Dr. Ninja Mariette Lehnert has served as Secretary General and Head of the Secretariat of the Council of Experts on Climate Change (ERK) since mid-July 2026. Dr. Lehnert holds a doctorate in Economics and has many years of experience at the intersection of science and politics.

Previously, Dr. Lehnert served as division head and deputy department head for the “Analyses and Publications” division at the Rhineland-Palatinate State Statistical Office. In this role, she was responsible, among other things, for the State’s greenhouse gas accounting, climate protection monitoring, the monitoring report on sustainable development, and energy reporting.

In addition, for more than twelve years, she helped shape the technical and methodological developments in emissions reporting at the State level. She did so as an active member of various State expert committees, including the State Working Group on Energy Balances and the working groups on Sustainable Development and Environmental Accounts. A central focus of her work to date has been on presenting complex technical information and engaging with the public and political decision-makers.

Dr. Lehnert completed her studies in Economics, with a focus on transportation and the environment, at the University of Münster. She earned her doctorate in the field of ecological innovation policy at the Technische Universität Ilmenau, where she served as a lecturer in the Department of Economic Policy. 

Email: ninja.lehnert@expertenrat-klima.de
Phone: +49 (0) 30 8903 5726