It has always been an important function of academics to engage with the broader public and to share the findings of their research, especially when major societal challenges such as global environmental change and earth system transformations are at stake.
I have regularly accepted invitations for interviews by journalists, with 40-50 interviews per year (see here a list of media interviews), and my research has been cited in numerous outlets that include BBC, CNN, Guardian, Nature, New York Times, Time Magazine, Financial Times, Los Angeles Times, numerous Dutch and German national media, and Korean and German TV.
I have also engaged with numerous stakeholders and presented my research to environmental groups, climate justice activists, museum patrons, political foundations, as well as governmental officials in many countries. I have been part of expert panels in the EU and in the UN system, and I have been invited to speak in the European Parliament, the European Economic and Social Committee and the United Nations General Assembly. For the societal impact of my work, I was awarded the Senior Societal Impact Award of VU University Amsterdam in 2013. I see my current role as co-leader of the global initiative for an International Non-Use Agreement on Solar Geoengineering as a typical example for my attempts to leverage political science insights to support political decisions.
Despite the ownership of Elon Musk, I still use Twitter at @FHBBiermann, where I share research findings along with information about events, conferences, research projects, and new publications. Occasionally I comment on current political affairs.
Importantly, my research remains financially fully independent. I do not receive any financial support from industry, political organisations, ministries or international agencies. My larger research programmes are all financed by national or European research councils and other politically independent public funding agencies.