Gerald Haug heads the Council for Sustainable Development

The director of the Climate Geochemistry Department will assume the honorary chairmanship of the RNE.

On February 11, 2026, Prof. Dr. Gerald H. Haug, Director of the Department of Climate Geochemistry at the MPI for Chemistry and former President of the German National Academy of Sciences Leopoldina, was elected Chairman of the German Council for Sustainable Development (RNE). The election took place during the Council‘s constituent meeting. Two weeks earlier, Haug had been appointed to the RNE by the federal government on the recommendation of Chancellor Friedrich Merz.

“It is a great honor for me to strengthen the voice of science in this influential body. Our main concern is sustainable economic growth in Germany,” says Haug, who will serve as RNE chair on an honorary basis for three years.

He succeeds Reiner Hoffmann, former chairman of the German Trade Union Confederation (DGB), who was elected as Haug‘s deputy. The RNE‘s task is to provide independent advice to the federal government on issues of sustainability and future policy. It develops contributions to the national sustainability strategy, makes recommendations to the federal government, and identifies specific areas of action and projects.

The Council for Sustainable Development comprises 15 prominent figures from business, civil society, science, and politics.

Prof. Dr. Mark Lawrence is also a member of the Council. The scientific director of the Research Institute for Sustainability – Helmholtz Centre Potsdam (RIFS) was a group leader at the MPI for Chemistry until 2011.