HM Lectures for the Future
Public lecture series on science, technology and society
Climate change, environmental protection and sustainability are among the greatest scientific, technical and societal challenges of the 21st century. In this lecture series, academics from Munich’s universities will present their research on this topic from their respective fields and open up the various approaches and perspectives for joint discussion. This will provide an interdisciplinary overview that examines the impact of climate change, environmental protection and sustainability on politics, the economy and society in an international and forward-looking manner.
The event
The public lecture series, hosted by Prof. Dr. Harald Lesch, Prof. Dr. Christian Holler and Prof. Dr. Heinz P. Huber, will be held in a hybrid format and takes place in cooperation with the lecture series organised by the Technical University of Munich at the pavilion at Lothstraße 17. You can access the Technical University of Munich’s programme via this link. All interested parties are warmly welcome.
START
On 13 April 26, the series of events begins with a talk by Prof. Dr. Harald Lesch, Charlotte Kelschenbach and students from the Department of Design, entitled “Our Energy Consumption – Understanding and Getting Involved: a public presentation of student design projects to accompany the book”.
Information for students:
The lecture series can be taken as an AW module at Department 13 and also counts towards the Certificate in Sustainable Thinking and Responsible Action
When and Where
Mondays | 6.00 pm, ‘Roter Würfel’ lecture theatre, Room R 1.046 (Lothstraße 64)
online via Zoom
Meeting ID: 947 3715 4657
Password: 631726
Lectures, summer semester 2026
13 April 2026: Prof. Dr. Harald Lesch, Charlotte Kelschenbach, students from the Department of Design, including LMU and Hochschule München
Our Energy Consumption – Understanding and Getting Involved: a public presentation of student design projects to accompany the book
Venue: Pavillon, Lothstraße 17
20 April 2026: Dr. Sebastian Schuh
, Member of the Bavarian State Ministry of the Interior, formerly of the Mangfalltal
Water Protection Area: Munich’s drinking water dispute – supply and protection in times of global change
27 April 2026: Christoph Göbel
, District Administrator of the Munich District, lawyer, lecturer at the German University of Administrative Sciences in Speyer
:Climate protection and adaptation to the effects of climate change in local government
4 May 2026: Prof. Dr. Angelika Beranek
, Department of Applied Social Sciences, Hochschule München
:A framework for digital sustainability
11 May 2026: Michael Hagmann
, Head of Business Strategy, Siemens Gamesa Renewable Energy
: The energy transition in the context of energy security, affordability and sustainability
Shared Session with TUM
Lecture Series on Environmental Protection
Venue: HM
1 June 2026: Jochen Ahlswende, Head of Department, Federal Office for the Safety of Nuclear Waste Management
The safe disposal of radioactive waste: a matter of sustainability
8 June 2026: Dr Josef Gassner
– mathematician, physicist, non-fiction author, and presenter of the science programme ‘The Big Bang, the Universe and Life’ –
Electricity from nuclear fusion: 30 years to infinity?
15 June 2026: Dr. Maike Weißpflug
, political scientist and author, Federal Office for the Safety of Nuclear Waste
Management:Possibilism, or reclaiming politics as the art of the possible
Please note that individual items on the programme are subject to change at short notice.
Archive
20 October 2025 Erika Henger
Bavarian Cooperative Association (Genossenschaftsverband Bayern e.V.)
Communications + Cooperatives = social and economic regional development
27 October 2025 Dr. Marc Henning Diekmann
, Managing
Director, CoInvest Finanz Consulting GmbH
Large-scale battery storage – technology and potential business models
3 November 2025 Dr. habil. Johannes Cullmann
Federal Institute of Hydrology & United Nations University
‘Sense and Nonsense of Indicators in Measuring Sustainability’
Joint session with the TUM Environmental Protection
Lecture Series Venue: HM
10 November 2025 Robert Malewski, Leon Schmid
Evangelical Lutheran Church in Bavaria and Evangelical Lutheran Deanery of Munich
, respectively Between a monument and a heat pump: The climate transition of the Evangelical Lutheran Church in Bavaria (ELKB)
17 November 2025 Dr. Leonard Burtscher
, Umweltinstitut München e.V.
