Chimpanzee Researcher and Environmental Activist Jane Goodall dies at age 91

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A few days ago, Dr. Jane Goodall passed away at the age of 91. Her death is a tremendous loss for the entire world. Even as a young woman, through her field research in the rainforest, she fundamentally changed our “arrogant” human view of primates – especially chimpanzees – and, in doing so, our understanding of ourselves. Tirelessly, she dedicated her life to nature and to all living beings. She was a great friend to humanity, and her passing pains millions of people – ourselves included.

As FAW/n and GES, we were fortunate that Jane Goodall enriched our book All In! with a testimonial—her message now appears on the back cover of our book.

Jane Goodall knew that nature can only be protected if we also care for the well-being of people. She deeply understood what sustainable development truly means at its core.

The loss of Jane Goodall is deeply painful. At the same time, we are profoundly grateful to have met her. We will not forget her and will strive to continue our work in her spirit.

With deep gratitude


Cover image by keesluising on Pixabay

Doctoral Anniversary Celebration 2025: A Look Back at a Festive Event at RWTH Aachen University

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On September 5, 2025, RWTH Aachen University hosted a very special highlight: a festive and somewhat nostalgic event in which our institute’s director, Prof. Dr. Radermacher, took part. With around 30 golden and about 140 silver doctoral anniversary guests, more former doctoral graduates than ever before followed the invitation of the Rector of RWTH Aachen – some traveling from as far as the Philippines, Brazil, Thailand, and the United States. Since 2004, RWTH Aachen has annually invited those who earned their doctoral degrees 25 or 50 years ago back to the university to honor their anniversaries once again. We are pleased to share some impressions of this special celebration, which you can explore in the accompanying text and image gallery.

Further information is also available directly on the RWTH Aachen Doctoral Anniversary webpage

Image by א (Aleph), http://commons.wikimedia.org

Science for the UN Secretary-General: FAW/n Shows Pathways to Climate-Friendly Steel

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New York/Ulm. The steel industry accounts for around 10% of global greenhouse gas emissions. Prof. F. J. Radermacher and Dr. T. Orthen from FAW/n Ulm have authored a new paper for UN Secretary-General António Guterres, outlining key approaches to making the steel industry more climate-friendly. There is enormous potential in China and India, since two-thirds of global steel plants will need major reinvestment or refurbishment by 2030. The paper was published together with colleagues from the Council of Engineers for the Energy Transition (CEET). Radermacher and Orthen have been involved in the Council’s work from the very beginning as the only German representatives. CEET is an independent global advisory body to the UN Secretary-General’s Office on matters concerning the global energy transition.

Shortly before the summer recess, the Council of Engineers for the Energy Transition (CEET) published a policy brief on the climate-friendly transformation of the steel sector. Under the title “Global Strategies for Low-Carbon Iron and Steel Production”, Prof. Dr. Dr. Dr. h.c. Franz Josef Radermacher (FAW/n Ulm), Dr. Tobias Orthen (FAW/n Ulm), and Naveen Ahlawat (Jindal Steel) provide an overview of the most promising technological approaches to reducing greenhouse gas emissions, as well as the strategic priorities needed for effective implementation. At the outset, the authors emphasize that transforming the steel industry solely through green hydrogen is unrealistic. Under current global conditions, such an approach is neither economically viable nor practically feasible – especially since roughly half of all steel plants are located in China.

The full paper (in English) can be downloaded from the United Nations Sustainable Development Solutions Network (SDSN / UNSDSN) platform.

Key messages:

  • Steel and CO₂ Emissions
    Steel production remains heavily dependent on fossil fuels, meaning that decarbonization requires more than simply switching to renewable energy sources. Low-carbon technologies are needed along the entire value chain, as steel production currently accounts for about 8% of global greenhouse gas emissions. This poses a significant challenge for both the energy transition and economic growth in developing and emerging economies.
  • Existing Technologies and Strategies
    Key levers include replacing coal with natural gas combined with CCUS (Carbon Capture, Utilization, and Storage), using biomass with CCUS, and deploying hydrogen-based direct reduction technologies. Further progress can be achieved through efficiency improvements, higher recycling rates, modern control systems, and waste heat utilization. Moreover, more efficient use of raw materials through improved processing and transport methods is essential.
  • Modernization Potential and Investment Cycles
    By 2030, most steel plants will reach a stage in their investment cycles where modernization is due – a crucial opportunity to integrate low-CO₂ technologies. Coordinated international action could prevent around 30 billion tons of CO₂ emissions from steel production by 2060. Global cooperation is therefore a key to success.
  • Focus on China and India
    China and India are pivotal to global decarbonization efforts: China is the largest steel producer, and India is expected to triple its production capacity by 2050. China could take a leading role by converting blast furnaces to electric arc furnaces (EAFs). However, many smaller plants in both countries may face investment barriers to adopting new technologies. Different starting points between industrialized and emerging economies require tailored strategies – for example, converting older Japanese facilities to scrap-based EAFs.
  • Is There a Universal Solution?
    Neither hydrogen nor CO₂ capture alone can fully decarbonize the steel industry. Hydrogen could reduce emissions per ton by up to 90%, but both technologies demand massive infrastructure investments. The key question, therefore, is how “low-carbon steel” is defined and traded, ensuring that all cost-effective emission reductions are utilized – rather than focusing exclusively on a single technology.

