Mercator Research Institute on Global Commons and Climate Change (MCC)
Global economic growth is resulting in increased global consumption of resources and new shortages. Not only is the atmosphere filling up with greenhouse gases – food prices are also spiralling and the international trend towards urbanization is exerting ever greater pressure on agricultural land. To secure our prosperity and reduce poverty in the 21st century, we need to change the way global commodities are used on a technical, social and political level. To ensure that this shift towards greater sustainability is effected democratically, politicians and society need the scientific community to be able to provide a reliable information basis. The Mercator Research Institute on Global Commons and Climate Change (MCC) brings together that which belongs together: questions concerning our future and sustainable development and questions concerning growth and prosperity. The MCC is a joint venture between Stiftung Mercator and the Potsdam Institute for Climate Impact Research (PIK).
Structure and organization
Four research groups at the MCC will work on the following complementary thematic areas:
• Economic growth
• Urbanization, infrastructure and transport
• Resources and international trade
• Governance
These will be headed by young researchers identified during an international selection process. In addition to the research groups there will also be an assessment and political advice group to consolidate the findings of the four research groups and prepare them for political advisory purposes. The MCC’s director will be Professor Ottmar Edenhofer, holder of the chair in “Economics of Climate Change” at the Technical University Berlin, co-chair of working group III of the Intergovernmental Panel on Climate Change (IPCC), and deputy director and chief economist of the Potsdam Institute for Climate Impact Research. The MCC is to be established in the first quarter of 2012 as a non-profit limited liability company. Research and administrative posts will be filled during the course of 2012 to ensure that the MCC is fully operational from January 2013.
Objective
Global economic growth is resulting in increased global consumption of resources and new shortages. The objective of the Mercator Research Institute on Global Commons and Climate Change is to create, within a social learning process, ‘roadmaps of knowledge’ detailing consistent and feasible options for achieving sustainable economic growth while at the same time reducing greenhouse gas emissions and lowering consumption of resources. Interdisciplinary research contributions will be drawn up on questions of sustainable growth in a world with natural physical limitations. A particular focus will be on preventing dangerous climate change. Research findings will also be prepared as assessment reports for political decision-makers.