Research Institute for
Sustainability | at GFZ

Sustainability Transformations and Society

Kathleen A. Mar

Dr. Kathleen A. Mar

Scientific Head
Theme Speaker
Franziska Mey

Dr. Franziska Mey

Research Group Leader
Theme Speaker
RIFS Research Theme 1
© RIFS @ GFZ

Under this theme, research teams analyse challenges and developments in society that enable or hinder transformations towards sustainability. This research seeks to gain a better understanding of the societal structures, interrelationships, and dynamics relevant to sustainability and investigates strategies to foster sustainable social well-being. The social, political, and institutional dimensions of sustainability transformations and the democratic governance of these transformations within the multi-level political system are central to this research.

The questions addressed under this theme include: How can the collaborative development and sharing of knowledge improve sustainability governance at the regional, national, and international levels? Which stakeholders play a crucial role in decision-making? How must participatory processes be designed in order to involve diverse interest groups in the co-production of knowledge and strengthen marginalised voices so that transformations are both democratic and just?

Researchers examine these issues in the context of transformations underway in different sectors, including: energy, mobility, food systems, industrial production, and the social sector. Sociotechnical design options and innovations, such as new energy technologies and the digitalisation of production, as well as political processes and asymmetries of power are a particular focus of this work. The scope of this research extends to the analysis of individual and collective positions and perceptions of justice, agency, and resilience as well as normative conflicts of objectives in the context of sustainability transformations. Researchers analyse the social conditions and their interactions with consideration to these aspects because understanding these processes is and will be essential for efforts to shape transformations towards sustainability.

Research Groups

The energy transition is more than the development of new infrastructures and technologies; it entails far-reaching changes in society and the economy.

Geopolitics of Energy and Industrial Transformation

Rural settlement in Brandenburg: Regional development should be oriented towards sustainability.

Democratic Governance and Agency

Developments in Industry 4.0 are set to shape the sustainability of the working world.

Digitalisation and Sustainability Transformations

The ClimAct platform shapes societal transformations within the framework of the Paris Agreement and the Sustainable Development Goals.

Climate and Sustainability in national and international Processes

How can recommendations for action be developed bottom-up? For this purpose, Zukunftswerk has designed the "Resonance Room" format.

Franco-German Forum for the Future

How do we achieve a transformation towards more sustainable lifestyles?

Transforming Consumption and Provisioning

“Was tun mit der Agenda 2030!”: In May 2017 Federal Minister Johanna Wanka introduced the Platform Sustainability 2030 at a conference that called on people to “do something with the 2030 Agenda”.

Science Platform Sustainability 2030

Mural in Santiago de Chile by artist Mono González.

Ecopolitics and Just Transformations

Rights of the River Workshop with Movimento Tapajós Vivo and RIFS.

06.06.2025

Legal Innovation and the Journey of Rights on the Arapiuns River

RIFS researchers and fellows Cecilia Oliveira, Mariana Lacerda, and Igor Karim report on their nine-day, 270-kilometre journey on the Arapiuns River, where they are filming a documentary for the Amazon of Rights project together with youth leaders from the region. The film explores river rights and youth activism, highlighting how eco-centric values shape and reflect the legal and social practices of Amazonian communities and Indigenous peoples.
Effective participation can boost public satisfaction with the energy transition. But there’s no one-size-fits-all solution for how it should be designed.

Citizen Participation in the Energy Transition: Learning from Experience

How effective is citizen and public participation in the energy transition? This question has been explored in numerous case studies – with varying results. But what broader insights emerge when these findings are brought together? To find out, RIFS researcher Jörg Radtke conducted a comprehensive analysis, recently published in the journal "Renewable and Sustainable Energy Reviews".
jpl

04.06.2025

Cooperation is Powering Local Energy Transitions

The Office for Climate Protection and Sustainability in the district of Steinfurt aims to achieve climate neutrality by 2040. Local authorities recognised early that they could not reach this goal alone, as their own activities account for only a fraction of total emissions. Local businesses and communities would need to be involved. To support this, the district has established a range of consulting and education services, along with other initiatives. In 2015, the district joined forces with municipalities and local businesses to establish Energieland Association (Energieland e.V.). This multi-stakeholder partnership (MSP) is based directly in the Office for Climate Protection and employs around ten of the bureau’s over 20 staff members.
Anastasiia Zhuravel

Rebuilding Ukraine: Pathways to Sustainable Reconstruction

How can a country like Ukraine be rebuilt after a war? What sustainable methods are available and what local materials can be used? These are the questions being addressed by new Fellow Anastasiia Zhuravel, who will be conducting research at Research Institute for Sustainability (RIFS) for the next year. Alongside her scientific work, the Ukrainian expert on urban studies is advising a reconstruction project in her home country.
Populist tactics and misinformation can distort public debate and undermine legislative proposals.

How Populists Undermined the Building Energy Act

The passing of the Building Energy Act in September 2023 was preceded by months of heated debate. The governing traffic light coalition’s plan to accelerate the transition from gas and oil heating to renewable energy sources triggered a fierce backlash. In a study published in "Energy Research & Social Science", a team of researchers examine the strategies driving this opposition and explain what we can learn from it.
Josefina Lehnen Fellow

North-South Versus Centre-Periphery

Anthropologist Josefina Lehnen, a young fellow at RIFS, is studying Just Transitions in the Global South using the example of Ecuador and raw material extraction. A transition from oil production to the mining of critical raw materials – especially copper – is currently taking place there. Lehnen observes how these changes happen and are negotiated. She is currently working on the synopsis for her dissertation.
Der Amazonas

06.05.2025

Amazon-Masculinity

One striking feature of today’s far-right politics is its fixation on masculinity – and Brazil’s Bolsonaro is no exception. The term Amazon-masculinity helps us reflect on the relationship between man and nature — and how that relationship is shaped by “positive” notions of masculinity: strength, domination, aggressiveness, intelligence, authority, credibility, civility, virility and vigour. Recounting the history of Amazonian colonization in the 20th century helps us to shed light on the destructive dynamic between man and nature, and on the domination exerted by a possessive form of masculinity.
1t

09.05.2025

Achieving 1.5°C lifestyles: why systemic change must accompany individual action

In the race to limit global warming to 1.5°C, one crucial element has been largely under-addressed: our lifestyles. While renewable energy, electric vehicles and green technologies dominate the climate policy headlines, the fundamental way we live – what we eat, how we travel, the size of our homes, the frequency of our air travel – plays a key role in determining our collective carbon footprint.
EU citizens are ready to adopt a climate-friendly lifestyle – provided that politicians design appropriate measures in a fair manner.

Securing Europe Means Protecting the Climate: New Policy Brief Charts Path for 1.5° Lifestyles

Research findings show broad public support – Clear call for policymakers to enable and promote sustainable lifestyles
ccc

02.05.2025

What to do with the 1.5°C-target in a post-1.5°C world?

2024 is on track to become the warmest year on record and the first full year to breach the 1.5°C limit, according to the Copernicus Climate Change Services This news has caused alarm globally. Media and press have started to talk of the failure failure and the implausibility of achieving this monumental target. At the same time the UNFCCC’ COPs (Conferences of the Parties of the United Nations Framework Convention for Climate Change) have cleaved to the slogan of ‘Keep 1.5°C alive!’.
The expansion of wind power and the electricity grid is one of the challenges of the energy transition.

Integrating Transition and Policy Studies for a Deeper Understanding of Energy Transitions

Accelerating the energy transition is one of the most pressing challenges of our time. Yet, due to its complexity and the influence of diverse intellectual traditions, research has struggled to fully capture the dynamics of this transformative process. Jörg Radtke, a scientist at the Research Institute for Sustainability (RIFS), proposes a new approach to tackle this complexity. He combines insights from recent transition research with established findings from policy studies. “This integrated framework provides a more comprehensive basis for understanding and analysing the energy transition”, says Radtke.
Fellowship 2026

RIFS Invites Applications for 2026 Fellowship Programme

Each year around 20 fellows come to the Research Institute for Sustainability (RIFS) at the GFZ Helmholtz Centre for Geoscience to pursue research projects in the field of sustainability. Applications for the 2026 cohort of RIFS Fellows are now open through to 9 June 2025. With the Fellowship, the Institute offers the opportunity to explore innovative ideas in a transdisciplinary research environment.
Hydrogen could help with the decarbonisation of steel production.

