Recht auf gerecht! #1 Wer zahlt für die Klimakrise – und wer verursacht sie?

The climate crisis is closely linked to social inequality: The rich tend to fly more often, live more lavishly and leave a disproportionately larger ecological footprint. Those with few resources are more likely to bear the consequences directly: in overheated neighborhoods without parks, through rising energy costs or a lack of opportunities to make more climate-friendly decisions in the first place.

The climate crisis and social inequality are two sides of the same coin and climate protection will fail if it ignores this. In this discussion, we will explore the question of how wealth inequality is driving the climate crisis, what role instruments such as inheritance or wealth taxes could play and what is needed to make climate-friendly living possible for everyone, not just those who can afford it.

Also on board:

Kristin Langen

Kristin Langen is a journalist specializing in economics, climate and distributive justice. She works for SWR and Deutschlandfunk, among others, and was awarded the Mittelstand Media Prize in 2024 for her work on inheritance tax. She founded the Economy Working Group in the German Climate Journalism Network. Langen studied political economics in Kassel.

Dr. Julia Teebken

Dr. Julia Teebken is a political scientist and postdoctoral researcher at the Leibniz Institute for Spatial Social Research (IRS, Erkner). Her research focuses on the vulnerability to climate change impacts created and reproduced by existing power and distribution relations. She investigates to what extent and under what conditions political and social actors address or stabilize these structural causes.

Christoph Hau

Christoph Hau holds a degree in economics with a focus on regional and environmental economics. After completing his studies, he worked for the environmental organizations BUND and DNR and the Bündnis 90 / Die Grünen parliamentary group in the field of eco-taxes. He works as a parliamentary advisor for budget and financial policy for the Bündnis 90 / Die Grünen parliamentary group in the Bavarian state parliament.

Moderation: Leah Nlemibe

Leah Nlemibe is a journalist and presenter. During her studies of literature and political science in Berlin and Reims, she focused primarily on social issues relating to feminism, post-colonialism and social justice. She works as a host for Bayerischer Rundfunk's award-winning YouTube format "PULS Reportage", for which she conducts self-experiments and reports on various social issues for a young target group.

More about the series:

How fair is our society - and how much is the climate crisis exacerbating existing inequalities? What opportunities do different generations have and who bears the greatest burden of change?

Once a month, journalist Leah Nlemibe invites guests from academia, politics and civil society to Alte Utting to discuss key questions of justice in the context of climate change in a relaxed atmosphere. The focus will not only be on challenges, but also on encouraging developments and concrete solutions.

All dates at a glance:

20.04.

15.06.

10.11.

This event is part of our annual theme After us, the climate .