Other name MCC Location Berlin, Germany Founded 2012 | Academic staff circa 50 Website www.mcc-berlin.net Phone +49 30 33855370 | |
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Established 2012 (5 years ago) (2012) Founders Stiftung MercatorPotsdam Institute for Climate Impact Research Address Torgauer Str. 12, 10829 Berlin, Germany Type of business Economic research, social sciences Similar Immobilien GmbH & CoKG, Hertie School of Governan, EUREF‑C, Freie Universität Berlin Inst, Hackesch Markt Profiles | ||
The Mercator Research Institute on Global Commons and Climate Change (MCC) conducts research and fosters dialogue about how the global commons, such as the atmosphere and the oceans, might be used and shared by many yet nevertheless be protected. A main theme is the compatibility of economic growth with sustainable development and climate protection.
Contents
Organization
Based in Berlin, the institute was founded in 2012 by Stiftung Mercator and the Potsdam Institute for Climate Impact Research (PIK). The research team is composed of an interdisciplinary group of scientists from economics and the social sciences. Directed by the climate economist Ottmar Edenhofer, MCC currently employs some 50 staff. In 2015 the MCC was designated as the world's second best climate think tank.
Work
The work of MCC falls into two main areas: research and policy dialogue. The aim is to gain interdisciplinary insights and to provide a basis for decision-making in politics, industry and civil society. The theme spanning across all the work is the global commons (i.e., natural resources such as the atmosphere, land, oceans and forests) and the premise that international cooperation is indispensable for the sustainable use of the commons.
For example, when the atmosphere is understood as a global commons, it is seen to belong to everybody despite its physical presence at the national, local and regional levels. In this case, overarching rules are needed to prevent this resource from being overused (see “tragedy of the commons”). Other examples include the overfishing of the oceans or the exploitation of wildlife.
The lack of availability of public goods, which provide access to health care, education, clean water and much more, the so-called social commons, comprises a core focus of the work of MCC. Based on scientific findings, potential solutions are identified, evaluated and provided.
Research
The research of MCC is divided into seven working groups and one task force:
In addition to scientific research, policy advice is central to the work of MCC. Moreover, these two focal points build on each other and give rise to a self-perpetuating cycle: The scientific research findings form the basis of the consulting work (“policy dialogue”), while the consulting becomes the subject of research in that it is subjected to scientific evaluation.
Policy dialogue
Climate protection and sustainable development are areas that are intricately interwoven over the long term. For example, using biomass to produce “clean” energy to limit global warming could potentially result in increasing deforestation, biodiversity loss or rising food prices.
The complexity of the possible consequences of these (climate) policy actions requires a forward-looking, international perspective. Here, the role of science could be to provide a sound informational basis without prescribing policy decisions.
The target groups of the policy advice of MCC are, among others, decision-makers from international organizations, parliaments and public administration as well as stakeholders from private-sector companies and NGOs.