Headline: Science-Society Platforms

The area Science-Society Platforms facilitates and strengthens connections between science, policy, and society under the umbrella topics of climate change and sustainability. This is done via active engagement in existing political forums (e.g., Climate Action in National and International Processes) as well as the coordination and management of dedicated multi-stakeholder platforms in local (Brandenburg Sustainability Platform and Sustainability Council), national (Science Platform Sustainability 2030), and international (Global Sustainability Strategy Forum) contexts. The area Science-Society Platforms works to build communicative bridges between different groups of societal stakeholders, including those that have had limited interactions to date - as exemplified by the work of Art-Science Cooperations for Sustainability. Following the RIFS approach, the work of Science-Society Platforms emphasizes multi-directional communication and mutual learning between the networks and RIFS researchers. The area has a central role in establishing and deepening strategic cooperations for RIFS, with the aim of enhancing RIFS's impact in advancing and guiding processes of transformative change towards sustainable development.

Dossiers

RIFS Research on the 2030 Agenda for Sustainable Development

The Sustainable Development Goals (SDGs) Dossier

By endorsing the 2030 Agenda for Sustainable Development, the international community signalled its commitment to tackling global challenges through cooperation. The Agenda provides a blueprint for reconciling economic growth with social justice and environmental sustainability.

Sustainability Advisory Board

Fostering Sustainable Development as a Democratic Process

The Sustainability Advisory Board of Brandenburg state has developed a set of recommendations titled “Social cohesion in an open society – Democracy as a way of life” and presented them to the state government on 8 January 2024. The recommendations are based on a policy brief in which the authors recommend an all-of-government approach to address various issues of social justice and public participation as well as the goal of safeguarding quality of life while remaining within planetary boundaries.

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Music Sector

Values and Traditions Slow Transition to Sustainability in Classical Concert Industry

There is a growing interest in sustainability among orchestras, ensembles and concert halls in Germany –in terms of reducing their environmental impacts, and in relation to programming, such as creating concert formats that engage with sustainability on a thematic level. Is the classical concert industry contributing to the broader transformation of society towards sustainability? RIFS researchers see room for improvement, finding that many institutions and orchestral musicians are not sufficiently self-critical in their approach to sustainability issues.

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RIFS Policy Brief

The Silver Bullet Fallacy of “Net Zero”

A new RIFS Policy Brief warns that the promise of future technologies for the abatement and removal of carbon dioxide is being used to justify inaction on reducing fossil fuels, even though this is incompatible with limiting warming to 1.5°C or 2°C. Ahead of COP28 in Dubai, the authors urge policymakers to face up to the inescapable reality that achieving the goal of “net zero” greenhouse gas emissions (GHG) will require deep and rapid reductions in carbon dioxide emissions, and that this in turn means nearly completely phasing out fossil fuels.

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FG Forum for the Future

Cooperation for the Heat Transition

The recently launched third cycle of the Franco-German Forum for the Future – “Plan, Refurbish, Reduce” – will explore projects working to promote the heat transition in towns in Germany and France. In this work cycle, which runs through to late 2024, the project will develop recommendations for action that will shape national policies in both countries. Cooperation between the new participating towns, cities, and districts kicked off with a meeting in Berlin on 18-19 October 2023.

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Barometer

Support for Climate Action Greater Than Often Assumed

Hot on the heels of the pandemic came the energy crisis – has this experience led to a shift in public opinion on climate action in Germany? Broadly speaking, support for ambitious climate policy remains strong, however many citizens are concerned that policymakers lack the political will and that the burdens of the transformation are not being shared equitably. But it seems that many people underestimate the willingness of their fellow citizens to embrace change. This is the conclusion of the 2023 Social Sustainability Barometer, an annual representative survey of over 6,500 people across Germany on the energy and transport transitions, conducted as part of the Ariadne project funded by the German Federal Ministry of Education and Research (BMBF).