17.04.2025

The Role of Hydrogen Emissions for a Climate-neutral Industry

Hydrogen is an important energy carrier that will be essential for decarbonizing our economies, in particular for industrial sectors like steel and chemical production. But hydrogen itself is an indirect greenhouse gas (GHG), and emissions along the hydrogen value chain – including those of methane and CO2 if blue hydrogen is part of the mix – have the potential to reduce the climate benefits of hydrogen if not properly managed. In a recent study, we evaluated the potential impact of climate-warming emissions in Germany’s future hydrogen economy and provide recommendations for German and EU policymakers on how to avoid them.
Brandenburg Climate Guide offers an overview of research relevant to climate protection

14.04.2025

Bringing Climate Research and Public Administration Together – How Local Government and Science Are Cooperating to Protect the Climate

Ambitious climate protection is not a question of "if", but of "how" and "how fast". Nevertheless, a lack of political resolve continues to stall efforts. In 2024, the Federal Climate Action Act was watered down in the wake of heated debates: sectoral targets were relaxed and accountability mechanisms were weakened, resulting in a patchwork of measures that is barely sufficient to achieve the climate targets set by government.
The "Haus mit Zukunft" (House with a Future) in Angermünde.

08.04.2025

Sustainable Regional Development: Success Factors for University–Practitioner Partnerships

Sustainable regional development is a complex process aimed at securing long-term economic stability, social equity, and environmental sustainability. This requires the careful balancing of measures for environmental and climate protection, economic development, and social justice – issues that affect different stakeholders with often conflicting interests. Collaboration between science and practitioners can help to bridge gaps and create opportunities to trial solutions. Universities contribute scientific expertise, while practitioners – companies, municipalities or civil society organisations – possess first-hand knowledge of the relevant regional challenges and implementation options. While numerous studies have sought to identify the factors that make collaborations successful for universities, little research has been conducted on the perspectives of practitioners.
The World Climate Change Conference, or COP29, was held in Baku, Azerbaijan, in 2024.

07.03.2025

Unequal Voices in international Climate governance: Who matters most?

Climate change affects us all, but not equally. So how can, or should, inequality be reflected in participation structures at the international level of climate governance?
Sophia Becker hands out the climate guide to State Secretaries Friederike Haase and Tobias Dünow.

A Guide to Climate Research in Brandenburg

Climate change is one of the greatest and most complex challenges of our time. In 2024, Brandenburg State Government adopted the Brandenburg Climate Plan, a strategy to deliver on the twin goals of achieving climate neutrality and sustainability by 2045. To support the implementation of this strategy, the then Ministry of the Environment, Agriculture and Climate Action commissioned the Research Institute for Sustainability (RIFS) to compile a guide to climate research in Brandenburg.
Local authorities in Freiburg are trying to match people whose housing needs have changed.

27.02.2025

Can Sufficiency Approaches Solve the Housing Crisis and Save the Climate?

There is a lack of affordable housing in Germany and France. Two key factors in this crisis are the uneven distribution of living space and the continuing upward trend in the per capita consumption of living space. This not only exacerbates the housing crisis, but also cancels out energy savings achieved through building renovations. We need creative solutions to make better use of the housing stock. Our new RIFS Discussion Paper takes a look at approaches in both countries.
CSA-farms in Brandenburg

25.02.2025

Local Produce Year-Round? Community-Supported Agriculture Can Do That and More!

We all do it every day. In the morning. At lunchtime. In the evening. And occasionally in between. We eat. Surveys show that it’s not just the flavour of the food that matters. Most people also want to eat food from farming operations that are environmentally friendly, resource efficient, and fair. However, many of the goods on offer in supermarkets are neither regional nor seasonal, nor are they sourced from sustainable, fair trade producers. This, despite the fact that we urgently need a just food transition and a shift towards plant-based foods.
Farmers can use digital technologies to create yield maps like this to monitor the distribution and variability of their harvests.

20.02.2025

Digitalisation and Sustainability: Opportunities and Challenges for Brandenburg

The digital transformation is rapidly changing our everyday lives and the way we do business and work. Parallel to this, we face the challenge of pursing socio-ecological transformation to secure a sustainable future. How can we bring these two processes together to create synergies? We discovered a number of promising examples in Brandenburg. In the eighth episode of our German-language podcast Negotiating Change. Sustainability in Brandenburg we visit a smart city and take a look at digital agriculture.
Alle an einem Tisch Lösungen Potsdam Summer School

Beyond 2030: Paths to a Sustainable Future

The 11th "Potsdam Summer School (PSS25)" will explore the prospects for sustainable development beyond the 2030 Agenda for Sustainable Development. At the heart of this blueprint for peace and prosperity for people and planet are the 17 Sustainable Development Goals, the SDGs. The Agenda reflects the understanding that efforts to eradicate poverty and other deprivations must go hand in hand with strategies to improve health and education, reduce inequality, and spur economic growth – while tackling climate change and working to preserve our environment.
Cycling sustainable mobility

1.5° Lifestyles Project: What Germany Needs to Do for the Climate Transition

The EU 1.5° Lifestyles Project, a landmark initiative funded by the EU Horizon 2020 program, shows how European societies can transition to sustainable lifestyles in line with the Paris Agreement’s 1.5°C climate target. The research emphasizes the need for systemic structural reforms alongside impactful behavioural changes to mitigate climate change effectively. One of the main conclusions of the research is that - despite ambitious technological changes – no EU countries nor regions will be able to reduce carbon footprints to 1.5° levels by 2050 without addressing lifestyle changes.
Agriculture accounts for 80 percent of the water consumed in Spain. Green hydrogen production will likely compete for an already scacre environmental resource.

21.01.2025

Water Scarcity and Green Hydrogen Production in Spain

With one of the highest renewable energy potentials in the EU, Spain has strong ambitions to become a key player in the emerging green hydrogen economy. It recently adopted the target of installing 12 GW of electrolyzer capacity for green hydrogen production by 2030, which makes it the most ambitious producer country in Europe, However, these ambitions could exacerbate conflicts over environmental resources due to the vast quantitites of water required for the production of green hydrogen.
Fertilisers are important for food security, but cause problems for the environment and climate.

War and Climate Crisis Drive Emerging Transformation of Fertiliser Industry

Although fertilisers are essential for global food production, they also contribute to global greenhouse gas emissions. The war in Ukraine caused supply chain disruptions and price increases. How can fertiliser production become more sustainable and resilient to geopolitical crises? In an article in the journal “One Earth”, a team from the Research Institute for Sustainability (RIFS) at the GFZ Helmholtz Centre for Geosciences analyses this question.
Drained peatland in Brandenburg is often used for agriculture and as grassland.

08.01.2025

Peatlands – Climate Champions or a Source of Emissions?

Natural peatlands, a type of wetland, store twice as much carbon as all of the world’s forests combined – and they do so on just three percent of the world’s land surface. But peatlands that have been drained – as has been done since the 17th century to create dry land for settlements, farming, and forestry – release that carbon back into the atmosphere. Brandenburg wants to rewet some of its drained peatlands for climate protection and biodiversity restoration. In the seventh episode of the RIFS podcast “Wandel verhandeln. Nachhaltig in Brandenburg” (Negotiating change. Sustainability in Brandenburg), we explore the potential and challenges of this plan.
Citizens are frequently called on to shoulder responsibility for sustainability as consumers, while the broader structural context of their lifestyle choices is ignored.

How Can Societies Share Responsibility for More Sustainable Lifestyles?

Despite growing evidence of the negative social and ecological impacts of modern lifestyles, a widespread commitment to high-consumption habits with large carbon footprints persists. This plays out against a background of blame-shifting – also known as "responsibility ping-pong" – shaping climate policy debates and hindering meaningful progress. A study co-authored by scientists from the Research Institute for Sustainability at GFZ (RIFS) examines this paradox and considers whether other forms of organising responsibility could help to bring about necessary transformations.
Der Amazonas

19.12.2024

Water Ecopolitics at Berlin Science Week

Water is critical for life on Earth, and plays a vital role in Earth system processes, particularly in climate regulation. RIFS researchers took part in a recent panel discussion on the topic of “Ecopolitics Traversing Waterbodies: Tales and Epistemologies Influencing Water Governance” at Berlin Science Week 2024.
Qaqortoq, Kalaallit Nunaat (Greenland)

Online Survey to Understand Resources and Supports that Guide Ethical Arctic Research

With growing awareness that better collaboration between Indigenous and non-Indigenous partners benefits all, recent years have seen a push to decolonise and Indigenise Arctic research. Indigenous organizations across the region have developed guidelines on conducting research ethically within their homelands. How have Indigenous and non-Indigenous researchers used, understood, and implemented these tools in practice to help foster ethical research relationships? The Indigenous-led youth organisation Ikaarvik, the Saami Council, and the RIFS are conducting an online survey to learn more about these experiences.
Rethinking and redesigning existing spaces plays an important part in the sustainable transformation of cities.

