Prof. Dr.-Ing. Johannes Pinnekamp appointed to the Enquete-Commission
First workshop meeting of the Enquete-Commission “Water in times of climate crisis”
The state parliament of North Rhine-Westphalia appointed the Enquete Commission “Water in Times of Climate Crisis” (EK Klima) in March 2024. Each parliamentary group has the right to nominate a competent expert. Univ.-Prof. Dr.-Ing. Johannes Pinnekamp was asked by Bündnis90/Die Grünen to advise the Enquete Commission with his extensive technical expertise and experience. In addition to Prof. Pinnekamp, Prof. Dr. Uli Paetzel (Chairman of the Board of Emschergenossenschaft and Lippeverband and President of DWA), Mr. Holger Gassner (CEO of the BDEW NRW regional group), Dr. Christian Schmidt (GOEBELS Pokorny Kähler Rechtsanwälte) and Mr. Marco Decker were appointed as experts.
Experts in the Enquete-Commission are experts in their field who are selected on the basis of their specialist knowledge and experience to support the Commission's work. In this way, the Commission benefits from the in-depth specialist expertise of being able to work on a sound professional and scientific basis away from day-to-day politics and produce a robust report at the end. The Enquete-Commission can call on additional experts, to a limited extent issue research assignments and carry out study trips, site visits or project research.
Prof. Dr.-Ing. Johannes Pinnekamp, Managing Director of the Research Institute for Water Management and Climate Future at RWTH Aachen University (FiW) e. V., began his academic career at RWTH Aachen University, where, after studying civil engineering, he completed his doctorate on a process for sewage sludge treatment and worked as a research assistant. He worked as a project manager and managing director of a planning and engineering company in Cologne before moving to the University of Stuttgart and later to RWTH Aachen University as a university professor. Prof. Dr. Pinnekamp played a key role in the development of the research field of urban water management and headed the Institute of Environmental Engineering from 2004 until his retirement. He continues to serve honorary as managing director of FiW e. V., Aachen.