Greetings from New Delhi!

Greetings from New Delhi!

I’ve been Programme Director of the Indo-German Energy Programme in the Indian capital since early 2017. My wife has joined me here, while our two children are studying in Germany.

I’m a man of conviction working in the area of energy and the energy transition. After completing a degree in the USA and working as a research assistant in the German Bundestag with a focus on energy, I moved to Leipzig in 1992. There I helped to establish the Stadtwerke (Leipzig public utility company) and, among other things, headed up the sales, financial control, strategy and foreign departments. I was eventually also responsible for energy policy, climate issues and investments. While working there, I also completed a PhD. After this experience of getting a lot of things off the ground, the India position is a wonderful next step for me. You can drive many things forward here which will have a tremendous impact in terms of the global energy transition.

Bolster the energy transition

If India fails to make the energy transition, then it will not be possible to fulfil the requirements of the Paris Agreement. The Earth will then see a temperature increase of much more than two degrees Celsius. This is precisely the focus of our programme. Through numerous activities in the areas of energy efficiency, renewable energy expansion and its integration into the grid, and sustainable energy supply in rural areas, we are seeking to bolster the energy transition. Another main area of activity involves the fascinating opportunities that India offers as a quasi-continent to the German private sector as well. For this reason, we support business dialogue between German and Indian firms.

Quick processes

I like the fact that many things move a lot faster here than in Germany. Decision-making processes are very quick. However, this also entails a number of challenges. In Germany, I was used to planning for the long term, with my schedule filled up two months in advance. I can’t do that here. I arrive at the office in the morning with four or five meetings planned, and I can already be fairly certain that only two of them will take place, though which two I don’t know. New meetings will then replace the others. You have to be able to deal with these constant changes – but then, that’s what’s so exciting about it, because it makes you change as well.

Kind regards,
Winfried Damm

published in akzente 3/18