07.01.2025

Greening Cities in France and Germany Through Sustainable Land Use Policy

Rising land prices, competition for space and maintenance costs for urban green spaces present local authorities with enormous challenges even as they grapple with the task of adapting cities to climate change and scaling back urban soil sealing. A RIFS study prepared in 2024 by the Franco-German Forum for the Future examines how local government bodies in France and Germany are approaching these challenges.
COP

13.12.2024

COP29 Puts Azerbaijan on the Global Climate Map

Hosting the landmark event raised Azerbaijan’s international profile despite criticism of the country’s limited climate achievements and its human rights record. 
Collage

16.12.2024

The Energy Transition Needs More Social Science Research

Research in the social sciences contributes to transformations in the industrial and energy sectors in Germany and Europe, yet it is frequently neglected in research funding. It is time for programmes to intensify their focus on the political and social dimensions of the energy transition, write Lukas Hermwille (Wuppertal Institute), Rainer Quitzow (RIFS/TU Berlin) and Andreas Goldthau (Universität Erfurt/RIFS).
Diskutierten über Nachhaltigkeit in Brandenburg (von links): Victoria Luh, Franziska Mey, Michael Knape und Olaf Sundermeyer.

13.12.2024

The Energy Transition and Democracy – What Do Communities Need?

Brandenburg has set itself the goal of creating a climate-neutral economy and way of life by 2045. But this vision will only become reality if it is supported by people on the ground. How can strategies to foster sustainable development be negotiated and put into practice in communities? In the RIFS podcast “Wandel verhandeln. Nachhaltig in Brandenburg” (Negotiating change. Sustainability in Brandenburg) we go looking for answers. Today sees the release of the sixth episode, which features excerpts from a panel discussion held at the launch event.
The database enables users to track political trends and priorities in the early phase of hydrogen market development. It includes Australia, Canada, China, Germany, Japan, Spain, the UK, the USA and the European Union.

International Hydrogen Policy Tracker

Green hydrogen is set to play a key role in efforts to transform the industrial, transportation, and energy sectors for a sustainable, low-carbon future. Germany will have to meet the bulk of its hydrogen needs through imports from regions with more abundant wind and solar resources. Scientists at the Research Institute for Sustainability - Helmholtz Centre Potsdam (RIFS) have developed a database to track global policy trends and emerging priorities in this early phase of market development.
A step into uncharted territory: actor Kristin Muthwill performs in "eure paläste sind leer" against a backdrop of recycled fabrics and plants sourced from Potsdam's Biosphere Centre.

04.12.2024

A Climate of Change in Theatre-Making

Wandel verhandeln – nachhaltig in Brandenburg ("Negotiating change - sustainability in Brandenburg”) is a podcast about Brandenburg's transformation into a sustainable and fairer society. In the podcast, we cast a spotlight on various conflicts around this transformation – but also at the positive impacts and new ideas – and invite changemakers and people from affected communities to have their say. A recent episode on climate-friendly theatre-making explores efforts to improve the sustainability of cultural events in Brandenburg.
map

22.11.2024

How States Around the World Are Crafting Markets for Green Hydrogen

Green hydrogen will play an essential role in the decarbonization of hard-to-abate industries, including the steel, cement, fertilizer, shipping and aviation sectors. Governments worldwide are developing policies with the aim of shaping green hydrogen markets. As part of its work on the HYPAT project, the research group on Geopolitics of Energy and Industrial Transformation has developed a unique database on green hydrogen policies that will enable researchers to track political trends and governments’ priorities in this early stage of market development.
The entrance to the thermal energy storage facility in Nechlin

25.11.2024

Renewable Heating for All? Stories From Pioneering Municipalities in Brandenburg

Heating is a crucial component of the energy transition: around one third of Germany's total final energy consumption is used for space heating and warm water in buildings. Germany urgently needs a rapid transition to renewable and affordable heating sources. But how can this be achieved at the local level? How can municipalities lead the way in transitioning to clean, affordable heating? In the podcast "Wärmewende Brandenburg" and here we explore these questions with local stakeholders from Brandenburg. While the challenges are undeniable, several municipalities in the region demonstrate that diverse decarbonization pathways are both feasible and inspiring.
Climate activists fiercely opposed Donald Trump’s re-election

19.11.2024

Trump, German Government Chaos, and Why We Shouldn’t Lose Hope in Global Climate Politics

These are dark times for anyone working in the field of climate policy and it’s difficult not to succumb to pessimism. As if the regular reports of record-breaking, climate-driven natural disasters aren’t enough, populist governments and movements are flourishing, putting the brakes on climate policy in countries around the world. The re-election of Donald Trump is an especially alarming development. While President Biden managed to make up for the loss of confidence in US climate policy by pledging to boost climate finance and passing his ambitious Inflation Reduction Act, Trump's election has plunged the global climate science and policy community into uncertainty.
participation online woman computer

A Mixed Picture: E-Participation in Germany`s Energiewende

Can e-participation build acceptance and strengthen the democratic legitimacy of infrastructure planning? A new study by the Research Institute for Sustainability (RIFS) evaluates the use of e-participation technologies in the context of the German energy transition for the first time. RIFS-researcher Jörg Radtke finds that e-participation solutions that inform citizens’ while also harnessing their creative input can play a key role in the implementation of the energy transition.
Hydrogen Europe Germany Study Brief

Study Outlines Key Role of National and EU Policy to Control Emissions from German Hydrogen Economy

Hydrogen is set to play an important role in a future low-carbon economy. However, the hydrogen value chain comes with a set of emissions challenges that need to be addressed for hydrogen deployment to help achieve climate goals. A study prepared by the Research Institute for Sustainability – Helmholtz Centre Potsdam (RIFS) with support from Environmental Defense Fund Europe evaluates the potential impact of climate-warming emissions in Germany’s future hydrogen economy and provides recommendations for German and EU policymakers on how to avoid them.
Ilham Aliyev, on the right, and Ursula von der Leyen, with the new Memorandum of Understanding on a Strategic Partnership in the Field of Energy

11.11.2024

The EU and Azerbaijan as Energy Partners: Short-Term Benefits, Uncertain Future

Azerbaijan has strengthened its energy ties with the EU since 2022, ramping up gas deliveries and articulating ambitions to export renewable energy and green hydrogen to Europe in the future. However, the EU’s shrinking gas demand and Azerbaijan’s lack of a genuine decarbonization strategy cast uncertainty on the long-term prospects of this partnership – all the more so given the EU’s persistent criticism of political repression and human rights violations in the South Caucasus republic.
Politikstile

A New Policy Style for the Energy Transition

Stakeholder and public participation in policymaking is crucial to fulfilling the promise of a democratic energy transition. Which policy styles can best facilitate this transformation? RIFS researchers analysed five democratic policy styles and concluded that the policy style best suited to securing a democratic energy transition is one that incorporates diverse perspectives from civil society at the community level, integrates these in effective and fair policy proposals, and builds bridges between the municipal, regional, national, and European levels of governance.
Exkursion nach Nechlin

29.10.2024

Regional value added through financial participation in the energy transition?!

"Wandel verhandeln" (Negotiating Change) is a German-language podcast about Brandenburg's transformation towards a sustainable and fairer society. In the podcast, we and our colleagues take a closer look at the conflicts that arise in connection with this transformation – but also at the positive impacts and new ideas – and invite changemakers and people in the community to have their say. An episode about Sharing the Financial Benefits of the Energy Transition: The Wind Energy Levy will be released today on several streaming platforms.
Jörg Müller (Enertrag) stellt den Windwärmespeicher vor

28.10.2024

Rural Areas - Pioneers of the Energy Transition?

Die Gemeinde Uckerland im nördlichen Brandenburg setzt ganz auf erneuerbare Energien und gilt als Region mit Vorbildfunktion. Am 8. Oktober schaute eine Gruppe von Forschenden des RIFS sich diesen “begehbaren Ort der Energiewende” an und tauschte sich mit Vetreter:innen der Gemeinde, der Stadtwerke und der Lokalpolitik aus.
Kipppunkt tipping point

Tipping Points as Indicators of Positive Change

As global climate targets tighten, radical and disruptive changes are becoming inevitable. In this context, the concept of tipping points, by which small changes can trigger rapid systemic transformation, is attracting increasing attention in the social sciences. In a new study published in the journal Global Environmental Change, a team from the Research Institute for Sustainability – Helmholtz Centre Potsdam (RIFS) draws on two case studies to show that socio-technical tipping points can be anticipated.
Wandel verhandeln - der Reportagepodcast

Podcast: "Negotiating Change. Sustainability in Brandenburg"

How are strategies for sustainable development implemented in Brandenburg? What obstacles are slowing progress? And what positive impacts are already evident? In a new German-language podcast – “Wandel verhandeln. Nachhaltig in Brandenburg” (Negotiating Change. Sustainability in Brandenburg) – RIFS researchers are looking for answers.
Amazonas - o maior Rio do Mundo

