How to implement the European Green Deal, both in its European and its global dimension, will be the focus of Marc Ringel, the new holder of the European Chair for Sustainable Development and Climate Transition at Sciences Po.

“How can we design effective climate transition blueprints that work from an ecologic, but also economic and social perspective?”, asks M Ringel in his first interview on Sciences Po’s website. “This touches on many aspects: with almost 80% greenhouse gases stemming from the energy sector, this asks for looking into energy transition strategies. Well-designed and stepped up energy efficiency policies can play a much stronger role here”.

The Chair must also tackle “questions of governance and fairness (…). A just transition implies looking at regional policies but also at stepping up individual capacities, for example to pay rising energy bills – the so-called “energy poverty” – or to mobilise finance to renovate buildings”, Marc Ringel continues.

“Even if we have understood the impact of global warming and acknowledge the need to act, we are still far from translating these insights into rigorous policy action. Defining pathways for transitions and blueprints for policy instruments can help to overcome this “insight-action-gap””, says Mr Ringel who wants to develop the Chair into a sciences hub, bundling and highlighting the climate-related activities going on at Sciences Po.

“We need to disseminate and communicate the practical implications of our research in clear terms and go out to public debates, parliamentary hearings or government committees”, he concludes.

Click here for the full interview.

Photo: Marc Ringel (credits: Thomas Arrivé/Sciences Po)