Members during the fifth term of office (1. November 2008 to 28. February 2013)
Prof. Dr. Hans-Joachim (John) Schellnhuber CBE was elected Chair of the fifth term. Prof. Dr. Messner was elected Vice Chair.
Prof. Dr. Dr. h.c. Hans Joachim (John) Schellnhuber CBE (chair), director of the Potsdam Institute for Climate Impact Research, external professor at the Santa Fe Institute and chair of the Governing Board of the Climate-KIC of the European Institute of Innovation and Technology
Prof. Dr. Dirk Messner (vice chair), director of the German Development Institute, Bonn
Prof. Dr. Dr. h.c. Claus Leggewie, Director of the Institute for Advanced Study in the Humanities, Essen, Institute for Advanced Study of the University Alliance Metropolis Ruhr
Prof. Dr. Reinhold Leinfelder, Geologist and palaeontologist, focus on geobiology, integrative biodiversity and science communication; Professor at the Institute of Biology, Humboldt-University, Berlin
Prof. Dr. Nebojsa Nakicenovic, professor of Energy Economics, Vienna University of Technology and Deputy Director, International Institute for Applied Systems Analysis (IIASA), Laxenburg, Austria
Prof. Stefan Rahmstorf, professor of Physics of the Oceans, Potsdam University and head of the Earth System Analysis department at the Potsdam Institute for Climate Impact Research
Prof. Dr. Sabine Schlacke, Professor of Public Law, specializing German, European and International Environmental and administrative Law, Bremen University
Prof. Dr. Jürgen Schmid, Director Fraunhofer Institute for Wind Energy and Energy System Technology, IWES
Prof. Dr. Renate Schubert, professor for economics at the Swiss Federal Institute for Technology and director of the Institute for Environmental Decisions, ETH Zurich (Switzerland)