09.10.2024

Amazonia - Three Moments of Cinematography

The Amazonia - Three Moments of Cinematography film programme was shown at the historic Babylon cinema in Berlin through 16–20 September 2024 as part of Amazon Week 2024. We sought, in the light of three films, to bring into sharp relief the images and narratives produced in territories usurped for different colonization projects, and how their populations, nature and modes of existence have been and continue to be brutally violated.
Lifestyles challenge

Four Challenges for a Climate-friendly Lifestyle

The 2015 Paris Climate Agreement sets the goal of limiting global temperature rise to well below 2°C and ideally 1.5°C. Achieving this will benefit both the planet and people. Reduce our carbon footprint is a mammoth undertaking that will require an all-of-society approach with changes at all levels. The research consortium "EU 1.5° Lifestyles", which is coordinated by RIFS, is launching a series of Citizen Challenges that will encourage people to try living more sustainably and share their success stories.
The TELUX Socio-Cultural Centre (SKZ) in Lusatia

Lusatia’s Transformation Is Falling Short on Environmental Sustainability

10.3 billion euros of federal funding and several hundred million euros of state funding have been allocated to support the structural transformation of the Lusatian coal district in Brandenburg. But are the projects targeted by this funding putting the region on course for a sustainable future? A study by RIFS researchers casts doubt on the outlook. On the ground in Lusatia, even goals that are anchored in Germany’s National Sustainable Development Strategy appear to play only a marginal role in decision-making. To turn this around, the researchers argue, ministries will need to place more emphasis on sustainability and work together to allocate funding appropriately.
Solarkraftwerk Sevilla Spanien Energiewende

Where Leading Countries Stand in the Transition to Renewable Heating, Road Transport and Electricity

The sluggish rate of progress made in the energy transition is putting the goal of reducing greenhouse gas emissions to zero by 2050 at risk. On the positive side, with early warning indicators guiding timely and targeted interventions, we can accelerate progress across several domains. An international study by the Research Institute for Sustainability - Helmholtz Centre Potsdam (RIFS) in cooperation with the Bertelsmann Stiftung provides an approach to evaluate the electricity, private transport and building heating sectors.
Youth participation Lusatia

Youth Participation in Lusatia: Good Processes, Limited Impact

Substantial resources are being allocated to transform Germany’s former coal regions. What opportunities exist for young people to contribute to this process? What are their aspirations? A new study by researchers from the Research Institute for Sustainability (RIFS) draws on interviews and analyses of several participation processes in the former coal district of Lusatia. The study, which was published in the journal Children's Geographies, concludes that while existing participation processes highlight the capacity of youth to contribute meaningfully to transformation processes, their ideas and aspirations are seldom taken into account in political decision-making.
Supercon

Superconducting Cables for a Sustainable Energy Transition

Superconductors – materials that can conduct electricity without any resistance – were discovered over a century ago. As these materials must be cooled to very low temperatures to achieve superconductivity, they have not been used to transport electricity over long distances to date. But this could soon change, with researchers set to bring a number of systems for long-distance electricity transmission to market maturity. Among these is a dual-benefit technology: a superconducting cable that is cooled with hydrogen, enabling the delivery of electricity and hydrogen to facilities such as harbours and cement works.
Kirill Neiezhmakov

24.09.2024

Kazakhstan’s Hydrogen Ambitions Should Extend Beyond Exports

The EU can provide valuable assistance for Kazakhstan when it comes to developing a hydrogen strategy, from regulatory frameworks to sustainability standards, writes RIFS researcher Yana Zabanova in an article first published on 13 September, 2024, by Carnegie Politika.
The members of Brandenburg's Sustainability Advisory Board.

An All-Of-Society Approach to Sustainability

The state government of Brandenburg developed its sustainability strategy in close consultation with science, business and the younger generation. RIFS researcher Ortwin Renn was the chair of the state’s Sustainability Advisory Board.
Felder, Wälder, Windräder: eine Landschaft in Brandenburg.

Sustainability in Brandenburg

From the energy transition to water protection: Brandenburg is facing major sustainability challenges. As a Potsdam institute, RIFS is actively involved in sustainability work in Brandenburg.
Illegal deforestation in the Brazilian rainforest: the overexploitation of natural resources has consequences.

24.07.2024

Earth Overshoot Day: We Need a More Sustainable Diet

This year, Earth Overshoot Day is on 1 August. On this day, we humans in the world have used up the resources of our planet that would renew themselves within a year.
A decade-long silent ground subsidence hazard has culminated in a metropolitan disaster in Maceió.

17.07.2024

Braskem’s Salt Mines, Maceió’s Ground Subsidence, and the Pitfalls of Corporate Sustainability Discourse

Marginalised populations are asymmetrically affected at all stages of the plastics production cycle – especially the extraction of raw materials. Such environmental impacts reproduce and reinforce pre-existing racial and socioeconomic inequalities. This is clearly illustrated in Maceió, the capital of Brazil’s north-eastern state of Alagoas: Since 2019, around 60,000 people have been forced to leave their communities after earth tremors and ground subsidence started to endanger the structures of houses and other buildings surrounding Mundaú Lagoon. Entire neighbourhoods have subsequently been abandoned.
Park and residential complexes in Vilnius: If flats are centrally located and surrounded by green spaces, people are more likely to accept a reduced living space.

Tackling the Climate and Housing Crises: Promoting Compact Living in Europe

Future European Union housing policy must address the twin challenges of providing adequate housing for all while drastically reducing current levels of resource use. Voluntary reductions in living space could make a significant contribution to achieving these goals. To facilitate this, the EU should promote the construction of smaller apartments set in attractive neighbourhoods and enable the more flexible use of existing housing stock, according to a new study co-authored by scientists from the Research Institute for Sustainability - Helmholtz Centre Potsdam (RIFS).
Streets in the Reuterkiez neighbourhood in the Berlin borough of Neukölln will be a lot quieter if a local initiative is successful.

Civil Society Engagement as a Driver of Urban Transformation

Cities will need to change if we are to secure a sustainable future. Many people in Berlin have recognized this and cititzen-led initiatives have played a crucial role in driving transformations in recent years. This engagement strengthens resilience and ensures that communities are better equipped to tackle future challenges. But more can be done to involve different communities and improve cooperation with the city’s political institutions and policymakers.
RIFS Fellow Julika Gittner

Citizen Objects: Challenging the Authority of Data

Artist and RIFS Fellow Julika Gittner went to London in the 1990s to study art and later architecture. She has taught at the University of Cambridge Department of Architecture and History of Art for many years. Julika Gittner joined the RIFS in April. In this interview, she talks about her work and current projects.
„Unsere Energiewende? Wie Beteiligung vor Ort die Transformation gestaltbar macht“. Eine gemeinsame Studie des Progressiven Zentrums und des RIFS.

19.04.2024

Our Energy Transition – How Local Participation Can Shape Sustainability Transformations

A joint study by Das Progressive Zentrum and RIFS.
Participants at a workshop on structural change in the Rhenish mining district

Germany’s Coal Exit: New Strategies for Structural Change Needed

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.
Poland's national citizens' assembly on energy costs

11.03.2024

The Advisory Role of Citizens’ Assemblies in Germany and Poland

In a new publication, we examine how citizens contribute to contemporary policy advice through citizens' assemblies – a form of public participation that has become increasingly popular in Germany and Poland in recent years.
Losland: the planning phase

01.02.2024

Organizing Local Citizens’ Councils: Handbook Shows How It’s Done

The new handbook "Organizing municipal citizens' councils" was recently published. RIFS is co-editor of the work, together with Mehr Demokratie e.V. and the Institute for Democracy and Participation Research (IDPF) in Wuppertal. The handbook is aimed at practitioners in the field of public participation and offers valuable insights and advice on the initiation, planning and successful implementation of citizens' assemblies at the municipal level.
Dynamic Facilitation.

09.01.2024

Matching Facilitation Methods to Deliberative Purposes

Imagine three groups of people deliberating the same question. All three groups were recruited the same way, they are deliberating in similar rooms, and they have the same materials available. Does it actually matter how the facilitation of these deliberative processes is carried out? Dirk von Schneidemesser, Dorota Stasiak and Daniel Oppold explain why it matters, and how different facilitation styles affect deliberation.

08.12.2023

Rethinking Public Administration for the Socio-Ecological Transformation

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. Researchers with the Franco-German Forum for the Future are studying cities in France and Germany that have embraced ambitious goals for change.
Musicians performing at a market in Loos-en-Gohelle.

