Bernhard Pötter

As editorial director of Climate.Table, Bernhard Pötter has an up-to-date view of the fundamental change that is taking place at an ever faster pace worldwide: What used to be called climate change is increasingly becoming an acute climate crisis. He reports on national and global energy turns and how they relate to other questions about the future - that is, how politics, business, science and society are responding globally and nationally to the rapid changes arising from global warming, technological progress, social inequality and an unsustainable economy. Pötter has been writing intensively on the climate issue for 15 years, has visited researchers in their laboratories as well as UN conferences, and has described coal miners as well as climate victims. Bernhard Pötter has worked from Berlin and Paris for many years for the daily newspaper TAZ and other media (Spiegel, ZEIT, Le Monde Diplomatique). At Climate.Table he leads and coordinates a worldwide network of correspondents.

Contact infos for Bernhard Pötter

All articles by Bernhard Pötter

New arguments in the debate on climate justice: More taxes for the rich and large emitters should reduce emissions and eliminate poverty, according to a comprehensive study. It calls for national and international financial reforms to balance out injustice in and between countries. continue reading →

The heads of Germany’s five major environmental associations have joined the debate on energy security with far-reaching compromise proposals on the expansion of renewables. In a thesis paper entitled “Ein Booster für erneuerbare und grüne Infrastruktur” (A booster for renewable and green infrastructure), which Climate.Table has obtained in advance, they propose measures for a faster […] continue reading →

After two years in office, US President Joe Biden has been given a very good climate rating by the US think tank World Resources Institute. In a blog post, WRI Director Dan Lashof praised the Democratic president’s efforts. This means that the score has improved dramatically compared to last year – primarily due to the […] continue reading →

The images of the clearing of the village of Lützerath tarnish Germany's reputation in international climate negotiations, according to expert Richard Klein. This would give other countries the ability to insist on a slower transition and justify the suppression of civil society. continue reading →

For the first time in its history, the UN Climate Change Conference in December will be chaired by the head of an oil and gas company. The United Arab Emirates presents itself as modern, efficient and ambitious for the conference in Dubai. But their climate track record so far is rather poor. continue reading →

The good news first: Worldwide, 88 percent of all wetlands are still largely untouched. They thus store around 600 billion metric tons of carbon on just 3 percent of land area – twice as much as is bound in the biomass of all forests, which cover a total of 27 percent of land mass. However, […] continue reading →

The World Economic Forum in Davos will once again bring together leaders of politics and big business. On the agenda are global crises and possible solutions. Amidst the climate crisis, billionaires are increasingly becoming important players – sometimes openly, sometimes discreetly, sometimes for their own benefit. We introduce the biggest donors. continue reading →

High temperatures and high emissions, important financial decisions and the influence of geopolitics – 2023 will be another turbulent year for global climate policy. Here are the most important trends. continue reading →

The use of renewables prevented greenhouse gas emissions totaling 217 million metric tons of carbon dioxide in Germany in 2021. This is roughly equivalent to the amount of greenhouse gases emitted annually by Austria, Switzerland, Ireland and Portugal combined. This is according to the emissions balance of renewables recently published by the German Federal Environment […] continue reading →