Headline: Democracy and Sustainability - News

Affected communities in former lignite-mining regions are critical of the work of Germany’s Coal Commission. With the phase-out still unfolding, a new study shows that further efforts and new strategies must be developed to ensure local communities are more closely involved. More public participation, more cooperation between stakeholders, and conflict mediation are all needed, the study reveals.

From adapting public spaces to climate change to rethinking mobility and decarbonising the heat supply – cities are grappling with major transformation processes as they move towards a more resilient and climate-friendly future. The Franco-German Forum for the Future and the Research Institute for Sustainability (RIFS) in Potsdam have investigated how local authorities are adapting their planning processes to deal with these dynamic challenges. A new study explores an innovative solution developed by the City of Munich.

This year’s Berlin Science Week (1-10 November 2023) will once again showcase the sciences across a host of events, promoting discussion of recent research and its findings. The ten-day festival is expected to attract over 20,000 visitors and will feature presentations from around 500 speakers, supported by some 150 organisations. RIFS researchers and fellows will also participate in this inspiring dialogue between science and society, art and research. An overview.

In the struggle for their land and way of life, the indigenous Amazon peoples have already achieved a lot. But they need support in protecting their territories, which are so important for the global climate and biodiversity. During a European tour, a delegation of indigenous chiefs visited Berlin, met with the President of Germany and subsequently discussed their concerns at a public event.

The LOSLAND project has supported ten municipalities across Germany in their efforts to facilitate public participation processes on issues that will shape the future of communities. On 20 April, participants and organisers took stock of the project's outcomes at the symposium “Forging a sustainable democracy through public participation in municipalities”. Discussions at the symposium show that public participation can enrich democracy, but processes must be tailored to the demands of specific issues and target groups.

Public participation is widely considered to be crucial for the success of the energy transition. In three new research projects, RIFS researchers are investigating the impacts of participatory processes, the potential of energy communities, and the application of digital visualization and communication tools in transition planning.

Structuring discussions, explaining contexts, identifying perspectives: all of these are among the tasks of facilitators. In cooperation with the city of Magdeburg, RIFS researchers designed and accompanied three mini-publics that were facilitated in different ways. Their analysis of strengths and weaknesses contributes to a better design of future participation processes.

Young people have long been marginalized in national, regional, and United Nations political fora. Now they are actively demanding their rights as representatives of present and future generations. They do so through public protests, but also by taking legal action to assert their claims. Scientists at the Research Institute for Sustainability (RIFS) have studied the potential impacts of climate litigation in the Anthropocene.

On 20 December 2022, the Berlin Senate issued a statement on the recommendations prepared by the Berlin Citizens’ Assembly on Climate and announced that it would partially or fully incorporate 42 of the assembly’s 47 recommendations into its Energy and Climate Protection Programme (BEK 2030). RIFS (then IASS) advised the Citizens’ Assembly on Climate and accompanied the participation process.

In a podcast series, RIFS researchers discuss the role of carbon in climate and sustainability politics. They talk to academics, activists and artists whose work has influenced their own research on the transformations of our carbon-dependent society. In the fourth episode, Usha Natarajan (Columbia University/Dalhousie University) and Julia Dehm (La Trobe Law School) discuss their book “Locating Nature: Making and Unmaking International Law”.

How can courses at vocational schools encourage their students to work for climate mitigation despite the impeding economic change? Based on workshops with trainees in the German coal-mining region of Lusatia, a team from the Institute for Advanced Sustainability Studies (IASS) offers some guidelines on how to include civics and education for sustainable development in lesson plans.

Although structural transformations of the kind unfolding in Lusatia affect everyone, young people are rarely involved in decision-making processes. And yet everyone should have a say in shaping the future! The research project "Social Transformation and Policy Advice in Lusatia" at the Institute for Advanced Sustainability Studies (IASS) has developed a simulation game for six to 30 players in cooperation with game developers "Playing History". The game, which is suitable for younger audiences, was funded by the Federal Ministry of Education and Research (BMBF).