04.12.2023

How Culture Helped a Mining Town in Northern France Go Green

The small town of Loos-en-Gohelle in the north of France is a fascinating example of how culture can be harnessed to foster socio-ecological change. We were so intrigued by this story of transformation that we decided to take a closer look. Our findings are published in a new RIFS Study.
München Tram Fussgängerzone Theaterinerstraße

Accelerating Transformations With Agile Public Administration

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.
Gilles de Margerie

29.11.2023

Looking Back at the First Years of the Franco-German Forum for the Future With Gilles de Margerie

Gilles de Margerie, who has led the French government’s policy analysis institute France Stratégie since 2018, has served as the French Co-Director of the Franco-German Forum for the Future since its founding in 2020. As de Margerie’s term of office as Commissioner General at France Stratégie draws to a close, his German counterpart Frank Baasner spoke with him about the Forum’s achievements.
Berlin Science Week

From Millinery to Natural Building to Podcasts

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.
A video conference hosted by the Citizens' Assembly "Germany's Role in the World".

24.08.2023

The Future of Online Participation: What Can We Learn From the Pandemic?

Building on both observation and the findings of various studies, a new RIFS Discussion Paper examines the use of online communication tools during the coronavirus pandemic and draws several conclusions for the future of online participation. Overall, this grand experiment in the use of online communication tools very clearly demonstrated their limits, and a number of lessons can be learned from this for the future.
Protesters at a "Fridays for Future" demonstration in Taranto, Italy.

10.07.2023

Sketching a Theory of Fossil Imperialism

In recent years, both activists and researchers have started to invoke the term "fossil imperialism" to highlight the ways in which imperialist politics are tied up with the logic of fossil capitalism. Under fossil capitalism, ceaseless accumulation of capital necessitates continued expansion of an energy base of coal, oil, and natural gas.
Indigenous leaders Bemoro Metuktire, Watatakalu Yawalapiti and Tapi Yawalapiti (from left) spoke in Berlin as part of their international campaign for the protection of the Amazon rainforest.

Indigenous Leaders in Berlin: Together for the Rainforest

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.
Environmental, Social and Governance (ESG)

10.05.2023

Compliance, ESG, and Social Media in Brazil

RIFS fellow Giovanni Mascarenhas explains the relationship between corporate compliance and ESG activities against the backdrop of efforts to rein in the power of social media in Brazil.
Fishbowl Discussion

Shaping the Future Through Public Participation

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.
Superblocks Barcelona Panel

04.04.2023

15 European Cities leading on Urban Resilience: the first International Superblock Meeting points to a common sustainability pathway

Political leaders and researchers from 15 European cities met in Barcelona at the end of March to share experiences transforming cities towards more urban resilience, more urban green, and more traffic-calmed public spaces. Their learnings can inspire the German mobility transition.
Community-led energy projects are popular in Germany. Treuenbrietzen in Brandenburg is one well-known renewables frontrunner.

New Research Projects on Public Participation in the Energy Transition

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.
Collection of ideas from the participants.

Participation Processes: Talk to Each Other - But How?

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.
Construction work on the European natural gas pipeline EUGAL near Wrangelsburg in 2019.

06.03.2023

Infrastructuring Environmental (In)Justice: On the Political Geographies of Energy Technologies in Planetary Crises

The ambivalent role of material infrastructure (and especially large-scale energy technologies) in planetary crises has attracted increasing scholarly attention in recent years. RIFS Fellow Benno Fladvad examined this issue in January’s Justice in Sustainability lecture.
Young people will bear the brunt of climate change.

Climate Litigation Plays Important Role in Struggle for Intergenerational Justice

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.
Justice in Sustainability is the RIFS focal topic for 2022/23.

15.02.2023

Climate Mobility Justice: Reparations, Kinopolitics and Mobile Commoning

What do reactive border closures and the de-nationalization of undocumented populations around the world have to do with the climate crisis-mobility nexus? As part of the RIFS public lecture series `Justice in Sustainability’, Dr Mimi Sheller recently examined the interconnections of the climate crisis, unsustainable mobilities, and migration through the lens of the politics of movement, also known as kinopolitics.
Citizens in Leupoldsgrün, a LOSLAND village in Bavaria, discuss new ways of strengthening their community.

21.02.2023

Debate, Participate, Change

How public dialogue and participation can strengthen democratic engagement and local politics

Deforestation in the Brazilian Amazon surged under the government of Jair Bolsonaro.

26.01.2023

Brazil: An Environmental Power

What to expect of the incoming Lula government’s environmental policy.
Justice in Sustainability is the RIFS focal topic for 2022/23.

24.01.2023

RIFS Focal Topic: The Year in Review

As we start off the new year and set our sights on new goals and projects, we also want to take stock of the many activities and achievements of the RIFS “Justice in Sustainability” focal topic team during 2022.
Members of the Citizens' Assembly on Climate deliberate at the launch on 26 April 2022.

Berlin Senate Adopts Most of the Recommendations of the Citizens’ Assembly on Climate

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.
Roiling seas

20.12.2022

Exploring the Complexities of Justice in Sustainability

The team behind the IASS Focal Topic “Justice in Sustainability” has released a short film that explores issues of justice in the context of climate crises and the decarbonisation of energy systems. The film presents prominent voices in the field from scientists, activists and practitioners who have participated in events and lectures hosted as part of the IASS Focal Topic in 2022.
A globe depicting Africa

20.12.2022

African Judicial Environmentalism, Community Mobilization and the Quest for Sustainability

Africa is a continent rich in cultures, natural resources and biodiversity. However, the continent faces diverse environmental challenges, including pollution, deforestation, and species extinction. In a recent lecture Dr. Caiphas Brewsters Soyapi argued that traditional knowledge offers a moral compass that Africans can use to find their own response to ecological problems, a view that many judiciaries are coming to share.
Climate strike in Berlin

11.12.2022

Is there a Future for the Climate Strike Movement?

Four years ago, the student-led climate strike movement took the world by storm. Ever since, the strikes have played an important role in the strategic repertoire of the global climate movement. Yet as emissions keep rising, even mass protests with millions of participants have proved unable to build sufficient political pressure to secure meaningful political concessions. This presents a strategic dilemma to the movement: How does one even strike amidst an escalating climate crisis?
Participants at the workshop "Transformations towards sustainability at the regional level" at the IASS in Potsdam.

06.12.2022

Interdisciplinary Perspectives on Transformations Towards Sustainability at the Regional Level

Transformations towards sustainability need change at all levels. It takes people who have the courage to embrace goals and are empowered to pursue them. We need pioneers and projects that show that sustainable change and lifestyles are possible. And we need targets and incentives to help ensure that transformations are broad-based and lasting. One aspect that is rarely considered is the role that regions play in sustainability transformations. This was the focus of the workshop "Transformations towards sustainability at the regional level" on 25.11.2022 at the IASS in Potsdam.
Carbon Critique Podcast

Podcast Explores Carbon’s Role in Politics

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”.
A contribution to a more bicycle-friendly city: the "Friedrichstrasse promenade" project.

10.11.2022

Lessons for participatory urban planning

Seit 2020 ist ein Abschnitt der Friedrichstraße für Menschen zu Fuß oder mit dem Fahrrad geöffnet und für dem Autoverkehr geschlossen. Das Berliner Verwaltungsgericht hat im Oktober verkündet, dass auf diesen circa 500 Metern der Friedrichstraße wieder Autos fahren sollen. Jenseits des Juristischen Streits dreht sich die Debatte darum, ob der Einzelhandel leidet, wenn Kunden nicht mit dem Auto kommen können. Aber diese Debatte greift zu kurz.
Fridays for Future protest

30.09.2022

New visions to support European youth on climate chaos

2018 marked the dawn of a new age of youth activism in Europe. Climate justice and the question of intergenerational justice are now taking centrestage. The slogans associated with the Fridays for Future movement capture the existential crisis of contemporary youth, triggered by the vision of “stolen futures” and the burdens they will almost certainly have to shoulder tomorrow if effective climate policies are not adopted in the present.
Auszubilende in der Klasse

Making Trainees in the Coal Industry Agents of Change

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.
Benno Fladvad

10.08.2022

Benno Fladvad: Exploring the nexus of equity and sustainability

Benno Fladvad is part of the research team of the IASS focal topic 2022, "Justice in Sustainability".
Discussion at the Citizens’ Assembly for Democracy in Leipzig.

Deliberative Mini-Publics

Deliberative mini-publics are participatory processes in which a randomly selected and heterogenous group of citizens cooperate for a period to develop recommendations, ideas or solutions on a specific issue. RIFS accompanies these processes in various roles.
Leah Temper lecture

01.08.2022

What transformative sustainability studies should learn from environmental justice movements

In April’s session of the IASS focal topic “Justice in Sustainability” lecture series, Dr Leah Temper shed light on “just transformations towards sustainability” from the perspectives of those fighting on the ground to achieve them. Her discussion of environmental justice activism took us back to the roots of thinking justice and environmental politics together. Find out in this summary what transformative sustainability studies should learn from environmental justice movements a summary of her lecture. You can also rewatch the lecture and the following Q&A session on the IASS YouTube channel.
COP26 in Glasgow: artist Greg Mitchell completes his climate-crisis themed mural that depicts the Earth on fire.

