Dr. Werner Kutsch is Director General of the Integrated Carbon Observation System (ICOS) since March 2014. He is biologist, plant ecologist and ecosystem scientist by education and has worked on ecosystem carbon cycling for 25 years in Europe and Africa. The focus of his work has been for a long time in the comparison of ecosystems after land use change and integrating complex landscapes. Dr. Kutsch is experienced in data acquisition, post-processing, data analysis and modeling of ecosystem carbon budgets. He has worked at the Ecosystem Research Centre of University of Kiel, at CSIR in Pretoria, at the Max-Planck-Institute for Biogeochemistry in Jena and at Thünen, the Federal Research Institute for Rural Areas, Forestry and Fisheries in Braunschweig.
ICOS is an ESFRI Landmark Research Infrastructure and a legal entity (ERIC) since November 2015. By providing harmonised, high quality greenhouse gas (GHG) measurements across Europe, ICOS contributes directly to SDG 13 ‘Climate Action’. Monitoring GHG emissions and removals is vital to achieve carbon neutrality. Our data along with excellent climate science and active international dialogue enable informed decision-making for global climate strategies. As Director General, Dr. Kutsch is the legal representative and overall coordinator of the ICOS Research Infrastructure. This work comprises internal organisation of the operations of the distributed observational networks and central facilities, on optimizing the internal data flow between the different observational programs of ICOS, and their distribution via the data platform of ICOS (‘Carbon Portal’) which will also serve as an interface to WMO/GAW, COPERNICUS and GEOSS, and on deepening the cooperation with other Research Infrastructures globally. ICOS aims to be part of local, European and global integration initiatives that support the usage of in-situ observations for improving the national inventories on greenhouse gases.