Kirsten Funck answers the climate questionnaire

Kirsten Funck has been living in Berlin since 1992 and works as a producer for Global Ideas.

How did you get to work today?

Do your own two feet count as a vehicle? No, seriously, for a while, I’ve been walking to and back from work. I think that’s wonderfully relaxing. It’s 60 minutes for myself in which I can think and organize my thoughts. But who knows, I might at some point go back to using my bicycle again.

What are some positive things Berlin does for the climate?

You can move perfectly well around Berlin using public transport or on a bicycle. Though I often find the latter really dangerous at big busy crossings. Though the roads usually have bicycle lanes; if they’re blocked by parked cars, you’re forced to ride on the streets again. But what I find really lovely is that the city has small green oases everywhere and that there are trees in so many streets.

What could Berlin learn from other cities and do better?

We Germans are considered exemplary trash separators. But that’s a bit difficult to believe when you’re moving around in Berlin. Everything lands in one and the same bin when it comes to public trash cans. A few cities abroad are more progressive in that regard.

What do you do for the climate?

They’re probably not big things. I subscribe to an eco-friendly electricity provider and I try to save electricity as much as possible. And of course, I separate my trash.

When was the last time you committed a climate "sin"?

If we’re talking about a big “sin” it would probably be the flight during my vacation. In addition, there are lots of smaller things – for instance, I like to take the car to travel to the countryside with my family on weekends.

Whether it’s for ecological reasons or not, where else would you like to live?

To be honest, I’m not a die-hard Berliner because I love to look beyond just concrete buildings. If I had the choice, I would like to live somewhere by the sea.