Michael Finus has joined the Department of Economics as Professor of Environmental Economics.
He joins Bath from the University of Exeter, where he spent two years as an associate professor in the economics of climate change. He moved to the UK in 2007 from his home country of Germany, taking a post at the University of Stirling. The specialised nature of professorships in the UK particularly appeals to him, as well as the professionalism in research and teaching.
Speaking about his appointment at Bath he said: “Coming to Bath was the perfect fit for my career. Bath has a long tradition in environmental economics and a fantastic reputation, partly built up around my predecessor, Professor Anil Markandya and also the University’s Institute for Sustainable Energy & the Environment (I-SEE). It’s very attractive to come to a university that strongly supports research in this area and at the same time being based in a very strong economics department.”
“One of my major areas of research is climate change. Global warming is one of the most challenging problems of current and future generations. Economists have to develop domestic and international policy measures so that countries, and particularly the major current polluters, participate in a climate change agreement that reduces current global carbon emissions by at least 80 per cent by 2050.
“Although most people agree with this goal – politicians, scientists, business people, environmentalists and the broader public- there are strong incentives for delaying action because it’s costly.
“My work looks at how we can design agreements to move the issue forward – to bring individual incentives in-line with the global goal to save our planet. It also applies to many other important environmental problems with a global dimension, including for instance biodiversity and the preservation of fish stocks. When you look at the rapid extinction of many species, I think it is evident that biodiversity is also one of the most pressing issues we face at the moment.
“I’m an ‘idealist’ and I first got involved in this area because I asked myself: what could really make a difference? I’m particularly interested in the international angle. When it comes to shaping policy, economics is very important because it’s the framework in which everything operates.
“I’m a lead author on the International Panel on Climate Change (IPCC) which received the Nobel Peace Prize in 2007 together with Al Gore. We review the status quo every five years and set down the state of the art on climate change. It’s the starting point for negotiations in agreements such as the Kyoto Protocol and means that countries can’t retreat from that position. The work of researchers around the globe means we can never again face a George Bush and his stance on climate change.”
Prior to moving to the UK he was an assistant professor at the University of Hagen in Germany and began his academic career at the University of Giessen. Professor Finus has moved to a village on the outskirts of Bath and is looking forward to taking advantage of all the cultural activities that Bath and the local area have to offer.
He is one of 12 leading academics joining the University as part of a strategic investment in research and teaching excellence across all faculties and disciplines.