The Fridays for Future movement has again drawn attention to great political and societal pressure in the area of climate change. As associated partner of the Berlin University Alliance, the MPIWG—along with partners the Freie Universität Berlin, Humboldt-Universität zu Berlin, Technische Universität Berlin, and Charité – Universitätsmedizin Berlin aim to address global challenges together by promoting interdisciplinary research approaches and networking across institutional borders. Representatives of the institutes are engaged in discussions with representatives of Fridays for Future about possible forms of cooperation and the link with the Scientists for Future movement. In addition, the partners seek to create new opportunities for researchers in Berlin to contribute to science-based approaches for solving global challenges.
The President of the Berlin Universities Prof. Dr. Dr. Sabine Kunst, Prof. Dr. Günter M. Ziegler, Prof. Dr. Christian Thomsen and the chairman of the Charité board, Prof. Dr. Karl Max Einhäupl jointly gave the following statement at the Climate Change Center's launch in summer 2019:
"Addressing the effects of global climate change requires the expertise of different scientific disciplines across institutional boundaries. In the Berlin University Alliance, we want to jointly network the density and diversity of research topics and experts in Berlin and develop socially relevant solutions. We see this as the responsibility of science and would also like to strengthen society's trust in scientific facts. To this end, we are planning a new Berlin research center in which scientists from different disciplines will conduct research on the topic of climate change on a joint platform. This initiative is already supported by some commercial enterprises and other organizations. Science, politics, business and civil society must now jointly develop sustainable strategies and address the urgency of global climate protection."