Is there a Planet B? What the search for other planets teaches us about our own Earth.
24 November 2025 Optimism for the Future – Ideas from HM for a sustainable world (Public Climate School)
3 December 2025 (Wednesday, 6.00 pm) Karl Lange
: ‘Local Initiatives and Grassroots Movements’
–Joint session with the TUM Environmental Protection
Lecture Series Venue: TUM, Arcisstr. 21
, Karl Max von Bauernfeind Lecture Theatre
, or online:
umwelt.asta.tum.de/en/ringvorlesung/
8 December 2025 Katrin Habenschaden
Head of Sustainability & Environment
, Deutsche Bahn AG
Corporate sustainability targets – do they hold up even during crises and restructuring phases?
Please note that individual items on the programme may be subject to change at short notice.
31 March 2025 Karolina Rütten, Dr. Maximilian Keller
Potsdam Institute for Climate Impact Research (PIK) e.V.
Distributional effects and acceptance of climate policy instruments
7 April 2025 Dr. Reinhard Zeitler
Bavarian State Ministry for the Environment and Consumer Protection
Climate adaptation in Bavaria
14 April 2025 Wolfgang Giesinger
Geothermal Energy in Unterhaching
Geothermal Energy in Unterhaching – a 360° view of deep geothermal energy
28 April 2025 Prof. Dr. Susanne Wende, Prof. Dr. Thomas Ackermann
, Hochschule München
Understanding the climate, shaping the future: students as ambassadors for the UN Climate Change Conferences
5 May 2025 Dr Björn Sörgel
Potsdam Institute for Climate Impact Research (PIK) e.V.
Climate protection and sustainable development: scenarios for the Intergovernmental Panel on Climate Change (IPCC)
12 May 2025 Yasmin Sabrantke
Protect our Winters (POW) Germany e.V.
Mountain sports and climate protection!?
Joint session with the TUM lecture series on environmental protection
Venue: HM
19 May 2025 Lindsay Ringer, California Polytechnic State University, USA
Climate Resilience: Carbon Sequestration and Hydrological Adaptations
16 June 2025 Prof. Dr. Nicole Brandstetter, Prof. Dr. Herbert Palm
, Hochschule München
: Environmental Communication – only together can we bring about the transition
Please note that individual items on the programme are subject to change at short notice.
21 October 2024 Prof. Dr. Marianela Fader
Ludwig Maximilian University of Munich, Department of Geography
The Future of Water: Changes in Water Resources and Water Use
28 October 2024 Prof. Dr. Peter Schwartz
, California Polytechnic State University, Department
of PhysicsSUSTAINABILITY? What about the other 7 billion people?
4 November 2024 Dr. Tim Meyer
3Epunkt Hamburg
Welcome to the 4th Energy Revolution – why energy is becoming clean much faster worldwide than many people realise.
7 November 2024 (Thursday) Johannes Leon Kirnberger
, OECD, AI & Sustainability Consultant
:‘Can AI help save the planet?
’ –joint session with the Technical University of Munich (TUM) Venue: TUM, Arcisstr. 21, Lecture Theatre 1180, or online: umwelt.asta.tum.de/en/ringvorlesung/
11 November 2024 Prof. Dr. Matthias Zessner
, Vienna University of Technology (TU Wien), Institute of Water Quality and Resource Management
“Forever chemicals” in water: where do they come from, what can we do?
Joint session with the Technical University of Munich (TU München) Venue: HM
18 November. Prof. Dr. Harald Lesch
, Ludwig Maximilian University of Munich
: Climate crisis or climate hysteria?
