The GSGS is very proud of Valentin Espert's dissertation on public-private partnerships in Bottrop, a city that is a pioneer in the field of climate protection. It has reduced its emissions by 50 % in a period of 10 years (2010 - 2020). 

During his doctoral studies he was supervised by Prof. Boris Braun, head of the Economic Geography and Environmental Change working group at the University of Cologne, while working for the Wuppertal Institute for Climate, Environment and Energy. On the 24th of April the Johannes-Rau-Forschungsgemeinschaft e.V. (JRF) awarded him the 2023 Dissertation Prize. The JRF attaches great importance to practice-oriented and interdisciplinary work that is in line with its key topics, such as "cities and infrastructure", and is 'Made in NRW'. 

In particular, they highlighted his detailed description of the process and coordination that took place in Bottrop which led to a master plan to reduce CO2 emissions. For this Espert interviewed decision makers and carried out a criteria-based analysis of the measures implemented.