This publication examines the development of independent environmental research and policy advisory institutes in Germany during the 1980s, a period marked by shifting political priorities and growing public concern about environmental issues. Economic stagnation and the oil price crisis had initially pushed environmental policy down the political agenda. At the same time, a series of major environmental crises – including acid rain, forest dieback, depletion of the ozone layer and the Chernobyl nuclear disaster – had a profound impact on public awareness. Growing environmental concern in Germany, also reflected in the Greens’ entry into the Bundestag in 1983, increased political pressure and brought environmental issues back to the forefront of political debate.

The publication shows how independent environmental research and policy advisory institutes became increasingly professionalised and established themselves more firmly within Germany’s environmental policy landscape during this period. As environmental policy expanded and became more specialised, demand for independent expertise grew and an increasing number of non-governmental institutes entered the field. The analysis also highlights, however, that cooperation between these institutes and public institutions such as the German Environment Agency and the Federal Environment Ministry remained limited and was not yet characterised by close institutional collaboration.

The project From ‘Blue Skies over the Ruhr’ to the Energy Transition (December 2012–June 2014) produced seven papers covering a range of thematic perspectives. Drawing on insights from interviews conducted as part of the project and linking these findings to the existing academic literature, the papers contribute to documenting and analysing the history of independent environmental policy research and advice. They also identify areas in which the empirical material collected through the project helps to close existing knowledge gaps, while highlighting further research questions that extend beyond the scope of the project.