to serving as Vatican consultor for the Dicastery for Promoting Integral Human Development and advising EU institutions through ESABCC.

As a science-policy interface leader, Edenhofer has shaped climate negotiations leading to the Paris Agreement and continues to advise European institutions on implementing climate neutrality targets. His work emphasizes the critical role of carbon pricing with equitable revenue recycling and the strategic sequencing of climate policies to maintain political feasibility while achieving deep decarbonization.