This summer, Associate Professor of Political Science and International Relations Director Michael Gunter served as an expert commentator for the 2009 Studienforum Berlin e.V. workshop on Climate Change and Germany’s Environmental Strategy.

The objective of the workshop was to identify what lessons the United States can draw from the German experience. “Germany is indeed a climate change model for the United States, albeit a partial one,” said Gunter.  “Most importantly, their progress starts with the mindset that all sectors of German society must face this climate challenge together – from industry and the trade unions, to elected officials and the general public.”

In addition to his commentary, the workshop allowed Gunter to interview a vast spectrum of political, business, and labor leaders ranging from the Federal Environmental Ministry and Federal Environmental Agency heads; leaders from the Christian Democrats, Social Democrats, and Green political parties; corporate officers from the photovoltaic company Q-Cells; the national director of German trade unions; academics from the Environmental Policy Research Center at Freie Universtat; and representatives from grassroots NGOs such as the World Future Council and Friends of the Earth.

“It was fascinating to see not only the legacy of WWII defeat in pushing Germany towards their regional and global political leadership on climate change but also the transition of a once fringe Green Party into a major political player, even serving in a governing coalition until 2005 and positioned to challenge there yet again in the elections this September,” said Gunter.

Gunter will incorporate aspects of the workshop into his Global Environmental Affairs course this fall at Rollins, as well as integrate the experience into his current research focus which includes sustainable development broadly and climate change politics more specifically. For instance, while a 2007 Fulbright Scholar at Univerzita Komenského in the Slovak Republic, the US Embassy in Germany invited Gunter to speak on U.S. climate change policy at their prestigious Fachleiter Conference with the Gustav-Stresemann Institut.

Gunter is also author of Building the Next Ark: How NGOs Work to Protect Biodiversity in 2004 (cloth) and 2006 (paperback). His recent publications include work on climate change, the International Whaling Commission, and environmental NGOs.