Prof. Dr Kai Niebert, born in Hanover, Germany in 1979, is a sustainability expert researching and teaching at the University of Zurich, Switzerland, with a focus on climate change and our planetary boundaries.
In June 2022 Kai Niebert was appointed chair of the board of trustees of the German Federal Environmental Foundation and is a member of the EU High Level Group on Financing Sustainability Transition. He has represented the environmental associations on the German government’s Commission on the Future of Agriculture since 2020.
From June 2018 to January 2019, Niebert was a member of the Commission on Growth, Structural Change and Employment of the German government.
He has been involved with environmental protection, nature conservation and sustainability in a voluntary capacity for over 30 years and became president of the umbrella organisation the German League for Nature and Environment (DNR) in 2015.
Kai Niebert was appointed to the German Council for Sustainable Development in January 2023.
Three questions for Prof. Dr Kai Niebert
Let’s get to it: What does sustainability mean to you? What do you associate with the term?
Prof. Dr Kai Niebert: Gone are the days when sustainability solely meant trying to prevent social or environmental disasters. We must aspire to improve people’s lives and the state of nature. Sustainability should be the promise of a better life!
What is your personal priority in your work as part of the Council for Sustainable Development?
Historically, it has fallen to politics to overcome the great environmental and social hurdles, which is exactly why sustainability has to be political. This must be the starting point for the RNE to build a bridge between the real-world environments in which people actually live and the political frameworks that all too often make sustainable living a burden. In future, these frameworks instead have to promote sustainability.
In the context of sustainability, what do you believe will pose the greatest challenge in the coming years?
We cannot allow ongoing crises to slow the vital transition towards a sustainable future. As the German Council for Sustainable Development, we need to harness these crises to accelerate this transformation.
Curriculum vitae
Prof. Dr Kai Niebert detailed CV available to download (PDF, 82 KB)
Quote
“Gone are the days when sustainability solely meant trying to prevent social or environmental disasters. We must aspire to improve people’s lives and the state of nature. Sustainability should be the promise of a better life!”
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