Anyone who wants to understand the impacts of climate change must take the time to get to the bottom of complex phenomena. The Franco-German programme ‘Make Our Planet Great Again – German Research Initiative’ (MOPGA-GRI) made this possible. With a total of 15 million euros, the Federal Ministry of Education and Research funded 13 research projects in Germany between 2018 and 2022. Two grant recipients explain how the initiative has shaped their scientific careers – and why the networks formed during that time continue to bear fruit to this day.

 

How Fair is the Energy Transition?

When Andreas Goldthau began his MOPGA grant in 2019, the climate policy debate centred primarily on one question: How can climate change be slowed down? “What was less apparent at the time was that the energy transition could have very different consequences for different countries,” recalls the professor and director of the Willy Brandt School of Public Policy at the University of Erfurt.

At what was then the Institute for Advanced Sustainability Studies (IASS) in Potsdam, he and his international team investigated the political economy of the energy transition: how does it alter economic opportunities and development prospects worldwide? “It became clear that technological leadership, investment and access to renewable energy are increasingly determining opportunities for economic development,” says Goldthau. “At the same time, new EU climate regulations are putting pressure on countries that are closely intertwined with Europe and have so far been slow to decarbonise their economies.”

To highlight these differences, the team developed an energy justice index. It examines how the costs and benefits of the energy transition are distributed, how transparent and inclusive political decision-making processes are, and whether marginalised population groups are taken into account. The research was supplemented by future scenarios for countries in Africa, Asia and Latin America.

“As a social scientist, you don’t often get the chance to work with a budget like the MOPGA grant,” says Goldthau. He explains that the programme enabled him to drive forward a debate that is now much more in the spotlight than it was at the start of the project. The exchange on science policy with other MOPGA fellows has also continued. “I’m still benefiting from that today.”

 

Earth’s Parasol

Prof. Dr Anna Possner came to Germany from Stanford through the MOPGA programme. At Goethe University Frankfurt, the atmospheric physicist set up her own research group. Her work focuses on so-called mixed-phase clouds, composed of water and ice, which play a crucial role in the Earth’s climate. These formations drift as vast cloud fields over the oceans of the Southern Hemisphere and reflect sunlight back into space. In doing so, they slow down global warming. However, this effect is changing as a result of climate change.

“You can think of these clouds as a parasol,” says Possner. As temperatures rise, less ice forms in the clouds at first – more water remains in liquid form, and the clouds temporarily reflect more sunlight. In the long term, however, the parasol loses its protective effect: the cloud cover becomes more patchy, more energy reaches the Earth, and global warming intensifies.

The MOPGA project enabled her to “take the next step, both scientifically and financially”. Working with international partners, her team combined satellite data, measurements from research airplanes and climate models to gain a better understanding of the dynamics of mixed-phase clouds. The collaboration ranged from satellite experts in France to US research missions and measurement campaigns over the oceans of the Southern Hemisphere.

“The networks that were established during my time on the MOPGA project continue to shape my research to this day,” says Possner. “And after many years abroad, the project also helped me to establish myself within the German research network.” Today, she continues her research into clouds and climate dynamics at Goethe University Frankfurt – including at the Hans Ertel Centre for Weather Research.

Christina Pfänder (28 July 2026)