“Climate transformation is a marathon”

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 Brain City 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.

Why is the Berlin-Brandenburg metropolitan region a good location for a network like the Climate Change Centre?

On the one hand, due to its proximity to federal politics. Many organisations also have Berlin representations here, which makes the knowledge and innovation area particularly exciting. What is more important for the CCC, however, is that Berlin-Brandenburg is a model region in which urban and rural areas with similar problems come together. However, the framework conditions are often complementary. For example, Berlin is an energy consumer, while Brandenburg is the land of the future for renewable energies. The decisive factor for us is: The climate crisis can only be overcome if Berlin and Brandenburg see themselves as a networked system. As two states that meet.

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. With funding from the Einstein Foundation Berlin, we are also working on establishing an Einstein Centre Climate Change, through which we can also set up long-term research projects. In addition, it is of course important for a science network to increase its agility in order to be able to respond to needs from politics, administration and business in the short and medium term. Science is often too slow.

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.

How can science support politics?

It can investigate transdisciplinary mechanisms and identify starting points that strengthen the green side of the social spectrum – and thus civil society organisations, voluntary work, youth and children’s work. We are currently working on a task force proposal for the Volkswagen Foundation. In addition to the CCC office as the initiator, the political, social and educational sciences and the Brandenburg Youth Forum for Sustainability (JUFONA) are also involved. We are interested in what lessons can be drawn from the recent election results in Brandenburg, especially with regard to young voters. Another important aspect is,

You have been Managing Director of the CCC since 2020. You previously headed the Excellence Initiative staff unit at the FU Berlin for several years. What experiences have you been able to take away from this time – and what would you like to achieve for the Climate Change Centre? 

Positions like mine are referred to as science management. As an experienced figure in the Berlin academic scene, with extensive experience in institutional strategy development and managing networks, I hope that for the CCC, the seeds planted five years ago will grow into a large and diverse forest. As the saying goes: “Grass doesn’t grow faster if you pull on it.” However, anyone with a garden knows very well that lawns grow faster if they are fertilised, aerated and watered regularly. A biodiversity-friendly flower meadow in turn benefits from a site-appropriate selection of plants and soil-improving measures. In a figurative sense, these are the tasks of science management: Constant networking, creating a cooperation-friendly framework and bringing together complementary partners and competencies – so that science can grow! For the CCC, I would like to ensure that in five years it 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