The 20th annual IKEM Academy ‘Energy and Climate’ brought together 38 participants from 21 countries in Berlin on 3-7 July to develop common ideas for paths towards a climate-positive planet. The workshops, lectures and excursions unpacked innovative ideas and strategies to reach our climate targets on time, from policy and litigation to participation and science communication.
“We are proud to have created a framework with the IKEM Academy that has enabled us to inspire countless people for the topics of climate action and energy transition over the past two decades”, explains Anika Nicolaas Ponder, who has been leading the Academy since 2011. “The exchange with people from all over the world as well as a variety of disciplinary and professional backgrounds makes this event very special for everyone involved and opens up new perspectives for our work at IKEM.”
At this year’s edition of the Academy, participants discussed a range of transformation pathways and developed different strategies for their successful implementation in creative workshops – examples include the design of tomorrow’s sustainable city, or new digital platforms to accelerate climate action . The potential of social and digital innovations, as well as the role of education and participation, were particularly emphasized. Other points of focus included the generation of electricity through offshore wind and green hydrogen, as well as the possibilities of climate litigation as an effective instrument for more climate protection.
Anika Nicolaas Ponder is very happy with this year’s Academy: “It is precisely because achieving the climate goals is becoming so much more difficult that we need broad societal support for the measures necessary to deal with it. With the IKEM Academy, we are not only sharing knowledge, we are creating a community of climate activists who can go on to influence their communities and initiate more change on the ground in more places. This engagement plays a critical role in addressing climate change and shaping a more sustainable future.”
