This discussion paper examines how international developments shaped the early years of German environmental policy and environmental policy advice. Key influences included the 1972 United Nations Conference on the Human Environment in Stockholm and debates surrounding the Limits to Growth. The United States and Japan, in particular, influenced Germany’s first environmental legislation.

The paper goes on to explore how ozone depletion and climate change emerged as the first truly global environmental challenges to shape policymaking. On the one hand, German institutions and policy processes were adapted to address these issues and engage in the associated multilateral negotiations. On the other, German initiatives and scientific publications also helped shape developments at the international level. The analysis shows how environmental policy institutes gained greater recognition in this evolving landscape and established themselves as important sources of specialised expertise.

The project ‘From Blue Skies over the Ruhr to the Energy Transition’ (December 2012–June 2014) produced seven papers covering a range of topics. They drew on findings from the project interviews and placed them in the context of the existing academic literature. In doing so, the papers contributed to documenting the history of non-governmental environmental policy research and advice and identified areas in which the material collected could help fill existing gaps in knowledge. At the same time, the findings raised further research questions extending beyond the scope of the project.