“Humanity´s domicile is shabby and needs renovation”, said Hans Joachim Schellnhuber, WBGU chair and director of the Potsdam Institute for Climate Impact Research. „We need a revolution for sustainability.“ Dirk Messner, WBGU co-chair, pointed out the enormous costs climate impact will entail if we do not act immediately. The flagship report, which was submitted to Annette Schavan, federal minister of education and research, and Norbert Röttgen, federal minister for the environment, shows the possibilities for a sustainable change and defines passages of development for such a “Great Transformation”, for example in the field of energy, land use and urbanization.
Renewable energies and electricity networks need to expand, and the demand for energy needs to be stabilized through more efficient usage. Furthermore, the report suggests to implement climate protection in the constitution and to appoint ombudsmen to secure the interests of future generations. According to the experts, climate protection is possible without nuclear energy, and there will not be energy shortages if there is a well-regulated nuclear phaseout.