25 November 2024 Thorsten Glauber | 7.00 pm
Bavarian State Ministry for the Environment and Consumer Protection
The duties and challenges of an environment minister
(rescheduled event from 18 November 2024)
16 December 2024 Sophia Appl Scorza
German Society for International Cooperation (GIZ) Mexico
Ecosystem-based adaptation as a tool to strengthen local communities’ resilience to climate change: The case of Mexico
8 April 2024 Dr. Henrik Siegle, CTO, Bosch Building Technologies
Empowering sustainability in the industry
15 April 2024 Theresa Liegl
, Hochschule München
:Public Participation in the Energy Transition
22 April 2024 Kai Buntrock
, CEO, Autarg GmbH
Building-integrated photovoltaics – a game-changer
29 April 2024 Prof. Dr. Andrea Kustermann
Hochschule München
‘Building Infrastructure of the Future – can concrete construction be sustainable?’
Joint session with the Technical University of Munich’s lecture series on environmental protection
Venue: HM
6 May 2024 Frank Schweikert
German Ocean Foundation
Empowering Action for Ocean Conservation: Insights, Initiatives and the Need to Love Our Ocean
Joint session with the Technical University of Munich’s Environmental Protection
Lecture Series Venue: TUM, Arcisstr. 21, Audimaxl; online
13 May 2024 Prof. Dr. Markus Vogt
Ludwig Maximilian University of Munich
A call for a cultural revolution: Ethical analyses of the environmental cycle, *Laudato si* and its impact
27 May 2024 Prof. Dr. Ellen Matthies
Otto von Guericke University Magdeburg
Is 80 per cent not enough? A psychological perspective on barriers to transformation
17 June 2024 Prof. Dr. Simon Schramm, Matthias Maier
, Hochschule München
Energy saving made easy? Specific measures to improve energy efficiency in the complex building structures of the HM
16 October 2023 Prof. Dr. Michael Sterner, OTH Regensburg
How can we save the climate? Technical options for decarbonising electricity, heating, transport and industry
23 October 2023 Prof. Dr. Lucy Pao
, University of Colorado Boulder, USA
Efficient Wind Energy Systems – Challenges and Opportunities for a Clean Energy Future
6 November 2023 Prof. Dr. Ulrich Stimming
, Litricity GmbH, Rosenheim
:changing the way electrical energy is stored
13 November 2023 Elisabeth Buchmann
, Ebersberg-Munich Energy Agency gGmbH
Climate protection in local authorities – redefining the framework and normalising climate-conscious action
20 November 2023 Prof. Dr. Harald Lesch, Prof. Dr. Christian Holler Public Climate School & Joint Session
Ludwig Maximilian University / Hochschule München
Climate and Energy
27 November 2023 Nora Medgyesi, Dr. Erwin Knapek
, Geothermal Energy Alliance Bavaria, Technical University of Munich
:From a bold pioneering project to systematic expansion – the history and future of deep geothermal energy in Bavaria
7 December 2023 Prof. Dr. Volker Quaschning | Thu 19:00, TUM, Arcissstr. 21 – Carl-von-Linde Lecture Theatre Joint session
with the University of Applied Sciences, Berlin“Climate
Strategy” Energy Revolution – NOW!
Online via this dial-in link or via the YouTube stream
11 December 2023 Angelika Bachmann
bachmann-education
Climate protection as a ‘bargain hunt’? The importance of emotions, relationships and autonomy for social tipping points
18 December 2023 Klaus Kamphausen, journalist and documentary filmmaker
More than 8 billion – More people, more opportunities?!
27 March 2023 Profs. Anna Scuttari & Andreas Humpe
HM, Department of Tourism
Unequal distribution of global CO₂ emissions
3 April 2023 Bahar Ucar
, Bavarian Cooperative Association (Genossenschaftsverband Bayern e.V.)
