Author: uk

New Publication: Wealth Taxation & Climate Adaptation: A Path to Fair Climate Policy

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New Publication:

Wealth Taxation & Climate Adaptation - A Path to Fair Climate PolicY

The article “ Underestimated Synergies Between Wealth Taxation and Climate Change Adaptation: Climate Policy: Killing Three Birds with One Stone ” highlights a powerful idea: taxing wealth can support climate adaptation while strengthening social justice. Wealth taxes are not just an economic tool—they could become a backbone of equitable climate strategies.

🌍 Why link wealth taxes with climate adaptation?

  • Climate adaptation needs stable and fair funding. Measures such as resilient infrastructure, flood protections or mobility systems require long-term investment. Wealth taxation provides a sustainable and fair financing model.

  • It tackles the roots of vulnerability. Social inequalities increase exposure to climate risks. Wealth taxes can reduce these inequalities, lowering the vulnerability of disadvantaged communities.

  • It aligns climate policy with justice. Wealthier groups — who often hold disproportionate power and resources — would contribute more. This makes climate action not only accountable but socially fair.

💡 What this could mean for future climate policy

  • Stable investment in nature, infrastructure, and protection against extreme weather.

  • Less burden on lower-income households who are already more exposed to climate risks.

  • A shift in climate responsibility: those with more contribute more , fostering collective resilience.

Authors

  • Julia Teebken
  • Ulrich Klüh
  • Sonja Kleinod
  • Hendrik Theine

Financial Policy for Transformation

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financial policy for transformation

What does it actually mean to “finance” a transformation?
When we talk about “financing” in everyday language, most people think of private money cycles and loans. For a long time, very similar ideas prevailed when it came to financing the transformation to a sustainable economy and society. The term “sustainable finance” stood for a view that placed great trust in market mechanisms and private-sector initiative. Unfortunately, the promises made by private financial market players to raise the funds necessary for the transformation have proven to be empty words. As a result, national and supranational actors have increasingly stepped into the breach. However, their promises have also been empty words so far, compared to the sums required. Why have all promises to raise a certain amount of money to finance the transformation so far proved to be empty words? This question was explored at the conference “Financial Policy for Transformation,” which took place from March 10 to 12, 2025, at the Evangelische Akademie Tutzing. The contributions presented there sparked intense discussions and debates among the nearly 100 participants. 
Some of them can be found below.
 
The organisers Uli Klüh and Richard Sturn introduced the topic before the conference. You can read the blog post ‘Empty words: The “financing” of the sustainability transformation as a political problem’ here.

Conference Program:

  1. Lisa Knoll Transformation financing in the field of tension  –  PD Dr. Lisa Knoll
  2. Policy instruments for financing the transformation  –  Dr. Kai Lessmann
  3. State revenue and state task structure in the transformation – long-term perspectives and crisis scenarios –  Prof. Dr. Richard Sturn
  4. Sustainable Finance between BlackRock, wealth tax and debt brake –  Prof. Dr. Ulrich Klüh

Open part of the conference:

  1. Control of economic development through the financial system in China – Rainer Land  (Thünen Institute for Regional Development)

  2. State Finance Beyond the Core Budget. Off-Balance Sheet Fiscal Agencies in Germany’s Fiscal Ecosystem – Armin Haas  (Global Climate Forum)

  3. Tax justice and climate change – Alison Schultz (Financial Turnaround)

  4. The local euro and the central but untapped role of public banks
    for a socio-ecological transformation –     Stephan Dilschneider (ecoloc | local transformation design)

  5. Post-Growth and Savings Banks – Jakob Kubin and Ilias Naji (Darmstadt University of Applied Sciences/ZNWU)

  6. Why we need to lag beyond money: the inescapable logic of capital – Patrick Degan  (Darmstadt University of Applied Sciences/ZNWU)

  7. Beyond established fiscal policy debates: Grassroots initiatives as catalysts for the transformation of the monetary system – Holger Kreft (bzr Office for Sustainable Regional Development)

  8. Capital and financial economy or a transformative welfare state economy under sovereign direction – Horst Müller  (social philosopher and social informatics specialist, editor of the portal Praxisphilosophie)

Thesis will be completed gradually…………