Falling Walls Falling Walls Science Summit 2022

Transforming our Transport System: Climate Neutrality as a Vehicle for Greater Social Justice

Janna Aljets, Caroline Rozynek, Christoph Aberle, Matthias Runkel

2022 Circle

Our transport system needs to be transformed due to its devastating effects on the environment and the climate. But this change needs to be discussed also within its wider social repercussions.
Fiscal instruments and targeted policies can contribute to a mobility transformation that not only addresses the ecological challenges but will also be socially equitable and distributional.
The event is cohosted by our partner Agora Verkehrswende (Agora Transport Transformation) and Mercator Foundation.

Agora Verkehrswende

Janna Aljets

Agora Verkehrswende

Janna Aljets is a Senior Associate for Urban Mobility at Agora Verkehrswende, a Berlin-based think tank whose aim is to promote the creation of sustainable, climate-friendly mobility. Janna Aljets is responsible for promoting ties between municipal stakeholders and for the cooperative development of strategies to transform the transport sector. She is particularly interested in the social dimensions of sustainable transport and in developing solutions that reduce impacts to the environment while also ensuring mobility for all. Janna previously worked for the German Bundestag, the Rosa Luxemburg Foundation in Brussels and Friends of the Earth Germany. She holds a Master’s degree in Political Science from Freie Universität Berlin.

Caroline Rozynek

Caroline Rozynek is a research associate in the Mobility Research Unit at the Institute of Human Geography. Until March 2022, she worked on the project “Social2Mobility” funded by the BMBF, which focused on the topic transport-related social exclusion. Since April 2022, she is part of the follow-up project “Social2Mobility II – Social participation and bicycle mobility”.
Caroline Rozynek completed her Master’s degree in Geography (M.A.) at the Goethe University in Frankfurt am Main, focusing on urban and mobility research. Prior to that, she graduated in Geography (B. Sc.) with a focus on urban and spatial planning and Environmental Management (B. Sc.) at the Justus Liebig University in Gießen.
Carolin Büttner

Christoph Aberle

Christoph Aberle has spent a large part of his life appraising public transport systems, both as a passenger and as a transport engineer. His field of expertise can be drawn as a triangle connecting the subjects of everyday mobility, the climate crisis, and social justice.
Christoph’s PhD project focuses on the financial accessibility of public transport for low-income urbanites. He recently interviewed 30 of them regarding the ‘9-Euro-Ticket’ – a fare that enabled passengers to roam Germany during the summer and enhanced mobility options, particularly for those living on a very tight budget.

Matthias Runkel

Matthias Runkel is head of transport and finance policy at Forum Ökologisch-Soziale Marktwirtschaft (FÖS) e.V. His focal points are the design of environmental and climate policy instruments. Most recently, he worked on international and national projects related to the development of strategies for CO2 reduction in the transport sector, the external effects of mobility, the phase-out of harmful subsidies and sustainable infrastructure financing. He studied economics at Maastricht University and the Hong Kong University of Science and Technology.