Research Institute for
Sustainability | at GFZ

Futures

The future is ever present. We encounter the future in scientific calculations and the justifications that legitimise policies and interventions; it is the subject of insurance policies and financial products. Futures – and the myriad reflections of the future in the present – open and shape discursive spaces and thus impose order on our world.

This research project considers the specific characteristics of these futures and the methods by which they are created. What futures are imagined; how are they conceptualised; and what are their social ordering effects? The project also explores how futures can be constructed to support transformations towards sustainability: How must futures be configured to successfully foster greater awareness of long-term impacts in present-day policymaking and societal practices?

Reviewing the field of climate engineering, researchers at the IASS examine how futures are created and enacted. What are the dominant imaginaries; how are uncertainties understood and represented; and what are the consequences at the science-policy interface? The researchers also address broader issues of futurisation across the fields of politics, economics and education, and explores opportunities to enhance the representation of future generations. Other research activities consider the prospects for sustainable, long-term financial instruments and the development of educational projects to foster conscious reflection on the future.

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.
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.
RIFS wissenschaftlicher Direktor Mark Lawrence

Mark Lawrence Appointed to the German Academy of Science and Engineering

Mark G. Lawrence, Director of the Research Institute for Sustainability (RIFS) - Helmholtz Centre Potsdam, has been appointed a member of the National Academy of Science and Engineering of Germany (acatech). In a statement on the new appointments, the Academy writes: “Our new members have demonstrated exceptional excellence in their respective disciplines and join the ranks of acatech’s 682 members."
Lithium is the lightest metal on earth. It is not only used in mobile devices such as smartphones and tablets, but increasingly also in electric cars.

First “Planetary Transitions: Potsdam Artist Residency” Fellowship awarded

Among the mineral resources needed to achieve a global energy transition, lithium plays a crucial role. Surging demand for lithium has driven the expansion of mining operations, raising questions about the sustainability of this transformation. Artistic researchers Sam Spurr and Eduardo Kairuz will explore these apparent contradictions as part of a new fellowship programme launched by the DAAD, the City of Potsdam and the Research Institute for Sustainability – Helmholtz Centre Potsdam (RIFS).
Thorben Windirsch

Protecting Arctic Permafrost with Reindeer

One third of global soil carbon is located in the permafrost regions of the Arctic, which cover 22 per cent of the Northern Hemisphere. Keeping soil temperatures low is vital to ensuring that this carbon stays in the ground. RIFS Fellow Torben Windirsch has studied this issue extensively and has shown in several scientific pilot studies that large herbivores helped to sequester carbon in Arctic soils over successive ice ages. As a fellow at the Research Institute for Sustainability (RIFS), he will explore how these findings can be communicated to Arctic communities and stakeholders.
Swaantje Güntzel, Eisbär, 2024, Photo Tobias Hübel

How Normal Is Our Reality?

Perceptions of the Arctic take centre-stage in the recent work of Hamburg-based conceptual artist Swaantje Güntzel, created during her tenure as the resident Art Fellow at the Research Institute for Sustainability - Helmholtz Centre Potsdam. Now several galleries across Germany are showcasing Güntzel’s art, including works from previous years.
Plenary session Brandenburg Sustainability Platform Lake Seddin

Cooperation, Participation, and Trust Essential to Achieving Sustainability

With a string of elections looming that will see some four billion people worldwide go to the polls in 2024, Brandenburg Sustainability Platform met for its fifth plenary session on the shores of Lake Seddin south of Potsdam. The event attracted over 90 participants, who took part in discussions, workshops and a so-called “market of opportunities”, with a further 50 people following online.
CityScienceLab Hamburg Fischköpfe

07.12.2023

Bridging the Gap? CityScienceLab Hamburg: An experimental field for cooperation between art and science

New ways of collaborating with artists are being trialled at the CityScienceLab in Hamburg. But what goals do artists and scientists pursue when they cooperate? RIFS researcher Teresa Erbach is studying the role of art and culture in transformation processes and evaluated a cooperation programme at HafenCity University Hamburg.
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.
International exhibition "Examples to follow! – Expeditions in aesthetics and sustainability"

15.05.2023

Global Explorations in Aesthetics and Sustainability

The international exhibition “Examples to follow! – Expeditions in aesthetics and sustainability” has returned to its initial station in Berlin after 13 years on the road. The exhibition has been shown in Addis Ababa, Lima and Beijing, Mumbai, Sao Paulo, Puebla, Haifa and Jerusalem, as well as in Bonn, Bremen, Essen, and Hamburg.
Lake Templin

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.
Bundeskanzler Olaf Scholz RNE Bundeskanzleramt

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.
Essen Mittag Kantine Selservice lokale Produzenten

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.
Fellow Natalie Koch

The Arabian Peninsula Lacks a Sense of "Environmental Citizenship"

One of the new IASS Fellows this year is Natalie Koch. She is a professor in the Department of Geography and Environment at Syracuse University's Maxwell School of Citizenship and Public Affairs. Koch is currently researching the geopolitics of sustainability and "post-oil" futures in the Arabian Peninsula. In this interview, she discusses her research project and the extent to which the war in Ukraine may be accelerating Europe's transformation to a renewable energy supply.
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.
Citizens’ Assembly berlin

04.02.2022

Berlin Citizens’ Assembly on Climate - Can public participation deliver effective climate action?