Nomination of “ALL IN! Energy and Prosperity for a Growing World” for the getAbstract International Book Award 2025

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We are especially pleased to announce that the publication “ALL IN! Energy and Prosperity for a Growing World” has been nominated for the getAbstract International Book Award 2025 in the Business Impact category. The knowledge provider getAbstract, which specializes in verified expert knowledge and microlearning tools, has placed ALL IN! on the shortlist of ten nominated publications.

Since 2001, getAbstract has annually honored works that offer unique insights into current economic and business topics. The winners in the Business Impact category will be announced on October 15, 2025, in Frankfurt am Main, during the Frankfurt Book Fair.

A free summary of the book is available on getAbstract.

Interview on Climate Nationalism in Welt am Sonntag, July 6, 2025

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It’s Time to End Climate Nationalism

Energy expert and government advisor Franz Josef Radermacher delivers a sharp critique of German energy policy. He describes Germany as a “climate prison” that wastes vast sums of money while ignoring effective solutions – because certain actors profit from the current system

In the interview, Franz Josef Radermacher criticizes German climate policy as inefficient, overregulated, and expensive. He calls Germany a “climate prison” in which billions are spent on national measures that bring little global benefit. Instead, he advocates for an international climate policy: CO₂ emissions could be reduced much more cost-effectively in developing and emerging countries – through reforestation, CCS (carbon capture and storage), and CCU (carbon capture and utilization). These global approaches, he argues, are more effective and would also promote prosperity in poorer regions. Radermacher views Germany’s “all-electric” strategy – focused on wind and solar energy – critically, calling it costly and incomplete. He warns against degrowth and calls for the repeal of the Energy Efficiency Act. He considers the 2021 ruling by the Federal Constitutional Court a mistake, as it overburdens Germany while being globally ineffective. His appeal: cooperation instead of climate nationalism – for realistic and effective climate protection.

Due to numerous inquiries, Prof. Radermacher has also answered additional questions that arose in connection with the interview.

The original interview in Welt am Sonntag from July 6, 2025, and the additional questions and answers can be found at the links below:

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THE “CLIMATE PRISON”

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(FAW/n Report)

How current narratives and regulations block the path to effective and economically sensible climate protection

Germany’s situation regarding climate protection is tragic in two respects. On the one hand, the current approach achieves essentially nothing in addressing climate change as a global challenge. Worldwide emissions continue to rise. On the other hand, this path generates extremely high avoidable costs, which burden our country and especially large parts of the economy. The economic and social collateral damage of the chosen path is clearly visible. Alongside the many losers, there are also beneficiaries of this path – actors who have contributed to shaping the current regulatory framework and who seek to prevent any change to the status quo to the greatest possible extent. Since an overall economic assessment of past policies is so clearly negative, the new government is attempting to take new approaches, though it is con-strained by the narrow scope of pre-existing agreements. One can only wish it success, for success is urgently needed. However, this is easier said than done, as Germany is trapped in a regulatory “climate prison”. A more technology-open and international approach, which would massively reduce transformation costs and serve climate protection far more effectively, is made extremely difficult by the regulatory structures that have developed in recent years, with their deeply layered effects at multiple levels. For the sake of the people, the economy, and the climate, it is to be hoped that the new government will succeed – despite all resistance – in breaking free from this “prison”.

8-Point Plan for an Affordable Energy Transition

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Together with partner organizations, FAW/n has developed an 8-point plan for an effective and affordable energy transition. The document, which has already been widely circulated publicly, calls for a fundamental shift in German energy policy to realign economic strength, climate protection, and energy security. The collaboration involved Global Energy Solutions, the Senate of Economy (Senat der Wirtschaft), 4Pi-Solutions, and the think tank R21 (denk-fabrik R21).

Despite high expenditures, Germany leads neither in electricity prices nor in CO₂ emissions: Electricity costs risk rising by up to 100%, while CO₂ emissions (at 380 g/kWh) remain far above those of countries like France. The German Federal Audit Office (Bundesrechnungshof) has criticized rising system costs and questioned the effectiveness of current measures.

