Global Commons and Climate Policy

The KlimaF-I project analyses the importance of research and innovation (R&I) measures for achieving climate policy goals. Both the scientific and the application-related political perspectives are taken into account. The aim of the project is to gain a profound understanding of the significance of R&I measures for the achievement of climate policy goals, regarding systemic and cross-measure effects. The focus of the project is on German climate policy, which interacts closely with European climate policy.

The Federal Ministry of Education and Research is supporting the research and development project SeaStore, a pilot project for the restoration of seagrass meadows on the German Baltic coast, with almost 2 million euros. Scientific studies show that the water quality at many Baltic Sea locations has improved in recent years, but that in many places the seagrass has not yet resettled on its own. SeaStore would like to create the scientific basis for a robust and scientifically sound restoration of seagrass meadows at two locations on the German Baltic Sea coast. At the same time, the aim is to create awareness of the important ecological functions of seagrass together with representatives from communities, authorities and tourism.

Limiting anthropogenic global warming to 1.5°C requires far-reaching measures which, in addition to the comprehensive reduction of greenhouse gas emissions, also requires that CO2 is actively removed from the atmosphere. The removal of CO2 can be seen as a compensation of both future residual non-CO2 emissions and historical CO2 emissions. At the same time, CO2 extraction allows to reach temperature targets with a higher probability and to strive for even more ambitious climate targets.

A new four-year Horizon Europe project has been initiated to investigate the feasibility of storing CO2 in the ocean. It aims to determine whether this method is environmentally safe, socially acceptable, and economically viable. The oceans hold significant potential as enhanced sinks for atmospheric CO2, contributing to global climate targets. Within the project, the Kiel Institute will address the question of how actual CDR (carbon dioxide removal)-based methods could be implemented and integrated into climate policy.

In cooperation of the Christian-Albrechts-University (CAU) and the Kiel Institute for the World Economy, Wilfried Rickels takes up a professorship to research economic aspects of atmospheric CO2 removal (Economics of Negative Emissions Technologies). In this capacity, he will also remain director of the Global Commons and Climate Policy Research Center at the Kiel Institute.

In Germany, it is de facto forbidden to store captured carbon dioxide underground, and there is considerable skepticism about this technical possibility.