Harald Winkler

Professor Harald Winkler is the Director of the Energy Research Centre (ERC) at the University of Cape Town (UCT), where he focuses on the interplay between energy, poverty, development, and climate change. His research primarily addresses energy efficiency, renewable energy, and energy modeling as strategies for tackling these challenges. With a strong emphasis on climate change and the economics of mitigation within sustainable development, his work has significantly influenced national energy and climate policy as well as multilateral negotiations. Notably, he led the research that formed the basis for South Africa’s Long-Term Mitigation Scenarios (LTMS) and has since collaborated with other developing countries through the MAPS program to share this experience. An active contributor to academic discourse, he serves on the editorial boards of three international journals and has published extensively, including two books and numerous articles in peer-reviewed journals. Additionally, Professor Winkler is involved in international climate negotiations as part of South Africa's delegation and as a lead author for the Intergovernmental Panel on Climate Change’s Working Group III on mitigation.