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Politics

Achieving Brandenburg’s Ambitious Climate Targets

Opened by Minister Axel Vogel, the fourth plenary session of Brandenburg's Sustainability Platform cast a spotlight on climate action in the state of Brandenburg. The platform, which was established five years ago, promotes sustainable development, supports efforts to achieve climate neutrality in Brandenburg, and fosters networking between diverse actors and initiatives. The platform is coordinated by the Research Institute for Sustainability (RIFS) and funded by the Ministry of Agriculture, Environment and Climate Protection (MLUK).

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Brandenburg

Draft Strategy for Sustainable Development Is Well-intended, but Lacking in Detail

The draft proposal for Brandenburg’s future sustainable development strategy has met with a mixed response from Brandenburg's Sustainability Advisory Board and Sustainability Platform Brandenburg, two bodies coordinated by the Research Institute for Sustainability (RIFS). The strategy’s alignment with the United Nations Sustainable Development Goals and commitment to adopting a whole-of-government approach to sustainability challenges were noted positively by both organisations. However, the strategy lacks "an overarching vision of where Brandenburg wants to go" and a clear roadmap and timeline for efforts to achieve the state’s goals.

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UN Climate Change Conferences

A New Climate of Communication at the COP

The UN climate change conferences (COPs) are attended annually by tens of thousands of actors working on climate change topics. Outside of the formal negotiations, the communication culture is dominated by 'side events,' a format that relies on conventional presentations and panels. In a new commentary, RIFS scientist Kathleen Mar and co-authors make a case for reimagining these communication formats in order to strengthen the COP’s role as a platform for learning and community-building.

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RIFS Policy Brief

Making Lusatia a Model Region for Transformation

On 10 March 2023, a select committee will be convened at Brandenburg’s state assembly to examine sustainable development and structural change in the former mining region of Lusatia. In a policy brief by the Research Institute for Sustainability (RIFS), authors David Löw Beer and Konrad Gürtler set out three actionable and cost-effective recommendations to improve the sustainability of regional processes of structural transformation.

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Nachhaltigkeitsplattform BB

Water Poverty: Brandenburg Must Do More to Protect Water Resources

Brandenburg boasts more standing and running water resources than any other state – and yet it is running out of water. Securing access to ample water resources is crucial to fostering sustainable agricultural and industrial development and enhancing the quality of life in the region. The Sustainability Advisory Board to Brandenburg State has developed a set of recommendations for the state government on the protection of Brandenburg's water resources.

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RNE

Mark Lawrence Appointed to German Council for Sustainable Development

Chancellor Olaf Scholz has convened the new German Council for Sustainable Development (RNE). RIFS Scientific Director Mark Lawrence will serve a three-year term on the council. At the inaugural meeting held at the Federal Chancellery on 15 February 2023, the members unanimously elected Reiner Hoffmann, the former president of the German Trade Union Confederation (DGB), to chair the council.

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Platform for Sustainability in Brandenburg Mobilizes Society to Strengthen Resilience

Local and regional actors play a key role in sustainable development in Brandenburg. Bringing them together to support joint action is a core focus of the Platform for Sustainability in Brandenburg. Members gathered on 8 December for the platform’s annual conference drew a positive balance and acknowledged the platform’s role in developing potential solutions and mobilizing society. The platform called on government to step up the pace of change for sustainability.

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Study by the Franco-German Forum for the Future

How Local Food Can Help Save the World

Food is an important lever in the social-ecological transformation. It is also an everyday issue that is easy to communicate to the public. Municipalities in Germany and France have recognized the potential of innovative local policies and have introduced novel approaches to making local food systems more sustainable. In doing so, though, they are encountering structural barriers that cannot be overcome at the municipal level. The Franco-German Forum for the Future has researched the opportunities and obstacles of local nutritional change and brought engaged municipalities from both countries into exchange with each other.

