Headline: News 2020

Systemic risks like climate change, cyber security and pandemics are characterised by high complexity, uncertainty, ambiguity, and effects beyond the system in which they originate. That’s why novel research approaches and regulatory measures are indispensable for the evaluation and management of these risks. An interdisciplinary team around IASS Scientific Director Ortwin Renn recently published a paper on this subject, which appears as the first article in a special issue of the journal “Risk Analysis” edited by Renn and IASS Research Group Leader Pia-Johanna Schweizer.

The European Union recently adopted more ambitious climate goals for 2030 – their implementation is now the focus of debate. What do the Member States need to consider? A new study shows how important it is that governments coordinate policy reforms to support renewable electricity. Otherwise, many investors are likely to shift their focus to technologies that will continue to be subsidized or to countries where subsidies are still available. This outcome would increase the overall costs of expanding renewable electricity generation in Europe.

Science and policy are not worlds apart. They interact in countless ways and would both benefit from closer cooperation. This has become clearer than ever during the Covid-19 pandemic. A team of researchers has now investigated deficiencies on the science side and shown how science-policy can be done better.

The international community's current plans to reduce greenhouse gas emissions do not go far enough to curb global warming. As a result, many governments are considering the use of so-called "negative emissions technologies" that would remove carbon dioxide from the atmosphere and sequester the captured emissions. A new study outlines some of the strategies available to open up the current debate around these emerging technologies with the aim of developing a responsible regulatory framework for their use.

The EU is discussing a “Carbon Border Adjustment Mechanism” that would impose levies on goods entering the EU based on their carbon content. The consequences for vulnerable developing countries must play a bigger role in this discussion. A new IASS Policy Brief makes three recommendations for the policy design.

Renewable energies are not just good for the climate: A team of IASS researchers has looked into the advantages of an Indian energy transition for the domestic economy and society and for a green recovery post-Covid-19. Their findings have been published in a report that was presented to the Indian Ministry of New and Renewable Energy at a recent digital conference.

The British House of Lords recently invited the Scientific Director of the Institute for Advanced Sustainability Studies (IASS) Professor Ortwin Renn to speak about national risk assessment at a public hearing of the Select Committee on Risk Assessment and Risk Planning. One of the main points Renn made to the British Parliament was that in tackling a national crisis, governments need to show that they are working in the interests of the common good.

How can digitalisation serve sustainable development? At the Digital Summit hosted by the Federal Ministry for Economic Affairs and Energy, Ortwin Renn presented a paper outlining concrete steps to improve the sustainability of the digital transition.