Prof. Dr. Claudia Kemfert

21335 Lüneburg, Universitätsallee 1, C11.221
Fon +493089789663, claudia.kemfert@leuphana.de
Professor*in, Professorship of Energy Economics and Energy Policy

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Vita

Prof. Dr. Claudia Kemfert has headed the Energy, Transport, Environment Department at the German Institute for Economic Research (DIW Berlin) since 2004 and is Professor of Energy Economics and Energy Policy at Leuphana University. Until 2019, she was Professor of Energy Economics and Sustainability at the Hertie School of Governance (HSoG). From 2004 to 2009, she held the professorship of environmental economics at Humboldt University.

Claudia Kemfert was appointed to the German Advisory Council on the Environment at the German Federal Ministry for the Environment, Nature Conservation, Building and Nuclear Safety in 2016. She was an advisor to EU President José Manuel Barroso and serves on advisory boards of various research institutions as well as federal and state ministries and the EU Commission. Claudia Kemfert was a member of the High Level Expert Group of the EU Commissioner for the Environment and the Advisory Group on Energy of the European Commission (DG Research). Since 2011, she has been a member of the Presidium of the German Association of the Club of Rome. She acts as a juror for various science and environmental awards. In 2012, she was appointed by Norbert Röttgen (CDU) to his shadow cabinet as Energy Minister in North Rhine-Westphalia and in 2013 by Thorsten Schäfer-Gümbel (SPD) as Energy Commissioner in Hesse.

Claudia Kemfert studied economics at the universities of Bielefeld and Oldenburg (doctorate in 1998) and Stanford. During a research stay, she was at the Fondazione Eni Enrico Mattei (FEEM) in Milan (1998). From January 1999 to April 2000, she was head of the junior research group at the Institute for the Rational Use of Energy at the University of Stuttgart. From 2000 to 2004, Claudia Kemfert held a position as junior professor and headed a junior research group at the University of Oldenburg. She was the first junior professor to be appointed to a full professorship. She leads various research projects on energy and environmental policy strategies and is active in numerous networks such as the Energy Modeling Forum (EMF) at Stanford University.
In 2006, Claudia Kemfert was honored as a top researcher in the Eleven of Science by the DFG, the Helmholtz and the Leibniz Association. In 2011, she received the Urania Medal and the B.A.U.M Environmental Award in the Science category, and in 2016, she received the German Solar Award and the Adam Smith Prize for Market-based Environmental Policy. She publishes her research results in high-ranking scientific journals and published the book entitled „Die andere Klima-Zukunft - Innovation statt Depression" in the fall of 2008. In February 2013, her book "SKampf um Strom" was published, in which she describes the myths in the energy policy debate. This was followed by the English-language version "The battle about electricity" in December 2013. In 2017, her book "The fossil empire strikes back - Why we must defend the energy transition" was published. Her latest book „Mondays for Future - Freitags demonstrieren, Samstags diskutieren und am Montag anpacken und umsetzen“  was published in spring 2020.

Projects

Publications

Books and anthologies

  1. Mondays for Future: Freitag demonstrieren, am Wochenende diskutieren und ab Montag anpacken und umsetzen.
    Claudia Erika Kemfert (Author) , 2020 Hamburg , 200 p.

    Research output: Books and anthologies › Monographs › Research

  2. Energiewende "Made in Germany": Low carbon electricity sector reform in the European context
    Claudia Erika Kemfert (Editor) , Christian von Hirschhausen (Editor) , Clemens Gerbaulet (Editor) , Casimir Lorenz (Editor) , Pao Yu Oei (Editor) , 2018 Cham , 387 p.

    Research output: Books and anthologies › Book › Research

  3. Das fossile Imperium schlägt zurück: Warum wir die Energiewende jetzt verteidigen müssen
    Claudia Erika Kemfert (Author) , 2017 Hamburg , 143 p.

    Research output: Books and anthologies › Book › Research

  4. The Battle about Electricity: Myths, Power and Monopolies
    Claudia Erika Kemfert (Author) , 2013 Hamburg , 175 p.

    Research output: Books and anthologies › Monographs › Transfer

  5. Jetzt die Krise nutzen
    Claudia Erika Kemfert (Author) , 2009 Hamburg , 123 p.

    Research output: Books and anthologies › Monographs › Transfer

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Journal contributions

  1. Generationengerechtigkeit in der Klimapolitik
    Claudia Erika Kemfert (Author) , 01.11.2025 , in: Wirtschaftsdienst, 105, 11 , p. 803-807 , 5 p.

    Research output: Journal contributions › Journal articles › Research › peer-review

  2. Locked in a fossil-centric system paradigm: LNG expansion impedes socio-ecological transition toward a just and renewable energy future
    Claudia Erika Kemfert (Author) , Fabian Präger (Author) , Franziska M. Hoffart (Author) , Christian von Hirschhausen (Author) , 22.08.2025 , in: Cell Reports Sustainability, 2, 8 , 11 p.

