Dr. Sebastian Helgenberger
Research Group Leader
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Dr. Sebastian Helgenberger led research projects from 2014 to 2022 research projects on the international dimension of the energy transition and the social and economic opportunities of renewable energies) as drivers of accelerated transitions towards sustainable energy for all.
Since November 1, 2022, he works for a project at the Climate Neutrality Foundation in Berlin.
Sebastian graduated in Environmental Sciences at Leuphana University Lüneburg and completed his Master's thesis at ETH Zurich on the co-creation of knowledge within sustainability transformations among actors from science and society. He holds a Ph.D. in socio-economics for his work on the relevance of global warming on investment decisions in small and medium enterprises (SME).
Before joining the IASS in 2014, Sebastian was a scientific research coordinator at BOKU Centre for Global Change and Sustainability, chaired the international JPI CLIMATE Working Group of research funders and experts on societal transformation in the face of climate change, and coordinated the organisational development of the Climate Change Centre Austria (CCCA).
Throughout his career, Sebastian Helgenberger has been committed to advancing and experimenting with the transformative potential of science and research to accompany societal change.
Blog Posts
- A Social Performance Approach for the Energy Transition
- Is Mitsubishi’s withdrawal from the Vinh Tan coal power plant a signal for Vietnam’s energy transition?
- Vietnam’s Updated Climate Goals Aim at Maximizing the Co-Benefits of Climate Action
- Germany’s Climate Protection Act: Why is progress so faltering?
- The Social and Economic Co-Benefits of Renewable Energies
- Consensus with Losers
- Social Benefits of Renewable Energies
- Q&A: Kandeh Yumkella on Sustainable Energy and Societal Prosperity
- 2014-present Scientific Project Leader, Mobilising the Multiple Benefits of Renewable Energies, a project that explores the social and economic opportunities of ambitious climate policy and action, IASS, Potsdam
- 2010-2014 Senior Scientific Coordinator (European Research Policy), BOKU Centre for Global Change and Sustainability, JPI CLIMATE
- 2010-2012 Head of Coordination Office, Climate Change Centre Austria (CCCA)
- 2010 Graduation Ph.D., The capacity of business organizations to respond to the short-term and long-term impacts of climate change (Thesis)
- 2007-2010 Transdisciplinary Doctoral School "Sustainable Development" BOKU University, Vienna
- 1999-2006 Diploma in Environmental Studies, M.Sc. Leuphana University Lüneburg, Universidad del País Vasco, Bilbao and ETH Zurich (Thesis)
- Social and economic co-benefits of climate change mitigation / multiple opportunities of renewable energies
- Social dimension of Germany's Energiewende (energy transition) and the transformative potential of energy cooperatives
- Mobilising knowledge for societal transformations (transformative research)
- Facilitation of transdisciplinary research co-design and knowledge co-creation in an international perspective
Publications at the RIFS
Publications prior to joining the RIFS
- Brand, Ulrich, Achim Brunnengräber, Steinar Andresen, Peter Driessen, Helmut Haberl, Daniel Hausknost, Sebastian Helgenberger, Kirsten Hollaender, Jeppe Læssøe, Sebastian Oberthür, Ines Omann, Uwe Schneidewind (2013) Debating transformation in multiple crises. World Social Science Report 2013, ISSC Paris.
- Helgenberger, S. (2010). The capacity of business organizations to respond to the short-term and long-term impacts of climate change (PhD Thesis). Available online
- Walter, A., Helgenberger, S.,Wiek, A. & Scholz, R. W. (2007): Measuring societal effects of transdisciplinary research projects. Design and application of an evaluation method. Evaluation and Program Planning 30: 335 - 338.
- Helgenberger, S. (2006). Evaluation der gesellschaftlichen Auswirkungen von transdisziplinären Forschungskooperationen bei Wirtschafts- und Landschaftstransformationen (Master Thesis), ETH Zurich. Available online
- 2016 Keynote address: "Social Benefits of Renewable Energies - Creating the Environment for Societal Ownership. Lessons Learned from the German Energiewende". Global Green Summit, Mumbai, November 2016
- 2016 Keynote address: "Mobilizing the Co-Benefits of Renewable Energies - Lessons to be Learned from Germany and China". Climate Talk 2016, German Embassy Peking, September 2016
- 2015 "Wir machen Energiewende! Bürgerinnen und Bürger als Eckpfeiler der neuen Energiewelt in Deutschland", Leuphana Energieforum, Lüneburg, September 2015
- 2015 Presentation: "Energiewende und Nachhaltige Entwicklung". Ambassadors Conference, German Foreign Office, August 2015
- 2015 Keynote address: "Wissen mobilisieren, Wandel begleiten - Die Rolle der Wissenschaft in der Energiewende". Austrian Climate Day, Innsbruck, March 2015
- 2015 "Transdisciplinary Research in Energy Transitions - Why the Energiewende calls for science-society collaboration", ETH Zürich, March 2015
- 2013 Keynote address: "Transformative Research in Europe: Can research accompany societal change? Should it?" Science for the Environment Conference, Aarhus, October 2013, available online
- 2013 Opening talk: "Climate-friendly research - Offering positive role models". Climate-friendly Climate Research Conference, November 2013, available online