British-German Environment Forum (BGEF)
Deutsch-Britisches Umweltforum

The British-German Environment Forum (BGEF) brings together policy makers and practitioners from business, public agencies and the voluntary sector for a 2-day conference, alternating every year between Britain and Germany.

It provides a forum for the exchange of views and lessons for good practice and innovations between two key European countries with distinctive strengths and weaknesses in environmental policy, and with different policy cultures in relation to the environment.

The initiative is supported by the Anglo-German Foundation, the UK Foreign Commonwealth Office and the Federal German Environment Ministry. Selection of delegates, themes and venues is the responsibility of a Joint Steering Committee comprising distinguished members drawn in equal numbers from the UK and Germany representing organisations from the public, private and voluntary sectors. The Committee is jointly chaired by Tom Burke, Rio Tinto's environmental strategy adviser and former Special Adviser to the UK Secretary of State for the Environment, and by Jo Leinen MEP, former Minister for the Environment for the Saarland.

For a more detailed brochure please click here
For a German Summary (deutsche Zusammenfassung) please click here

If you would like to receive an invitation or details of forthcoming conferences, or our conference reports, please write to info@agf.org.uk

 

 

BGEF Committee

The full committee currently comprises:

UNITED KINGDOM:

GERMANY:

Tom Burke (Joint Chair)

Dr Michael Grubb
The Carbon Trust

Derek Osborn
Chair, UNED-UK

Sara Parkin
Director, Forum for the Future

Robert M. Worcester
Chair, MORI

Jo Leinen (Joint Chair)

Dr Hermann Ott
Wuppertal Institute

Prof. Dr. Fritz Vahrenholt
Chair, REpower Systems AG

Dr Fritz Vorholz
Economics correspondent, Die Zeit

Dr Angelika Zahrnt
Chair, BUND

Initiators and co-ordinators of BGEF are:

 

Ian Christie (Surrey County Council)

Ray Cunningham (Anglo-German Foundation)

R. Andreas Kraemer (Ecologic)

 

BGEF Conference 2007

British-German Environment Forum 6:
Conference: "'TRADING UP' – Improving and extending the European carbon market"
The sixth BGEF conference addressed the EU's Emissions Trading Scheme.

Date: 26-27 March 2007

For a Programme (English version) please click here
For a Programme (German version) please click here

> A conference report has been published:

  • Summary (29 KB)
  • For a free download of the complete conference report (140 KB) please click here

Previous BGEF Conferences

2004

British-German Environment Forum 5:
Conference: "From Fossil to Future Fuels"

The fifth annual conference organised by the BGEF in Berlin, opened by the Federal Environment Minister Jürgen Trittin, offered an opportunity for British and German policymakers, NGOs, practitioners and researchers to exchange ideas and experience on cooperating towards a secure and sustainable energy policy.

Date: 5/6 February 2004

> For the participants list please click here

> A conference report has been published:

  • Summary (23 KB)
  • For a free download of the complete conference report
    "From Fossil to Future Fuels " (110 KB) please click here

> For Robert M Worcester's (MORI) presentation on "Public Opinion inGermany & Britain regarding energy/environmentand other issues" (643 KB!!!) please click here

BGEF organisers and steering committee
(from left to right):
Dr Ray Cunningham (AGF),
Ian Christie (Surrey County Council),
Tom Burke(Rio Tinto),
R. Andreas Kraemer (Ecologic),
Prof. Robert Worcester (MORI)

2002

British-German Environment Forum 4:
Conference: "Sustaining food, sustaining farmers".
What can Britain and Germany learn from each other in reforming agriculture
for sustainable development?

 

> For the participants list please click here

> A conference report has been published:

2001

British-German Environmental Forum 3:
Conference: "Escaping from Gridlock"
Integrating Environmental and Transport Policy

2000

British-German Environment Forum 2:
Conference: "Risky Business?"
Managing risk and building trust in policy on GMOs and chemicals

> To view the unpublished conference report (29 KB) please click here

1998

British-German Environment Forum 1:
Conference: "Playing our Part"
Climate Change Strategies in Britain and Germany beyond Kyoto

 

 

Last Update of Site: 17 July 2007