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IASS 10+2 Anniversary

“A flagship in the German sustainability landscape”

Following a two-year delay due to the pandemic, the Institute for Advanced Sustainability Studies (IASS) celebrated the tenth anniversary of its foundation and its forthcoming integration into the Helmholtz Association with a festive ceremony in Potsdam under the motto “10+2”. The President of the German Environment Agency, Dirk Messner, gave the keynote speech and IASS Founding Director Klaus Töpfer attended as the guest of honour. The event concluded with a tribute to IASS Scientific Director Ortwin Renn, who will retire at the end of the year.

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Fostering Sustainable Urban Development

What can local authorities do to ensure that planning processes deliver on the promise of creating sustainable neighbourhoods? A new study by the Institute for Advanced Sustainability Studies (IASS) titled "Achieving more district sustainability- Success factors from three municipal planning processes" compares three urban planning processes: the Grüne Heyde development in Norderstedt, Oberbillwerder in Hamburg and the older Rotbäumlesfeld estate in Ludwigsburg. In all three cases, sustainability was a key consideration in the planning processes.

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Climate change

Policymakers Underestimate Methane’s Climate and Air Quality Impacts

Methane emissions have been increasing rapidly in recent years, contributing significantly to global warming. Despite this, methane is not adequately treated within existing national and international governance frameworks. Researchers at the Institute for Advanced Sustainability Studies (IASS) in Potsdam highlight the urgent need for action in a new study.

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Structural transformation

Brandenburg Sustainability Advisory Council in Dialogue with Youth Forum for Sustainability

Climate action, environmentally-friendly mobility systems and the decarbonisation of the economy are important elements of sustainable development. At its fourth meeting, held on 24 January 2022, the Sustainability Advisory Council of the State of Brandenburg discussed these topics with representatives from the Youth Forum for Sustainability (Jugendforum Nachhaltigkeit).

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wpn 2030

Fit for the Future with a Sustainable Financial Strategy

Finance is becoming increasingly important as a lever for sustainable development in all policy areas. In mid-May 2021, the fourth Advisory Council Dialogue 2021 of the Science Platform Sustainability (wpn) 2030 and Sustainable Development Solutions Network Germany (SDSN) took place. The results and impulses can now be found (in German) in the paper “Finanz. Macht. Zukunft.”

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FIRST FACE-TO-FACE MEETING

Sustainability Advisory Board Develops Impulses for Energy Transition and Sustainability Strategy in Brandenburg

For the first time since it was founded in February, the Brandenburg Sustainability Advisory Board met in person on October 7 2021. The meeting at the IASS focused on the focal topic "Implementation of the energy transition in Brandenburg and CO2-free industrial processes”, as well as key considerations for improving the state’s sustainability strategy.

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Global Sustainability Strategy Forum

How Science Can Promote Sustainable Futures Across Different Cultures and Contexts

How can science help societies to abandon unsustainable practices and tackle systemic risks? Initiated by IASS Scientific Director Ortwin Renn and funded by the Volkswagen Foundation, the Global Sustainability Strategy Forum (GSSF) has developed a range of recommendations. In an article published in the journal “Global Sustainability” the GSSF core team outlines how science can use creative approaches to promote a just and sustainable future in different cultures and contexts.

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Recommendations of the Citizens' Assembly on Climate

“The 1.5°C target is a top priority”

Germany’s first national Citizens' Assembly on Climate has agreed on over 80 recommendations for climate policy, addressing mobility, construction, heating, food systems, and energy. The assembly was accompanied and supported by a panel of experts, led by Professor Ortwin Renn of the Institute for Advanced Sustainability Studies (IASS) in Potsdam.

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Brandeburg’s sustainable development strategy

Brandenburg’s Sustainability Advisory Board Adopts Programme of Work

On 21 June 2021 Brandenburg’s Sustainability Advisory Board convened for its second meeting to discuss two thematic priorities and adopt its programme of work. The meeting was chaired by IASS Scientific Director Ortwin Renn. The head of the state chancellery, Minister Kathrin Schneider, also attended the meeting.