26.07.2022

How can ambitious and just climate action be ensured through the participation of civil society?

Tasneem Essop, Executive Director of the Climate Action Network (CAN), held an inspiring lecture on the vital but often downplayed role that civil society can play in ensuring ambitious and just climate action. CAN is a global network of over 1,800 civil society organisations from over 120 countries that are fighting the climate crisis. The lecture took place as part of the monthly IASS Focal Topic Year on “Justice in Sustainability” public lecture series on May 19th, 2022.
The #MISSION2038 gives young people in Lusatia the opportunity to participate in the transformation process of the region.

Making Youth Participation in Structural Change Succeed

In recent years, the rights of children and youth to participate in political processes have been expanded. But there are still deficits when it comes to putting these rights into practice. In a new publication, IASS researchers make recommendations on how to successfully engage young people in processes of structural change.
Torfitz

Torfitz: "That's the same as here!"

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).
Coal mining has played an important role in Lusatia for decades. The coal phaseout now presents opportunities to cultivate sustainable ways of living and doing business.

13.06.2022

Research, accompany, transform: Our research project on structural change in Lusatia

The BMBF-funded accompanying research project "Social Transformation and Policy Advice in Lusatia" at the IASS is coming to an end after almost four years. In seven theses, we spotlight some of the findings from our research in this stormy field.
Daniel Oppold

The IASS Accompanies Municipalities During Participation Processes

Losland, a cooperation between the IASS and the association Mehr Demokratie, supports municipalities to sustainably shape their future. The Losland team draws from citizen participation methods to develop individualised participation processes in these municipalities. IASS political scientist Daniel Oppold has been scientifically accompanying the process since 2021. In an interview, he explains how the project works, what an “assembly for the future” is, and the project’s aims.
The 2030 coal phase-out could greatly reduce Germany's emissions.

Sustainability Needs a New Approach to Interest Intermediation

Sustainability policy in Germany currently falls short of what is needed, despite ambitious rhetoric. In a study, IASS researchers show that the established way of mediating interests between politics, industry and trade unions stands in the way of a more ambitious agenda. For a successful transition, policymakers must remould the relationship between capitalism, democracy, and sustainability.

18.05.2022

Justice and Sustainability Researcher Francesco Laruffa

Francesco Laruffa is part of the research team of the IASS Focal Topic 2022, "Justice in Sustainability".
Elias König

17.05.2022

Justice and Sustainability Fellow Elias König

Elias König recently joined the IASS as a Justice and Sustainability Fellow and will be working on a research project that examines the youth-led climate strike movement. In this blog post, he outlines his professional background and his plans for the fellowship.
Deutsch-Französisches Zukunftswerk Video

Forum for the Future: Strengthening environmental, economic, and social resilience

The Franco-German Forum for the Future has published seven recommendations to strengthen environmental transformations and promote economic and social resilience in towns and communities. The recommendations are addressed to the governments of France and Germany and follow eighteen months of dialogue with stakeholders from local politics, public agencies, and civil society in both countries.
Young people march for intergenerational justice at the climate strike demonstration on 27 September 2019 in Barcelona

Young People and the Struggle for a Sustainable Future

The climate crisis continues to be a major concern for many young people, who must also grapple with new and emerging crises such as the war in Ukraine. This has serious implications for mental health and lends urgency to the issue of intergenerational justice. In recent years, young people have sought to bring the responsibilities of older generations toward younger people more sharply into focus in environmental and climate debates. In a new paper, IASS researchers show how sustainable futures have become an important issue in climate policy discourse.
On April 26, 2022, Senator Bettina Jarasch launched the Citizens' Assembly on Climate Change in Berlin.

Citizens' Assembly on Climate Change Launched in Berlin

The Berlin Senate has set itself the goal to make the city "climate-neutral" by 2045. For that to happen, the everyday lives of Berliners are going to have to change in a number of areas, including housing, mobility, and energy use. To get the ball rolling, the Senate has taken up an initiative from civil society and created the Citizens’ Assembly on Climate Change, which brings together randomly selected citizens to discuss climate mitigation measures in the city. The IASS will be providing scientific input for the work of the assembly.
Sustainability research must combine different forms of knowledge to deliver on its promise

Making Sustainability Research Deliver on Its Promise

What approach must sustainability research take in order to sucessfully advance the transformation toward a sustainable future? In a new publication, IASS Scientific Director Ortwin Renn outlines an approach that integrates different research concepts.
Marching for climate and gender justice at COP25

12.04.2022

Historical responsibilities of colonialism: Gender justice as a path to climate justice

The notion of development, or what we understand as prosperity, whether of a country, group, or individual, has been shaped throughout history by social constructs that stem from colonialism as an ideology. Colonialism is entrenched in our society as a monocultural form of domination and understanding and shaping the world. Its influence extends to the ways in which we interact with each other and with nature.
Farmers’ protest in New Delhi.

04.04.2022

“Struggle for Agrarian and Environmental Justice: The Farmers Movement in Northwest India”

The struggle for agrarian and environmental justice by the farmers movement in Northwest India was the second lecture in this year’s IASS Focal Topic series “Justice in Sustainability.” Our guest, Navdeep Boora, is a graduate student at the Indian Institute of Science Education & Research (IISER) Mohali. In his presentation, Navdeep gave us insights into the farmers’ protest against the Indian government’s attempt to further liberalize the country’s agricultural sector in 2021.
Amazon River meets Atlantic Ocean: satellite image of northern Brazil.

A New “Truth” About the Rainforest: How Bolsonaro’s Supporters Misuse Satellite Data

Satellite data have played an important role in efforts to monitor the rate of deforestation in the Amazon Basin for decades. But the way these data are used has changed under the government of President Jair Bolsonaro. His supporters are questioning the validity of scientific findings as a means to propagate a worldview that puts profits first.
Democracy is the only promising route for dealing with the complexity of sustainability issues in an adequate way.

Democracy and Sustainability: Insights into a Complex Relationship

In contemporary societies, the relationship between democracy and sustainability has become ever more complex. A new handbook edited by IASS researchers provides comprehensive and critical coverage of this topic from both a theoretical level and through analysis of political discourses and practices.

18.02.2022

Climate litigation and planetary justice – the kick-off of the lecture series “Justice and Sustainability”

The April 2021 decision of the German Federal Constitutional Court in the case Neubauer et al. vs Germany has drawn a lot of attention worldwide. Louis Kotzé, Research Professor of Law at the Faculty of Law, North-West University, South Africa and currently Klaus Töpfer Sustainability Fellow at the IASS, and Jannis Krüßmann, a young climate activist, spoke on the ruling and its wider consequences for climate litigation on January 27, 2022 as part of the focal topic "Justice and Sustainability".
Die jüngste Einigung zwischen Polen und der Tschechischen Republik ist eine verpasste Chance, ein früheres Ende der Kohleverstromung in der polnischen Lausitz auszuhandeln.

18.02.2022

Inspiring a just transition or just buying time?

The long-running dispute before the Court of Justice of the European Union (CJEU) between Poland and the Czech Republic over the Turów open-pit coal mine on the Polish side of the border came to an end two weeks ago. Under the agreement reached by the two countries, the Czech Republic is to be compensated for environmental harms caused by the mine’s operation. In response, the Czech government withdrew its complaint to the CJEU on 3 February.
Streets in the Reuterkiez neighbourhood in the Berlin borough of Neukölln will be a lot quieter if a local initiative is successful.

10.02.2022

Reshaping the city – a top-down or a bottom-up process?

The debate on “Kiezblocks” (similar to the concept of low-traffic neighbourhoods) in Berlin has so far been driven by civil society. Now, the engagement of more than fifty of them has got the new red-red-green government coalition in Berlin to anchor Kiezblocks in their coalition agreement. Even researchers and the public administration are starting to take the idea seriously. But how does an idea go from a demand to a democratically taken decision, and then to implementation? Are these processes a symbol of participative urban planning, or is their being taken up in the coalition agreement instead a top-down government programme? Does it even matter? In this blog post, we hope to shed some light on these questions.
The Berlin Citizens’ Assembly on Climate will develop recommendations on a range of issues affecting sustainability, including mobility, buildings, and energy.

IASS to Advise Berlin Citizens’ Assembly on Climate

The State of Berlin has begun the process of selecting members of the public to join a citizens' assembly to address the climate crisis. The Berlin Citizens’ Assembly on Climate will meet through to summer and develop recommendations for future climate policy at the state level. The IASS has been invited to advise the assembly throughout its deliberations.
A footbridge over the Western Neisse connects Görlitz on the German side and Zgorzelec on the Polish side.