Energy in the hands of citizens – How we can all benefit from energy cooperatives
17 April 2023 Dr. Felix zu Löwenstein
, Research Institute of Organic Agriculture (FiBL)
Agriculture and Food Tomorrow – The Future Belongs to Stable Systems
8 May 2023 Prof. Maria Helena Braga
, University of Porto
Co-presenter: Dr. Vesselinka Koch
Solid-state batteries: their origins and potential game-changers for the future
15 May 2023 Prof. Martin Green | 10.00 am
Scientia Professor, University of New South Wales, Sydney
In memoriam Prof. Fred Koch, TUM Emeritus of Excellence, Co-moderator: Dr. Vesselinka Koch
Industrial production of high-efficiency
silicon solar cells
22 May 2023 Prof. Michael Sterner
, OTH Regensburg
How can we save the climate? Technical options for decarbonising electricity, heating, transport and industry
5 June 2023 Dr. Franz Trieb German Aerospace Centre (DLR)
Thermal energy storage power stations – A path to 100 per cent renewable electricity
12 June 2023 Dr. Anika Neitz-Regett
Research Centre for Energy Economics (FfE)
The growing importance of life-cycle analysis – relevance, fundamentals and examples of application
19 June 2023 Dr. PD Axel Kleidon
, Max Planck Institute for Biogeochemistry
: The Limits of Wind Energy and its Use: Fundamentals and Applications to the Energy Transition
17 October 2022 Prof. Dr. Marni Goldenberg, Prof. Dr. Keri Schwab, Prof. Dr. Jerusha Greenwood, California Polytechnic State University
Sustainability through Educational Methods on the Pacific Crest Trail
24 October 2022 Willi Kirchensteiner
, former Director of Studies, Munich
, the state capitalPhotovoltaics and heat pumps in building services engineering
7 November 2022 Dr. Maika Gruber, Dr. Christian Geltinger
Bavarian State Ministry of Economic Affairs, Bioeconomy
StrategyDivision: Future.Bioeconomy.Bavaria: from fossil raw materials to a sustainable bioeconomy
14 November 2022 Dr. Dina Barbian
, eco2050 Institute for Sustainability
:Strategies for climate neutrality – How can we succeed in meeting the 1.5-degree target?
21 November 2022 Prof. Dr. Wilhelm Maier
Hochschule München, Department of Business Administration, Human Resource Management
The human factor – the role of human resource management in fostering a sustainable approach within organisations
28 November 2022 Prof. Ralph Buchner
, Hochschule München, Department of Design
:Inner Development Goals for the Great Transformation
5 December 2022 Dr. David Novak DIPLOMA University of
Hydrogen H2: Technology – Projects – Policy
12 December 2022 FH-Professor Peter Stepanek, FH Campus Wien, Department of Social Sciences, SOWOSEC
:The social economy caught between planetary and social limits
19 December 2022 Anne Schlieker
Hochschule München, Strascheg Center for Entrepreneurship
Changing the world for the better through social entrepreneurship
28 March 2022 Lara Lütke-Spatz
Designing and implementing sustainable universities – top-down or bottom-up?
11 April 2022 Prof. Winfried Hoffmann
100% renewable energy worldwide from 2050: for everything, for everyone and everywhere
25 April 2022 Prof. Verena Kaiser
Business Management and Sustainability – a reality check
2 May 2022 Prof. Stephanie Uhrig
Changes to energy networks in the context of the energy transition
9 May 2022 Dr Willie Stiehler
Local Climate Action – Working together towards a renewable, regional energy supply for our local area
16 May 2022 Prof. Wilfried Hagg
The impacts of current glacier retreat at various spatial scales
23 May 2022 Dr. Christoph Pistner
Does nuclear energy have a future?
30 May 2022 Sophie Engler
Business as Unusual – How social procurement leads to co-creation between social enterprises and conventional businesses
13 June 2022 Dr. Erick Ogumo
Performance of a fabricated solar-powered vapour compression cooler in maintaining the post-harvest quality of French beans in Kenya
20 June 2022 Prof. Angelika Iser
Social Work and BNE (Education for Sustainable Development), using the Ganztag_Bildung_Zukunft initiative as an example
27 June 2022 Prof. Harald Lesch
What do we do with technology? What does technology do to us?
History
18 October 2021 Prof. Harald Lesch / Prof. Christian Holler
Climate and Energy
25 October 2021 Prof. Heinz P. Huber
The Physical Principles of Renewable Energy and the Carbon Footprint
Moderator: Prof. Bettina Maisch
8 November 2021 Dr. Gunter Erfurt
The renaissance of photovoltaic production in Germany
15 November 2021 Prof. Simon Schramm
The energy transition from a Energy Technology engineer’s perspective – does our energy consumption still match energy production?
