ABOUT

Michael Sureth is a doctoral researcher at the Potsdam Institute for Climate Impact Research (PIK). He is part of the research department Climate Economics and Policy – MCC Berlin. His research integrates planetary boundaries into welfare economic analysis and evaluates policy interventions for transitions towards more sustainability. He employs analytical and integrated assessment modeling as well as quantitative methods to analyze the economic implications of environmental problems captured within the planetary boundaries framework, with particular emphasis on addressing multiple environmental externalities related to climate change and biodiversity loss.

Currently, he works on building theoretical and conceptual foundations for public economic analyses of the scarcities and uncertainties imposed by planetary boundaries. His research bridges theoretical frameworks with empirical policy evaluation: he analyzes how incorporating multiple planetary boundaries — beyond climate change — into integrated assessment models can inform policy design, while also conducting applied studies that assess the effectiveness, costs, and co-benefits of specific policy instruments. Recent work includes evaluating consumption taxes for reducing environmental footprints from food systems, demonstrating how different policy approaches can simultaneously address greenhouse gas emissions, biodiversity loss, water use, and nutrient pollution while accounting for household welfare impacts and distributional effects.

Through this integrated approach, he identifies policy instruments that address multiple planetary boundaries by quantifying synergies and trade-offs across environmental dimensions, economic costs, and social equity considerations.

CV - December 2025