European Funding for Sustainable Structural Transformations in Cross-Border Regions

Profound structural transformations are unfolding in Lusatia and many other regions of Europe as part of a broader shift towards sustainable development. Various European funding programmes,including programmes under the European Green Deal and national support schemes, have been adopted to cushion the impacts of the reduction and phase-out of coal-fired power generation.
Gruppe Kollaboration Zusammenarbeit Politikberatung

What Expertise is Needed to Design Collaboration?

The complex challenges of our time increasingly require scientists to step outside their conventional roles. A team of researchers from the Institute for Advanced Sustainability Studies (IASS) has examined innovative approaches to policy advice that support actors from politics and government in the development of collaborative processes to address socio-ecological issues. Their paper identifies the knowledge, skills and practices required to design collaborations.
Zoom-Session

02.12.2021

Sustainability studies and art – Allies for transforming narratives

A symphony composed by the melting arctic deeply touches an audience of policymakers at COP25. A photograph inspires a political scientist to expand her research on the Amazon with a performance set in a Berlin city forest. And a museum about possible futures doesn’t just have an education team running workshops for its exhibitions but dedicates a whole floor to a lab where scientists and artists can “go nuts” in collaborative projects.
A controversial legacy: visitors learn about the long history of open-pit lignite mining at Welzow-Süd.

Delivering a Just Transition in Lusatia

The German government has pledged to facilitate a just transition in the former coal region of Lusatia. What exactly does that mean on the ground? A new paper published in the Journal of Environmental Policy & Planning by Konrad Gürtler (IASS) und Jeremias Herberg (Radboud Universität) examines the tensions between distributive justice and recognition in the context of public debate around the structural transformation in Lusatia.
Youth conference MISSION2038: We are looking for your ideas for Lusatia! on May 29, 2021 at TELUX Weißwasser

How Young People Can Help Shape Structural Change in Lusatia

Germany’s coal exit is associated with widespread and far-reaching structural change in the mining region of Lusatia. Decisions made today will shape the region for decades to come. Enhancing Lusatia’s appeal for young people is one important goal within this broad transformation process. A new IASS Policy Brief offers recommendations on how policymakers can involve young people in shaping the future of Lusatia.
Entrance of the lignite-fired power plant in Jänschwalde (Brandenburg)

Trainees Want a Greater Say in Lusatia’s Structural Transformation

How do trainees at the energy company LEAG view the structural transformation unfolding in Lusatia? What life paths and plans are they pursuing? Do they see their future in the region or further afield? What factors shape their thinking? And what kind of employment opportunities do they hope to see in the region? In a series of workshops, the trainees discussed these questions and developed a quantitative survey together with a team of researchers from the Institute for Advanced Sustainability Studies (IASS). The results of the survey have now been published in the study “Auszubildende im Lausitzer Strukturwandel” [Trainees in Lusatia’s Structural Transformation].
Beteiligung Partizipation

Appeal to Policymakers: Plan More Citizen Participation

As the course is now being set for the coming legislative period, policymakers should focus more on citizen participation. A team from the Institute for Advanced Sustainability Studies (IASS) Potsdam and the Institute for Research on Democracy and Participation (Institut für Demokratie- und Partizipationsforschung – IDPF) in Wuppertal have formulated a 7+5-point plan
Lusatia in the midst of transformation.

Podcast “hör mal : Lausitz” on the Trail of Transformation

What does it feel like when science and society begin a dialogue with one another? This is the question taken up by the new podcast "hör mal : Lausitz" (English: listen in : lusatia), which follows the trail of transdisciplinary cooperation in the transformations taking place in the Eastern German lignite-mining region.
Losland enkeltaugliche Zukunft für Kommunen

Losland Project has Started: Shaping the Future of Municipalities

With the "Losland" project, a team from the Institute for Advanced Sustainability Studies e.V. (IASS) is working with Mehr Demokratie e.V. to support citizen participation at the local level. In the project, citizen participation processes tailored to ten German municipalities and cities are being carried out to answer the question: “How can we shape a future in our municipalities that takes into account the interests of our grandchildren?” Losland is supported by the Federal Agency for Civic Education.
Street scene on Kottbusser Damm, Berlin-Neukölln.

08.09.2021

Raising Revenue with Attractive City Planning

Local retail profits from the mobility transition and should advocate it.
Cafés and shops on Kottbusser Damm in Berlin-Kreuzberg: only 7 per cent of customers come by car.

Shoppers’ Mobility Habits: Retailers Overestimate Car Use

Retail traders often fear that reducing the amount of urban space made available for parking private vehicles would have a negative effect on their businesses. A survey conducted by researchers from the Institute for Advanced Sustainability Studies (IASS) on two shopping streets in Berlin shows that traders have a skewed perception of their customers’ mobility habits. The findings of this research will facilitate better informed decision-making around urban land-use planning.

25.06.2021

Structures in Transformation – Lusatia in Focus

Since 2020 artist and photographer Sven Gatter has been documenting traces of decay and renewal in Lower Lusatia that are simultaneously new beginnings and occasions for discourse. He is now bringing the results of this work together in the artist's book "ECHO TEKTUR. Ruins and Models". IASS researcher Johannes Staemmler has penned a contribution to this publication, which we publish here in an abridged version. Sven Gatter's works will be shown at Brandenburg’s State Museum of Modern Art from 10 September through to 21 November 2021.
First Children and Youth Conference on 30.10.2019 in Lauchhammer

Childhood in the Age of Covid-19: Survey Reveals Concerns and Wishes

The measures imposed to contain the coronavirus pandemic have hit children and young people especially hard, including in the town of Lauchhammer in Brandenburg, Germany. A new survey reveals how children there have fared since the outbreak of the pandemic and sheds light on their experiences and where and how they spent their time. Youth participation around local issues and projects is common in Lauchhammer and the survey also looks at how civic engagement could be jumpstarted again after the pandemic.
The end of the coal era in the Canadian province of Alberta: Strategies are needed to deliver a just transition and regional structural change.

Legitimation Strategies for Coal Exits in Germany and Canada

Ending our dependence on coal is essential for effective climate protection. Nevertheless, efforts to phase out coal trigger anxiety and resistance, particularly in mining regions. The governments of both Canada and Germany have involved various stakeholders to develop recommendations aimed at delivering just transitions and guiding structural change. In a new study, researchers at the Institute for Advanced Sustainability Studies (IASS) compare the stakeholder commissions convened by the two countries, drawing on expert interviews with their members, and examine how governments use commissions to legitimize their transition policies.
In Lusatia, schools cooperate with local initiatives. The photo shows a workshop at the Kulturfabrik Hoyerswerda.

Education for Sustainable Development in a Changing Region

How can school pupils get to grips with the transformation processes underway in the former coal-mining region of Lusatia and take an active role in shaping change? In a new study, IASS researchers show how teachers can engage with these issues in and outside their classrooms. The aim is not only to stimulate discussions, but also to empower young people to participate in the transformation process.

How Science Can Help Shape Socio-economic Transformations

Societal transformations are often driven by the findings of science. The edited volume "Wissenschaft im Strukturwandel" shows how the interactions between science and society are changing research practice.
Auto im Kopf

11.05.2021

We need a new language for reporting on traffic

From "four-year-old runs into car" to "cyclist falls under turning truck” – the wording of police reports and newspaper articles often shifts responsibility for road-related harms away from motorists. This shapes the way we think about road incidents and puts the brakes on an emerging shift in mobility.
cabbage vs coal phase out coal Berlin

Why Germany’s Coal Compromise Failed to End the Debate

Can expert commissions develop solutions for controversial issues that will enjoy broad democratic support? A team of researchers from the Institute for Advanced Sustainability Studies (IASS) has analysed the work of Germany’s “Coal Exit Commission” using a set of new criteria. While the authors view positively the Commission’s success in reaching a compromise, they criticise its failure to deliver an outcome that promotes the common good, particularly with respect to the high cost of the coal exit and its unambitious contribution towards Germany’s climate goals, as well as the lack of public participation.
Young people together with the then Secretary General of the UNFCCC, Christina Figueres (4th from right), at the Young and Future Generations Day at COP21, which was held in Paris in 2015.

Making Space for Visionary Thinking? How Civil Society Organizations Shaped the UN Sustainable Development Goals

The development of the United Nations' Sustainable Development Goals (SDGs) was supposed to be more inclusive, transparent and participatory than previous processes, and to this end, civil society organizations were explicitly involved in the process. In a new study, IASS researchers Henrike Knappe and Oscar Schmidt analyse the engagement of these organizations and the visions of a better future that guided their contributions.
A new publication examines what is at stake in democratic sustainability transformations.

Reform or Revolution? What is at stake in democratic sustainability transformations

Calls for new forms of democratic sustainability and their achievement by way of a “great,” “socio-ecological,” and/or “democratic” transformation of societies have gained traction, both in academia and among policy makers. A special issue of the journal “Sustainability: Science, Practice and Policy”, edited by researchers from the IASS, examines what is at stake in current debates.
Urihi – of the series Casa – 1976

07.12.2020

Can the climate change agenda ‘save’ the Amazon?

