Franz Untersteller, Minister of the Environment, Visits ZEW for an Exchange of Ideas on Environmental and Energy Issues

Franz Untersteller, Baden-Württemberg’s Minister for the Environment, Climate and Energy, today visited the Centre for European Economic Research (ZEW) in Mannheim. He was welcomed by ZEW President Prof. Wolfgang Franz and the Director of Business and Administration, Thomas Kohl.

Minister Untersteller got informed about ZEW’s research, especially with a focus on energy, climate and environmental topics.  ZEW plays a leading role in the field of economic policy advice on environmental issues within Europe. Economic research on climate and energy topics at ZEW mainly focuses on the cost efficiency of environmental regulation policy. Against the background of enormous challenges in energy and climate policy, cost efficiency is of great importance for policy making.

Particularly ZEW’s assessment of the current state of the energy transition in Germany was of great interest to the minister. ZEW’s Prof. Andreas Löschel is a renowned expert in this area:  Löschel is not only head of the ZEW Research Department “Environmental and Resource Economics, Environmental Management”, but also chairman of the federal government’s commission of experts for the monitoring process of Germany’s energy transition. The aim of the discussion of climate and energy policy issues was also to evaluate how the State of Baden-Württemberg’s benefit from ZEW’s expertise in environmental and resource economics can be intensified in the future. “The State Government of Baden-Württemberg is one of the driving forces in Germany in the debate on the necessary framework for the energy market, which is currently in a state of transition”, explained Franz Untersteller. According to the minister, increased cooperation would thus make sense, for example when it comes to the future market design against the backdrop of an increasing use of renewables, but also regarding conventional electricity production, which remains necessary at least on the mid-term.

For further information please contact

Prof. Dr. Andreas Löschel, Phone +49 621/1235-200, E-mail loeschel@zew.de