Our plan presents eight practical measures for an affordable and effective energy transition: competitive electricity prices in Germany, market-based incentives instead of bureaucracy, CO₂ capture at fossil fuel power plants, sensible use of hydrogen and CO₂-neutral fuels, as well as a potential return to nuclear energy. New wind and solar installations should be able to compete in the market without subsidies. The use of German natural gas is also proposed as a transitional solution

Implementing these measures could not only relieve pressure on German industry and prevent deindustrialization, but would also free up substantial funds year after year. These resources could be partially invested internationally in climate protection, which would then lead to an effective global solution for building prosperity and climate protection contributions, while also helping to solve the climate crisis internationally – for example by supporting developing and emerging countries.

United Nations Climate Change Conference (COP29) in Baku, Azerbaijan

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This year’s climate change conference in Baku primarily focused on international financing of climate-related issues. The key points of the final declaration include:

  • An increase in public financing of climate-related issues for developing countries from the current $100 billion USD per year to at least $300 billion USD per year by 2035,
  • A rise in funding from all sources, both public and private, to at least $1.3 trillion USD per year by 2035,
  • Standards and rules for international carbon markets (Article 6.4) that enable new financial flows to the Global South.

These are steps in the right direction to meet the legitimate expectations of the Global South AND create the prerequisites for successful climate action. The conference certainly contributes to greater realism regarding the necessity of international cooperation and financing. Even though many questions remain unanswered and developing countries would have preferred larger sums, there is hope that the coming weeks and months will bring further steps toward a viable overall concept for solving the climate challenge. With the GES book “ALL IN!”, a proposal exists for what this could look like

Here you can read the report on COP29 by Estelle Herlyn (GES), who attended the conference in Baku in person:

Read the Climate Conference Report

Bildquelle: FAW/n

Book “ALL IN!” published

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Just in time for the 2024 Frankfurt Book Fair (October 22, 2024), Murmann Verlag has published “ALL IN! Energy and Prosperity for a Growing World”.

ALL IN! – Energy and Prosperity for a Growing World by Franz Josef Radermacher and Bert Beyers – along with many collaborators – is a passionate appeal for a realistic and fair global energy transition. The authors criticize Germany’s focus on an “All-Electric” strategy and exclusively renewable energy as insufficient, unrealistic, and unaffordable. Given the rapidly growing global energy demand – especially in the Global South – they advocate for a technology-neutral approach, which includes fossil fuels with carbon capture as well as modern nuclear power.

The book emphasizes the need to support developing and emerging economies in achieving economic growth, even if this leads to higher emissions, in order to combat poverty. At the same time, industrialized nations must invest heavily in making climate-friendly technologies globally accessible. This is the only way to effectively combat climate change.

Radermacher and Beyers argue for pragmatism over ideology and global cooperation over national solo efforts. Their goal: prosperity for all while limiting global warming and preserving biodiversity. ALL IN! is a call for a course correction in energy policy – realistic, solidarity-driven, and future-oriented.

Key Arguments:

·        ALL IN! – We must immediately start utilizing exclusively climate-neutral and safe energy sources: renewables, fossil fuels with carbon capture, and nuclear energy.

·        ALL IN! – This requires a pragmatic and technology-neutral approach – in a symbiosis of technology and nature.

·        ALL IN! – The climate challenge will not be decided in Germany, Europe, or even the U.S., but rather in China, India, and Africa. Climate nationalism is not the answer – and Germany’s “All Electric” approach is also a dead end.

The book can be ordered from Murmann Publishers (order here), from Thalia (order here), from Hugendubel (order here), or at your local bookstore of choice.

Image source: FAW/n & Global Energy Solutions

Remembering Prof. Klaus Töpfer

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The Research Institute for Applied Knowledge Processing (FAW/n) in Ulm mourns the loss of Prof. Klaus Töpfer, one of the great global leaders in sustainability, who passed away on June 8, 2024, after a brief, severe illness. (*July 29, 1938 – June 8, 2024†)

As a politician, visionary thinker, brilliant strategist, and exemplary mediator, Klaus Töpfer will remain in the memory of many. Prof. Dr. Klaus Töpfer can truly be described as an exceptional personality. Those fortunate enough to have known him – whether as a federal minister or later as one of the highest-ranking UN directors – could witness firsthand his extraordinary foresight, his visionary ideas, and his commitment to collaboration even in the face of the most challenging issues. Professor Töpfer will be deeply missed as a role model.

We collaborated closely with Professor Töpfer for decades. We miss him greatly and will honor his memory with the highest respect.