Concern with the Amazon is common in international climate discourse. Indeed, “saving” the Amazon for the sake of the climate has become a rallying cry among climate policymakers and researchers alike. In this post, I want to argue that while curbing deforestation in the Amazon is undoubtedly important, framing the challenge as a mission to “save” the Amazon in order to fight climate change is problematic.
Back to nature? Some opencast mines in Lusatia have been turned into lakes.

23.09.2020

What do you know about Lusatia?

How do you get a feel for a place? I have to be there in person. I feel the ground, taste the air, dip my fingertips in the water; I let the sounds weave its stories me. Since April, I've been working on an artistic project about the region of Lusatia. The region has long captivated my imagination, since learning about its cross-border identity and the history of the Sorbs in Lusatia, pre-dating current nation states.
Transport is the problem child of climate policy; between 1990 and 2018, emissions rose by 3.7 percent.

09.06.2020

The transport sector – Climate policy’s problem child and the coronavirus crisis

The transport sector is climate policy’s problem child. While emissions reductions have been achieved across every other sector since 1990, transport-related emissions have climbed by 3.7 percent between 1990 and 2018.
Nebelschütz in Upper Lusatia. In this model village, it’s not vacant buildings that are the problem but a shortage of properties.

At a Crossroads between Populism and Renewal: How the Structural Transformation of Lusatia can Succeed

Lusatia needs to tackle a double challenge in the coming decades: the loss of a major industry with the planned coal exit and the unabated radicalisation of the Alternative for Germany (AfD) party in the region. In a new publication, IASS researcher Tobias Haas discusses the economic, political and cultural reasons for the rise of authoritarian populism in Lusatia, while also identifying pathways towards a progressive renewal.
How can scholars deal with their own involvement in power-ridden constellations? A new special issue gives answers.

16.03.2020

Technocratic Residues in Transdisciplinary Research? A Reflection on the Methods and Political Roles of Sustainability Scholars

For scholars it is always hard to reflect about their role in sustainability transformations and conflicts. This predicament is tackled in a new special issue of the journal Social Epistemology that Ulli Vilsmaier (Leuphana) and I have just published. Contributors from several disciplines discuss the dilemma of control in transdisciplinary research in this special issue and consider how scholars can deal with their own involvement in power-ridden constellations.
The pilot project on citizen participation was presented to the public at an event in Schöneberg Town Hall on 16 January.

29.01.2020

Making a Difference Together: Citizen Councils in Berlin

As part of a pilot project funded by the State of Berlin, the borough of Tempelhof-Schöneberg is currently experimenting with a new form of citizen participation: citizen councils. The IASS is supporting the process and helping to establish citizen councils as a permanent fixture in the locality.
The proposed greening of several parking spaces on Karl-Marx-Allee has stirred controversy.

21.01.2020

Taking the public along for the ride – Participation and the mobility transition

On Berlin’s Karl-Marx-Allee a handful of parking spaces (173 to be exact) may soon be replaced by a green median. This has generated much public debate, with local politicians trading arguments on why these particular parking spaces are so worthy of protection. It seems that for some, parking spaces are still sacred cows.
The Socio-cultural Centre (SKZ) Telux in Weißwasser is an example of successful structural transformation. The former glass factory has been transformed into a multifaceted space that combines the old and the new.

Arrested Transformation: Can Lusatia Make a Clean Break from Coal?

The coal phaseout in Lusatia has already been dragging on for three decades. In the face of delays to the promised structural transformation of the region, the out-migration of its young people, and local conflicts of interest, politicians now need to take action on two fronts. Financial investment alone will not be enough; the local population has to be involved in determining the direction its region is going to take. In a new publication IASS researchers analyse the obstacles to change and point to opportunities for democratically legitimised transformations.
The participants employed hands-on prototyping to understand and further develop labs as democratic innovation.

Sustainability and Democracy: Exploring the Power of Labs

Modern times are characterised by an increase in “wicked problems” that threaten established forms of democratic governability. What can labs ¬¬– collaborative spaces for testing innovative ideas – contribute to democratic innovation and sustainability in government? In the workshop “Toward Democratic Transformation: A Lab on Labs” at the IASS, international practitioners, leading researchers and government experts explored lab methods and principles to promote democracy and sustainability.
The Futuring Tool

Recommendations for Responding to the Fridays for Future Movement

The level of public concern about climate change has risen significantly in recent years. The Fridays for Future movement enjoys broad political and public support, but this has so far not translated into tangible changes. IASS Fellow Elizabeth Dirth has now developed a resource – the Futuring Tool – and a more comprehensive Policy Brief aimed at decision-makers who want to make climate protection a guiding principle of their work.
Victors by the skin of their teeth: Governors Michael Kretschmer and Dietmar Woidke will probably stay in office.

10.09.2019

Lusatia after the Elections – Making Active Citizen Participation a Reality

Listening to people will not be enough in the long run. We need democratic spaces where ambivalences and conflicts of opinion can be aired and – most importantly – rendered negotiable.
Workshop Prof. Lance Bennett speaking

Time for a new take on climate communication

As the evidence for disruptive climate change has mounted over the last decades, organised attacks on climate science have grown, flanked by conspiracy theories, disinformation, and false claims. How is disinformation produced, to what end, and by whom? A workshop addressing these and related questions took place at the Institute for Advanced Sustainability Studies (IASS) in Potsdam and was attended by a host of international scholars.
Senior Fellow David Dunetz in the IASS roof garden.

Climate Action Takes Shape in Israel

David Dunetz has worked for 20 years at the Heschel Center for Sustainability in Tel Aviv, which leads the Israel Climate Forum, a consortium of civil society organizations. As a Visiting Research Fellow at the IASS Potsdam on a joint program with the Israel Public Policy Institute, he is currently researching how civic engagement and participation processes can advance climate policy and democratic innovation.
No coal dust in the air: this mine near Leipzig has been turned into a recreational lake.

17.06.2019

Structural change and sustainability must go hand in hand

With the Structural Adjustment Act, the German government intends to provide 40 billion euros of federal funding for the coal-mining areas of Germany. In addition, an emergency fund of 260 million euros is earmarked for short-term projects. However, the effect of these funds will remain modest if the federal and state governments do not go further than previously planned in implementing the costly coal exit. They risk losing sight of three essential goals: enabling sustainability, strengthening regional activity, and learning to shape transformation.
How can representative parliamentary democracies be supported? Answers to this question can be found in the study "Federal Republic 3.0".

Democracy 3.0: The Key to More Successful Citizen Participation

How can parliamentary representative democracies be strengthened and revitalised? In the context of the ever more complex future questions society has to grapple with, the study “Bundesrepublik 3.0” (Federal Republic 3.0) presents a concept for more citizen participation at national level. It was developed in a co-creative process where examples of best practice were considered and combined to generate new solutions.
The IASS at the COP23 in Bonn in November 2017. The institute will also inform about its work at a booth in Katowice.

The IASS at the Katowice Climate Change Conference

The 24th UN Climate Change Conference (COP24) is due to take place in the Polish city of Katowice from 2 to 14 December. At this year’s COP, minds will focus on concrete steps towards implementing the Paris Climate Agreement. A whole host of experts from the Institute for Advanced Sustainability Studies (IASS) will be there. At the international symposium on “Safeguarding Our Climate, Advancing Our Society”, IASS Scientific Director Patrizia Nanz will speak about the role democratic structures can play in the shift to sustainability. And IASS Scientific Director Mark Lawrence will represent the institute at the High Level Assembly of the Climate and Clean Air Coalition on the margins of the conference.
How can we achieve a socially responsible coal phaseout for Lusatia? The IASS is advising politicians on how to manage this process.

Phasing Out Coal: IASS to Investigate Structural Transformation in Lusatia

The region of Lusatia in Eastern Germany is experiencing a structural transformation due to the dwindling significance of lignite. In a new research project, the IASS will investigate the changes taking place there. Karl Eugen Huthmacher from the Federal Ministry of Education and Research (BMBF) and IASS Scientific Director Patrizia Nanz presented the project at the Lusatia Dialogue on 25 June.
istock/FilippoBacci

30.04.2018

Mindfulness as a Pathway to Greater Climate-Sensitivity

The knowledge about global warming and its consequences for people and the environment is now part and parcel of mainstream society, and most people are well aware of the goal of the Paris Climate Agreement to limit warming to well below 2 degrees above preindustrial levels. Many proposals for reducing human emissions of CO2 hinge...
How dangerous is air pollution for my health? Many cyclists in German cities ask themselves the same question.

Air Pollution and Climate Change

Air pollution and climate change are closely related. The main sources of CO2 emissions – the extraction and burning of fossil fuels – are not only key drivers of climate change, but also major sources of air pollutants.
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