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WPKS

Can the coronavirus crisis lead to long-lasting behavioural change?

Will changes in our routines and lifestyles during the pandemic translate into more sustainable behaviour over the longer term? A team of researchers from the Science Platform for Climate Protection (Wissenschaftsplattform Klimaschutz - WPKS) examined this question with the support of the Institute for Advanced Sustainability Studies (IASS) and considered whether policy measures could help to consolidate gains.

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Interview

IASS Expert to Advise Citizens’ Assembly on Climate

160 randomly selected citizens, twelve meetings, 25 scientists from the climate and social sciences: Germany’s first Citizens’ Assembly on Climate has commenced its work under the patronage of former German President Horst Köhler. This “Council of 160” will develop recommendations for Germany’s climate policy with the support of a board of experts led by Professor Ortwin Renn from the Institute for Advanced Sustainability Studies (IASS) in Potsdam. In this interview, Prof. Renn explains what the Citizens’ Assembly is setting out to achieve.

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Statement

Sustainable Development Strategy: "It's time to put transformations towards sustainable development on track"

"The German government has made important changes as it charts a new course for sustainability policy," commented the co-chairs of Science Platform Sustainability 2030 – Daniela Jacob, Mark Lawrence and Christa Liedtke – on the latest revision of the German Sustainable Development Strategy, which was approved and published by Cabinet on Wednesday, 10 March 2021. The introduction of six transformation areas in conjunction with enhanced reporting processes around the so-called "off-track indicators" and the related measures is a particularly promising development, they said.

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Policy Advice

Dialogue with Parliamentary Advisory Council on Sustainable Development

Sharing knowledge and experience, collaboration, and coordinated action across politics, science, and society are vital to foster sustainable development and deliver on the goals of the German Sustainable Development Strategy. An online dialogue conducted on 10 February 2021 brought together experts from the Parliamentary Advisory Council on Sustainable Development and the co-chairs of Science Platform Sustainability 2030 (wpn2030) Christa Liedtke (Wuppertal Institute) and Mark Lawrence (IASS).

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Call for Applications 2021 Potsdam Summer School

Water: Our Global Common Good – The Hydrosphere across Land and Sea

From 9 to 18 August 2021 the seventh Potsdam Summer School will explore the theme of “Water: Our Global Common Good – The Hydrosphere across Land and Sea”. Early-career scientists and young professionals from the private sector, governmental agencies, and non-governmental organisations are invited to apply for a place at the Summer School 2021.

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Global Sustainability Strategy Forum

Covid-19 and Sustainability: How the scientific community can support societal change through policy advice

In no other policy area is the discrepancy between knowledge and action greater than in the field of sustainability. What can academic institutions do to ensure that scientific insights are translated into action in business, politics and civil society? At the third Global Sustainability Strategy Forum, 35 sustainability experts discussed this question – especially in the context of the Covid-19 pandemic.

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Sustainable Development Goals

"Small tweaks are not enough – We need a transformation towards sustainability in the world of work!"

The Science Platform Sustainability 2030 (wpn2030) has published a report with recommendations for the Federal Government on fostering sustainable work. In the report, the authors call for a new understanding of what constitutes "good work" and urge policymakers to use the German Sustainable Development Strategy as a framework to promote sustainable work.

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Global Sustainability Strategy Forum

Science and Business: Working Together for Sustainability

How can science and business help build sustainable societies? This question took centre-stage at the second Global Sustainability Strategy Forum, held on 22 – 24 March 2020. The event did not take place in Bangkok as previously planned due to the coronavirus pandemic. Instead, 25 leading experts from business and sustainability science came together online to discuss how the two sectors could work together more effectively.

