How much does climate protection cost?
This is the question I am asked most frequently. But the real question is: what does climate change cost? How expensive will it be if we do nothing or do too little to protect the climate? What economic losses will the economy suffer as a result of inadequate climate protection? The answers are clear: the costs of climate change are much higher than the costs of climate protection. Climate protection offers great economic opportunities.
At the beginning of my scientific career, I dealt intensively with the costs of climate change and used integrated assessment models (IAMs) to estimate the potential costs of climate change. One of the first studies I published at the DIW showed that climate change in Germany could generate economic costs of up to €800 billion by 2050. At the time, I had no idea how close the estimates would be to reality.
However, I not only research the costs of climate change, but also assess the economic impact of the transformation of the energy, transport, and building systems toward more renewable energies, electromobility, and hydrogen. For more than two decades, my scientific work has focused on issues of sustainability in the context of energy applications. Based on empirical market and macroeconomic impact analyses, I have developed and used quantitative models to assess the economic consequences of energy and climate protection policies. These are applied, for example, in the Energy Modelling Forum (EMF) model network.
In my dissertation, I examined the macroeconomic effects of various environmental economic instruments, such as the eco-tax and emissions trading. Subsequent studies dealt with the economic assessment of the consequences and costs of environmental and climate damage, as well as investigations into the economic consequences of energy and climate policy in Germany and Europe.
Later work focused on analyzing the interrelationships between gas and electricity markets and the full supply of renewable energies. I have published over 600 scientific publications as part of numerous studies and research projects. Together with my fantastic team at DIW, SRU, and other research associations, I produce numerous research reports, studies, and specialist publications. These are also discussed in the context of policy advice, for example in the German Council of Economic Experts. From 2021 to 2025, I explained current topics and research findings on climate change in the “Kemfert’s Klima Podcast” on MDR. This was followed by the launch of “Der Klima Kompass” and “Klima Klartext.”