Christoph Bertram

Headshot copyright PIK / Klemens Karkow 

Christoph Bertram is an Associate Research Professor at the Center for Global Sustainability (CGS), University of Maryland School of Public Policy. His research analyzes climate change mitigation strategies and policies, especially in the energy sector, both globally and in major economies. Specific interests of Bertram include the interrelationship of mid-term climate policies and long-term policy goals, including questions of carbon lock-in; national energy and climate policies and targets, including nationally determined contributions (NDCs) and net-zero targets; broader sustainability impacts of mitigation pathways; and how to use mitigation scenarios to assess economies' and companies' transition risks.

Bertram has more than ten years of experience in integrated assessment modeling and model intercomparison and has had leading roles in various international projects, including the scenarios project of the Network for Greening the Financial System (NGFS) and ENGAGE, and was a contributing author for chapters 3 and 15 of IPCC's Sixth Assessment Report (AR6).

Prior to joining CGS, Bertram worked for 13 years at the Potsdam Institute for Climate Impact Research (PIK), where he remains affiliated as a guest researcher. At PIK, he was part of the Energy Systems Group and led the International Climate Policy team from 2019-2023. He holds a doctoral degree in economics from Technische Universität Berlin, and masters-level degrees in physics and political science from Universität Tübingen.