    Research output: Journal contributions › Scientific review articles › Research

  3. Solar prosumage under different pricing regimes: Interactions with the transmission grid
    Dana Kirchem (Author) , Mario Kendziorski (Author) , Enno Wiebrow (Author) , Wolf Peter Schill (Author) , Claudia Erika Kemfert (Author) , Christian von Hirschhausen (Author) , 01.08.2025 , in: Smart Energy, 19 , 11 p.

    Research output: Journal contributions › Journal articles › Research › peer-review

  4. Is Russian gas still needed in the European Union?: Model-based analysis of long-term scenarios
    Claudia Erika Kemfert (Author) , Lukas Barner (Author) , Franziska Holz (Author) , Christian von Hirschhausen (Author) , 01.03.2025 , in: Energy Strategy Reviews, 58 , 10 p.

    Research output: Journal contributions › Journal articles › Research › peer-review

  5. Sufficiency as a "Strategy of the Enough": Curbing ecological crises and injustices.: A summary of the German Advisory Council on the Environment's discussion paper
    Claudia Erika Kemfert (Author) , Julia Michaelis (Author) , Bendix Vogel (Author) , Sebastian Strunz (Author) , Wolfgang Lucht (Author) , Henriette Dahms (Author) , Christina Dornack (Author) , Anne Geissler (Author) , Julia Hertin (Author) , Franziska Hoffart (Author) , Manuel Klein (Author) , Wolfgang Köck (Author) , Jonas Lage (Author) , Elisabeth Marquard (Author) , Sophie Schmalz (Author) , Josef Settele (Author) , Bernd Sommer (Author) , Sebastian Weiss (Author) , Sophie Wiegand (Author) , 29.10.2024 , in: GAIA - Ecological Perspectives for Science and Society, 33, 3 , p. 275-281 , 7 p.

    Research output: Journal contributions › Comments / Debate / Reports › Research

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Contributions to collected editions/anthologies

  1. Dekarbonisiert, digital und demokratisch: Energieversorgung im Jahr 2050
    Claudia Erika Kemfert (Author) , 01.10.2019 München , p. 162-167 , 6 p.

    Research output: Contributions to collected editions/anthologies › Contributions to collected editions/anthologies › Research › peer-review

  2. General conclusions: 15 lessons from the first phase of the energiewende
    Claudia Erika Kemfert (Author) , Pao Yu Oei (Author) , Christian von Hirschhausen (Author) , 24.12.2018 Cham , p. 377-387 , 11 p.

    Research output: Contributions to collected editions/anthologies › Chapter › Research › peer-review

  3. Introduction
    Claudia Erika Kemfert (Author) , Christian von Hirschhausen (Author) , Clemens Gerbaulet (Author) , Casimir Lorenz (Author) , Pao Yu Oei (Author) , 24.12.2018 Cham , p. 1-14 , 14 p.

    Research output: Contributions to collected editions/anthologies › Chapter › Research

  4. The electricity mix in the European low-carbon transformation: Coal, nuclear, and renewables
    Claudia Erika Kemfert (Author) , Roman Mendelevitch (Author) , Pao Yu Oei (Author) , Christian von Hirschhausen (Author) , 24.12.2018 Cham , p. 241-282 , 42 p.

    Research output: Contributions to collected editions/anthologies › Chapter › Research › peer-review

  5. Energy efficiency: A key challenge of the energiewende
    Claudia Erika Kemfert (Author) , Casimir Lorenz (Author) , Thure Traber (Author) , Petra Opitz (Author) , 24.12.2018 Cham , p. 173-191 , 19 p.

    Research output: Contributions to collected editions/anthologies › Chapter › Research › peer-review

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Activities

Press / Media

  1. Wir brauchen New Green Deals
    2 Media contributions

    Press/Media: Press/Media

  2. Taten statt Worte
    1 Media contribution

    Press/Media: Press/Media

  3. Wissen ist Macht und Nichtwissen nicht länger entschuldbar
    1 Media contribution

    Press/Media: Press/Media

  4. Weder Moskau noch Washington - Deutschland braucht kein Erdgas: das beste Friedensprojekt ist die Energiewende
    2 Media contributions

    Press/Media: Press/Media

  5. Exportieren wir Nachhaltigkeit!
    1 Media contribution

    Press/Media: Press/Media

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Prizes

  1. Adam-Smith-Preis für Markwirtschaftliche Umweltpolitik
    Claudia Erika Kemfert (Recipient) ,

    Prize: external Prizes, scholarships, distinctions, appointments › Transfer

  2. Deutscher Solarpreis
    Claudia Erika Kemfert (Recipient) ,

    Prize: external Prizes, scholarships, distinctions, appointments › Transfer

  3. B.A.U.M. Umweltpreis, Kategorie Wissenschaft
    Claudia Erika Kemfert (Recipient) ,

    Prize: external Prizes, scholarships, distinctions, appointments › Transfer

  4. Urania Medaille
    Claudia Erika Kemfert (Recipient) ,

    Prize: external Prizes, scholarships, distinctions, appointments › Transfer

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Teaching