22 November 2021 Prof. Ottmar Edenhofer
The Future of Climate Policy in Germany and Europe
Moderator: Lara Lütke-Spatz
29 November 2021 Dr Lisa Ruetgers
Taking action on climate change – levers and obstacles in the private and public sectors
6 December 2021 Dr. Peter Frieß
Voluntary carbon neutrality – a key building block in achieving the 1.5-degree target
13 December 2021 Dr. Axel Kleidon
What does the Earth provide, and what contribution does humanity make? Sustainability from a thermodynamic perspective
20 December 2021 Bernadette Stöckl / Carola Vogel
The contribution of social entrepreneurship to socio-ecological Transformation
10 January 2022 Florian Henle
Polarstern. Changing the world with energy. Really.
Presented by: Bernadette Stöckl
17 January 2022 Prof. Gunther Friedl
How do companies contribute to achieving our climate targets?
Moderator: Prof. Verena Kaiser
22 March 2021 Dr Christine Margraf (HM, Dept 13)
Managing natural resources
29 March 2021 Prof. Dr. Volker Quaschning (HTW Berlin) The
climate on the brink of collapse – What lies ahead and how we can still halt the climate crisis
12 April 2021 Dr. Felix zu Löwenstein (BOLW)
FOOD CRASH – We will either eat sustainably or not at all
19 April 2021 Prof. Dr. Martina Wegner (HM, Dept 11)
Social sustainability in local authorities – just a fuss or shaping the future?
26 April 2021 Prof. Dr. Peter Dürr (HM, Dept 11)
How to be good: Academic perspectives on a good future
3 May 2021 Prof. Dr. Sven Sängerlaub (HM, Dept 05)
Sustainability and packaging – a major industry undergoing technological transformation
10 May 2021 Prof. Dr. Markus Vogt (LMU)
Environmental ethics and its significance for the culture of engineering
17 May 2021 Rüdiger Senft (Commerzbank)
Banks and sustainability
31 May 2021 Dr. Lothar Behlau (Fraunhofer Society)
Sustainable development: Can we achieve the turnaround?
7 June 2021 Prof. Dr. Andreas Rau (HM, Dept 03)
Decarbonisation in transport and stationary applications
14 June 2021 Prof. Dr. Andrea Benze (HM, Dept 01) Shaping
the city in the face of climate change
21 June 2021 Prof. Dr. Natalie Essig (HM, Dept 01)
Sustainable construction – we need to (re)think!
12 October 2020 Prof. C. Holler (HM, Dept 06)
Renewable Energy
19 October 2020 Prof. H. Huber (HM, Dept 06)
Physical limitations and potential of renewable energies
26 October 2020 Prof. A. Kustermann (Dept 02, HM)
Concrete recycling: from construction waste to a valuable resource; possibilities and limitations
2 November 2020 Prof. H. Palm (HM, Dept 04)
How much energy do we need? How much energy do we have?
9 November 2020 Prof. O. Bohlen (HM, Dept 04)
Solar cells and wind power – energy storage for sustainable energy systems
16 November 2020 Prof. L. Brehm / Prof. H. Günzel (Dept 10)
Climate issues presented in an interactive and practically-oriented way: the uCORE ‘hands-on’ workshop
23 November 2020 Prof. M. Prieto Peral (HM, Dept 13)
The Rainforest as Capital – The Latin American Growth Model and its Consequences for the Global Climate
30 November 2020 Prof. S. Rappenglück (HM, Dept 13)
EU energy and climate policy
7 December 2020 Prof. H. Lesch (LMU)
Us and our planet
14 December 2020 Prof. T. Birner (LMU)
The Physics of Climate Change
11 January 2021 Prof. B. Santo (HM, Dept 12)
Social change and transformative
processes from a design perspective
18 January 2021 Prof. G. Zollner (HM, Dept 10)
Circular Economy – Circular Society
25 January 2021 Prof. A. Humpe (HM, Dept 14)
Forecasting air pollutants