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New Management wpn2030

Changes to Board of the Science Platform Sustainability 2030

The Science Platform Sustainability 2030 (wpn2030) started the New Year with a new management team. Daniela Jacob, Director of the Climate Service Center Germany and Chairperson of the German Committee Future Earth (DKN Future Earth), and Christa Liedtke, Director of the Sustainable Production and Consumption department at the Wuppertal Institute, Professor at the Folkwang University of the Arts, and member of the Steering Committee of the Sustainable Development Solutions Network (SDSN) Germany, have joined IASS Director Patrizia Nanz at the helm of the Platform.

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Science Platform

Making the German Sustainability Strategy a Compass for Sustainable Development

How effective is Germany's sustainability policy and how could the Sustainable Development Strategy better support it? The Science Platform Sustainability 2030 (SPS2030) has grappled with these questions since it was established in 2017. At its first annual conference in Berlin (5–6 December, Umweltforum), the platform presented its initial response in a wide-ranging reflection paper.

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Invitation for registration

Platform for Sustainability in Brandenburg launches Website

The Platform for Sustainability in Brandenburg provides a forum for discussion and networking opportunities for sustainable development initiatives from across the state. Following the launch of its new website – https://plattform-bb.de/ – regional initiatives, organisations and institutions are invited to register with the platform and explore opportunities to collaborate for a more sustainable Brandenburg.

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IASS Policy Brief

Climate Protection and Clean Air: An Integrated Approach

From 23 – 25 September 2019, heads of government from around the world will convene at the United Nations’ General Assembly to discuss efforts to advance climate action and global sustainable development. The summit aims to boost national ambitions to achieve the objectives of the Paris Agreement and will review the implementation of measures relating to the Sustainable Development Goals. The relationship between air pollution and climate change plays an important role in this context, and is the subject of a new IASS Policy Brief titled “A Practical Approach to Integrating Climate and Air Quality Policy”.

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Brandenburg

Appeal to New State Government: Climate Protection and Sustainability Clear Priorities

At its most recent meeting, the steering group of the platform “Sustainable Development in Brandenburg” adopted a list of demands aimed at the parties currently negotiating to form a new state government. The platform calls on the parties to prioritize climate protection and sustainability and to extend the platform’s mandate into the coming legislative term.

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Potsdam Summer School 2019

Connecting Science and Society

How can scientific insights be integrated more effectively into society? This year’s Potsdam Summer School (PSS) will explore the role of science communication from 20 to 29 August. In what ways and via which channels can topics related to sustainability and global change be effectively communicated?

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IASS Discussion Paper

How Science Has Become a Driving Force for Sustainability

Science has already given us a much better understanding of what we must do in order to leave our world intact for future generations. However, that understanding has had little impact on our collective behaviour. At the first Global Sustainability Strategy Forum in March 2019, 17 prominent scientists looked at how science can help bring about the changes we need to see. They have now published their findings in an IASS Discussion Paper.

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Interview with EU expert

“The SDGs have become ‘Chefsache’ in many European countries”

The European Union (EU) is currently finding its bearings after the recent elections, and the jostling for top positions is in full swing. Regardless of the outcome, sustainability is likely to play a stronger role in future EU policy. Now for the first time, the EU will report to the UN High-Level Political Forum on progress in implementing the SDGs. Senior Fellow Ingeborg Niestroy has closely monitored the EU’s sustainability policy over the last twenty years and just presented the IASS Science Platform Sustainability 2030 at this 'HLPF'. In the following interview, she talks about a study she led on the sustainability strategies of the EU member states.

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Call for Researchers

Scientific Online Consultation on the German Sustainability Strategy

From 31 May 2019, researchers of all disciplines are invited to contribute to the further development of Germany’s Sustainable Development Strategy – the overarching framework for sustainability policy in Germany. For this purpose, the Science Platform Sustainability 2030 is organising the online consultation “A Question of Science: Putting Germany’s Sustainability Strategy to the Test”.

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“Make sustainability a key principle of the European Union’s new strategic agenda!”

