Dr. Anita Dame

The Climate Change Centre Berlin Brandenburg (CCC) has set itself an ambitious goal as an interdisciplinary and transdisciplinary platform for research and knowledge transfer: To strengthen the link between science and research in the region and, in close collaboration with politics, business and civil society, to accelerate the implementation of climate research. It is about measures and solution strategies for the entire Berlin-Brandenburg region, about networking on an equal footing. 14 universities and colleges as well as 28 research institutions and think tanks are now partners of the network, which was founded in 2019. Dr. Anita Dame has been Managing Director of the CCC since 2020, affiliated with the Technische Universität Berlin. In the interview, she gives an insight into the work of the Climate Change Centre Berlin Brandenburg and explains why knowledge transfer is extremely important for rethinking climate research.

Dr. Dame, what makes the Climate Change Centre Berlin Brandenburg special? 

The Climate Change Centre is essentially the green network of universities, colleges and research institutions for climate protection and sustainability in Berlin and Brandenburg. It goes back to the founding of the Berlin University Alliance. The idea in 2019 was to use the region’s potential for a climate research centre. What makes us special is that we are such a large, dense and diverse network. We see ourselves as a network agent and try to act as an “honest broker” to support our approximately 30 partners in their sustainability strategies in research, teaching and transfer. As an enabling platform, we also want to create added value from the sum of the parts. We would like to unearth this treasure with the Climate Change Centre.

What is the objective of the network?

We basically have three goals: Firstly, we are interested in researching solutions in the field of climate protection and climate adaptation. By this I do not mean basic research, rather climate solutions research, which is interdisciplinary and transdisciplinary per se. Secondly, we want to network stakeholders from science, politics, administration, business and civil society. And thirdly, we aim to do all of this specifically for the Berlin-Brandenburg region, in order to develop climate solutions from and for the metropolitan area. Our aim is to mitigate the effects of climate change through sustainable solutions (Mitigation), enhance regional adaptability (Adaptation), and promote Resilience through social and technological innovations. We operate within this triad as a network. We are not doing traditional climate impact research under one roof, such as the Potsdam Institute for Climate Impact Research. The CCC network is heterogeneous. And this decentralisation must first be brought together.

Who does the network want to address? 

The perspective of the CCC is fundamentally outward-looking, transdisciplinary and transformative. We have a clear mandate to intervene. We are interested in science that works together with practice partners to find solutions to real problems. And we currently have many of them, too many. What’s more, in times of multiple crises, many things are interconnected. In order to meet this requirement, we first had to achieve two things in the network: On the one hand, it was about defining a “boundary object”: a common research topic and shared identity space in which we can break down the complexity of research into more manageable parts. For the CCC, this boundary object is the Berlin-Brandenburg metropolitan region. On the other hand, the goal is to identify the scientific and non-scientific expertise, which is widely distributed within our network and often focused on specific sectors such as energy, mobility, or land use, to connect it across disciplines, and to make it accessible and usable for outsiders as well.

What has been achieved so far? Can you take stock after almost five years?

The momentum of the street, which was set in motion in 2019 with Fridays for Future, was abruptly and extremely slowed down by coronavirus. It’s a different time now. Climate impact research also needs to reorganise itself. In just a few years, we have succeeded in integrating the majority of regional universities and research institutions into the Climate Change Centre network. The universities of the Berlin University Alliance are particularly active members: Technische Universität Berlin, Freie Universität Berlin, Humboldt-Universität zu Berlin, as well as Charité – Universitätsmedizin Berlin, but also the Berlin University of the Arts and the University of Potsdam. That is the core of the CCC, so to speak. Together, we have launched various measures and initiatives to scale the effects of the CCC further, particularly with regard to research.

The CCC has implemented around 40 research and transfer projects since 2021. What characterises them - and how were they selected?

One of my personal favorite projects is the CCC project “Regional Cluster: Wood and Renewable Materials in Berlin-Brandenburg”, in which the TU Berlin, the Eberswalde University for Sustainable Development (HNEE) and Bauhaus Erde are involved. The project is highly relevant in terms of content. However, it also reflects very well what the Climate Change Center is committed to as a network agent. The project networks different groups of stakeholders along the entire value chain, such as the State Advisory Council on Wood, forestry companies and companies in the wood and construction industry. One focus is on strengthening the interface between construction practice and the research landscape in the Berlin-Brandenburg region. Projects such as these are the ideal breeding ground for major events such as an International Building Exhibition on sustainable construction and urban development in ten years' time, for which Berlin is preparing. In terms of content, we have selected projects in the current first funding phase primarily using the bottom-up principle. The current focus areas of energy, environment, mobility, construction, nutrition, health, politics and education quickly emerged. We would select future funding top-down based on these key topics. The first seed-funding projects are already underway. The objective is very clear: all projects should have a connection to Berlin-Brandenburg and deliver initial results after six to eight months that can be put into practice on the road as an add-on.  

Berlin is to become a climate-neutral city by 2045.Do you think this is realistic?

I still believe that climate neutrality by 2045, understood as a reduction in CO2 emissions of over 90 percent compared to 1990, is possible. The Berlin Energy and Climate Protection Programme 2030 (BEK 2030) provides the roadmap for this. The Berlin Climate Protection and Energy Transition Act (EWG Bln) provides the legal framework. From a scientific point of view, the technological possibilities are there. More challenging are implementation issues, questions of climate governance, i.e. the architecture of climate protection measures - and processes that must also be cross-state. This applies in particular to Brandenburg. From a social perspective, the aspect of climate adaptation and resilience is just as important. This creates acceptance for climate protection measures that are often perceived as drastic by citizens, such as the new Building Energy Act. Important strategic cornerstones on the way to becoming a climate-neutral city are the preservation of Berlin as a green city worth living in, a smart approach to water management towards becoming a sponge city and multimodal mobility options that make it easy to do without a car. The city must make itself future-proof: By adapting to climate change, saving CO2 and arming itself against extreme weather events.

Under what conditions is climate transformation still possible?  

Climate transformation is a marathon, not a sprint – it is a mammoth social task. Apparent setbacks, such as those we are currently experiencing, are normal. The importance of climate protection remains high for most people. However, the climate crisis has been joined by new developments that are of concern to many people. In addition to concerns about the war in Ukraine and the conflict in the Middle East, there are also worries about economic development, inflation and fear of job losses. As urban planner Georg Franck already described in 1998, attention is a scarce commodity. In the economy of attention, people initially try to maintain the “Circle of Control”. The climate crisis is clearly in the “Circle of Concern”. These social and psychological mechanisms, questions of social acceptance and participation therefore play a major role in many CCC projects. And of course the political side must not be left out. Politics is key when it comes to preventing populist groups and climate change sceptics from triggering social tipping points. Democratic parties must not allow themselves to be driven by the right in their long-term climate agenda. Climate policy is grandchildren’s politics.

What are the network's next milestones?

One important transmission project is the “Guide to Climate Research”, which the CCC is currently launching under the leadership of the Research Institute for Sustainability at the GFZ German Research Centre for Geosciences in Potsdam. The project is funded by the Brandenburg Climate Plan and the Senate Department for Higher Education and Research, Health and Long-Term Care. The guide will bring together much of the often personal and institution-specific knowledge gathered at the CCC, making it easier to navigate the climate research landscape in Berlin and Brandenburg. Personally, I would like to ensure that in five years the CCC is as established as the Climate Change Centre Austria, which has become an indispensable strong stakeholder in the Austrian climate landscape.

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Interview: Ernestine von der Osten-Sacken
With kind permission of Brain City Berlin