Dr. Veit Bürger
Dr. Veit Bürger
Dr. Veit Bürger

Dr. Veit Bürger

Head of Energy & Climate Division (Freiburg)
Energy & Climate

Special Expertise

  • Development, assessment and evaluation of strategies as well as policy instruments for the sustainable transformation of the heat sector.
  • Development of scenarios and visions for a climate-neutral heating and cooling sector
  • Support mechanisms for increasing the use of renewable energies in the heating and cooling sector
  • Climate action plans on the regional and local level

Key Projects

  • Projects supporting the Federal Government in the development, assessment and evaluation of Climate Protection and Immediate Action programmes as well as the  Trends and Projection Reports
  • Projects supporting the EU Commission in further developing the regulatory and support framework for the heating and cooling sector (incl. district heating and cooling)
  • Development and evaluation of selected policy approaches and instrument bundles for the heat transition (Agenda Wärmewende 2021, Concepts for the removal of legal barriers to climate protection in the building sector, Evaluation of the CHP law)
  • Developing scenarios and transformation strategies for the heating sector (e.g. Systemic challenges of the German heat transition, Climate-neutral building stock 2050, H2-Strategy 2.0, Markettransformation for heat pumps)
  • Policies to Enforce the Transition to Nearly Zero-Energy Buildings in Europe (www.entranze.eu)
  • Development and evaluation of policy instruments to promote the increased market penetration of renewable energies in the heating market, to further develop the Renewable Energies Heat Act (EEWärmeG) and participation in the preparation of the EEWärmeG Progress report
  • Development, assessment and evaluation of climate policy action programmes and specific policy instruments for regions (Baden-Württemberg, Hamburg, Bavaria)
  • Analysis of the economic impact of different policy approaches on different social groups
  • Assessment of an energy saving obligation (white certificates) in terms of its suitability in the increased use of demand-side energy saving measures in Germany (multiple projects)
  • Supporting selected EU Member States in the implementation of the EU Renewables Directive 2009/28/EC (www.res-h-policy.eu)
  • Development of transfer strategies for successful political approaches to energy saving in households (www.uni-muenster.de/Transpose)
  • Local strategies to reduce CO2 emissions - The case of Munich, Hamburg and Freiburg
  • Advising the EU Commission on the development of recommendations on financial reserves for disposal related to nuclear power
  • Research on electricity disclosure

Professional Training

  • PhD at the University of Freiburg
  • Graduated in Energy Management at Hochschule Darmstadt
  • Graduated in Physics at the Ruprecht-Karls-Universität, Heidelberg

Career

  • Since 2023: Head of Energy & Climate Division (Freiburg)
  • Since 2002: Öko-Institut, Freiburg
  • 1999-2001: Greenpeace e.V., Hamburg
    Energy and climate policy campaigner. Development and practical implementation of political campaigns in those fields.
  • 1998: Fraunhofer-Institut für Solare Energiesysteme (Fraunhofer Institute for Solar Energy Systems), Freiburg
    Member of the solar construction research group. Development and implementation of construction schemes for low-energy houses and passive buildings (private and commercial
  • Since 2017 lecturer at the University of Freiburg in the field of energy policy

Language Skills

English