“Sustainability must become a key principle of the European Union’s new strategic agenda,” argues Patrizia Nanz, co-chair of the Science Platform Sustainability 2030, in the run-up to the meeting of the European Council in Romania on 9 May 2019. The meeting will bring together the heads of state and government of the EU Member States to discuss the Union’s future political direction and priorities.

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Governing in Times of Digitalisation and the Crisis of Democracy: Policy Brief Points the Way to Innovative Governance

Digitalisation is changing not only how we live and work, but also how governments operate and make laws. Synthetic biology and new genetic engineering methods allow for targeted interventions in our bodies, quality of life and private sphere, while also transforming the way we think about society and politics. The erstwhile peace project Europe is mired in crisis, and people are losing faith in democracy and the state. There is an urgent need for innovations to open up new avenues for politics and administration. A new IASS Policy Brief makes a number of recommendations for governing in the twenty-first century.

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Science Platform

“Greater cooperation is needed across science, civil society, and policymaking to advance sustainability”

Greater cooperation is needed to advance sustainability, urges Patrizia Nanz, co-chair of the Science Platform Sustainability 2030. Her statement supports a central finding of the “2018 Peer Review on the German Sustainability Strategy”, which was launched in Berlin at the 18th Annual Conference of the Council for Sustainable Development on 4 June.

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Blog Posts

Three Challenges for the CBAM's Transitional Phase

On 1 October 2023, the EU’s Carbon Border Adjustment Mechanism (CBAM) entered into effect, beginning with a transitional phase that will run through to 2026. This provides a two-year learning phase during which stakeholders, including the European Commission, can gradually adjust to the new terms of trading established by the CBAM, a cross-border carbon pricing mechanism targeting imports of carbon-intensive products.

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A Limping Coalition of the Willing: Why is Transatlantic Cooperation on Clean Steel Lagging Behind?

The 2020s have arrived as a decade of multiple crises. Beyond their devastating impact, however, these crises have also changed our political debates. For instance, all around the world, we have started to think of “transformation”: To cope with the present challenges, we need to go beyond making small adjustments, efficiency improvements, and grabbing the low-hanging fruits and fundamentally alter our current way of life. The discussion has reached the heart of our economies and, first and foremost, those sectors that ten years ago we thought almost impossible to decarbonize such as the steel industry.

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Face the Music!

There is growing interest in sustainability among orchestras, ensembles and concert halls in Germany. Does this signal the beginning of a broader transformation towards a sustainable concert industry? What must be done to lay the foundations for this change? Organised by the Research Institute for Sustainability and Potsdam Chamber Academy, the July conference “Face the Music! Developing the Orchestra Sustainably” brought together a host of actors from the German cultural and concert sectors as well as from sustainability research and politics to discuss these issues and more.

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SHAPE project concludes at RIFS

The SHAPE project’s final conference was held on 16 February 2023. More than 120 people attended the day-long virtual conference to learn about and discuss the project's findings.

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Climate policy

The Turn of the Year in Climate Policy: Insights and Outlook

The term “triple crisis” loomed large in 2022: The interlinking crises of the pandemic, the climate and energy crises, and the war in Ukraine took many people to their existential limits this past year. Geopolitically, we now face a fragmented world in which power relations are increasingly contested. This was evident at the Sharm el-Sheikh Climate Change Conference (COP 27) in November, where familiar lines of conflict shaped negotiations. Tensions between countries of the Global North and South, for example: Who bears how much responsibility for the climate change that is already occurring (not least of all financial responsibility!) and who (still) counts as a developing country and should be granted support? Debate also continues to rage around the exploitation and use of fossil fuels, which many countries wish to continue for as long as possible – even under the Paris Agreement.

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The Power of Stories: Why We Need New Narratives for a Sustainable Future, and How Quantitative Analyses Can Support Them

While the 2030 Agenda for Sustainable Development Goals are universal, the pathways leading to them are diverse. Due to their different biophysical, socio-economic and political-cultural circumstances, countries are guided by different visions of how the Sustainable Development Goals (SDGs) should be achieved and have different policy options and levers for doing so. The SHAPE project ("Sustainable development pathways achieving Human well-being while safeguarding the climate And Planet Earth”) has taken up the challenge of identifying and describing such Sustainable Development Pathways (SDPs). An interdisciplinary team of researchers is currently developing and analysing new, holistic narratives and scenarios in order to understand how actions to mitigate climate change in-teract with strategies to achieve the other Sustainable Development Goals.

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A G7 Climate Club to Booster Transatlantic Relations?

Since January, Germany has held the presidency of the Group of 7 (G7). In line with its own national priorities, the German government announced ambitious climate policy goals for its G7 presidency. They included accelerating the global coal phase-out and enhancing sectoral decarbonization. The G7 presidency also introduced the concept of a G7-based climate club, which represents an opportunity to intensify transatlantic climate and energy relations.

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Germany’s G7 Presidency

Energy security, high expectations, and a climate club?

In 2022, Germany assumed the presidency of the Group of 7 (G7). Its term got off to an ambitious start but was soon overshadowed by the Russian invasion of Ukraine. In addition to the crimes against humanity committed in Ukraine, the war is having an immense impact on the energy sector and efforts to protect the climate, the extent of which cannot be calculated at present. At the same time, Germany now finds itself caught up in a severe crisis due to its dependence on Russian gas imports.

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Methane: A new hope? There is plenty of potential, but ambition is lacking

There is a lot on the international climate policy agenda in 2021. Most importantly, countries will finally have to submit their enhanced Nationally Determined Contributions (NDCs) under the Paris Agreement. The European Green Deal will contribute to this process and will hopefully lead the EU towards a low-carbon economy with new climate protection targets and many other measures. With pressure growing to further reduce its greenhouse gas emissions and fulfil its international commitments, the EU is now examining the options around methane.

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Less Panic, More Dynamic – Why Climate Protection Needs to be Framed Differently

Do you remember the 2019 World Economic Forum in Davos? “I want you to panic. I want you to feel the fear I feel every day. And then I want you to act” – that was Greta Thunberg’s impassioned plea to the participants, and the rest of the world. Now, almost two years after her remarkable speech, the international community is celebrating the fifth birthday of the Paris Climate Agreement. On this anniversary, the focus has been firmly on the updates by individual state parties to their Nationally Determined Contributions (NDCs). But there’s little to celebrate: only 21 of 197 states have submitted new or updated plans, excluding most of the major emitters. And concrete climate protection measures are few and far between.

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Coronavirus

Germany’s Covid-19 response is not gender-just: here is why

On April 15th, the German government announced plans for a step-wise re-opening of economic and social life after a 5-week Corona “lockdown.” In a first step, shops smaller than 800 square meters as well as car dealerships and bicycle shops have reopened under strict hygiene and anti-crowding conditions. In early May, schools will begin to re-open, with priority given to classes that need to graduate to the next level.

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SDGs

Implementing the Sustainable Development Goals in Africa: A Long Way to Go

As 2019 comes to an end and the world prepares for COP 25, one can wonder about the implementation of the Sustainable Development Goals (SDGs) in different continents, and especially in Africa. Based in Kigali, Rwanda, the SDGs Center for Africa organized its major SDG conference in June 2019, where it launched its landmark “SDG Index and Dashboard Report” 3.5 years after the UN adopted its 2030 Agenda for Sustainable Development. The report paints a mixed picture of progress towards achieving the SDGs across the African continent.

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K3 Kongress

Outrage vs. Empathy – a Culture Clash in Climate Communication?

“We need to start by telling people they are awesome.” This was one of the central messages from climate communications expert George Marshall in his opening keynote at K3: Kongress zu Klimawandel Kommunikation und Gesellschaft, the German-language congress on climate communication that took place this September in Karlsruhe. As in: we have to accept people for who they are, listen to them, and frame climate action in terms that align with their values.

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