If there’s one thing that we can all agree on, it’s the need for greater citizen participation – especially when it comes to protecting the climate. But how can we make participation work?
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.
Kohlekraftwerk und ein Windrad Agrarlandschaft

30.11.2021

Symptom of a Tipping Point Dynamic?

Without a doubt, the COP26’s coal commitment was a major disappointment. The “phase-out” was made a “phase-down”, which is salt in the eyes of many given the massive consequences global warming is already having. However, and many commentators agree on this (Abnett and Volcovici 2021, Jotzo 2021), the resolution does send a clear signal. The writing is on the wall – a new narrative has begun that foresees an end to coal in the medium to long term.
Peoples March in Glasgow

22.11.2021

Reflections, queries and insights from COP26

Are the annual Conference of Parties (COPs) for global agreements on climate change reinforcing a false sense of security?
book "Breaking the Silos for Planetary Health," author Nicole de Paula

A Toolbox for the Recovery of the Planet

Scientific work is not always compatible with the agenda of decision-makers. The book "Breaking the Silos for Planetary Health – a Roadmap for a Resilient Post- pandemic World" aims to build bridges between the communities of health and environment, fundamental players to restructure our societies in the post-Covid era.
Multigenerational family on a beach

New Index Balances Health, Economy, and Climate Risk

The coronavirus pandemic has created enormous social, economic and political challenges worldwide. The demand for immediate action often pushed climate policy ambitions into the background. Scientists from the University of Waterloo (Canada), together with Ortwin Renn from the IASS and Hans Joachim Schellnhuber of PIK have developed a new operational approach that provides guidance to decision-makers seeking to reconcile the demands of competing goals, including effective climate protection.
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.
IASS Institut für Nachhaltigkeitsforschung Potsdam Team

IASS Research Focus and Concept Hit the Mark

The German Council of Science and Humanities (Wissenschaftsrat) has presented and published the findings of its evaluation of the Institute for Advanced Sustainability Studies (IASS) in Potsdam. In its report, the Science Council highlights the scientific and socio-political relevance of the Institute’s research focus and concept as well as its unique role in Germany’s research landscape. According to the report, the IASS has developed an impressive profile as a provider of knowledge-based advice for policymakers and societal actors.
Ortwin Renn IASS Direktorium

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.
World financial system World map Stock market prices

Scenarios for the Global Monetary System

Supply chains collapse, companies are facing bankruptcy, and mass unemployment ensues. Covid-19 has triggered a global financial crisis and is forcing states to develop rescue packages on a scale not seen before. In addition, the crisis has called into question the US dollar's hegemony and could redefine the global monetary system. A team of researchers from the Institute for Advanced Sustainability Studies (IASS) has developed four scenarios that show how political decisions will shape the post-Corona world.
Diskussion Future is now Event Berlin

Together for Future Generations

Just five weeks after the UK formally left the European Union, a shared learning event organised by the IASS and the Welsh Government on 5 March in Berlin showed that the desire for Welsh-German cooperation in the area of sustainability is unwavering. A summary of the day in texts and videos.
Nachhaltigkeit in Unternehmen braucht einheitlichen Berichtsstandard

15.01.2020

Developing uniform sustainability reporting standards

In December 2019, twenty-five experts from Germany, Austria and Switzerland gathered at the IASS in Potsdam to tackle an ambitious project: The development of a common statutory standard based on leading sustainability reporting standards.
Flaggen UNclimatechange - CC BY 2.0

Global Climate Change Conference in Madrid The IASS at COP25

Taking place in Madrid from 2 to 13 December, the 25th United Nations Climate Change Conference (COP 25) will focus on the implementation of the Paris Climate Agreement. The Institute for Advanced Sustainability Studies (IASS) will be represented in Madrid by a number of experts, who will address a range of issues.
sustainability platform Brandenburg

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.
Isolation is not an option for the university town of Görlitz on the Polish border. Despite this, a candidate for the AfD is set to become the town’s next mayor.

06.06.2019

Three opinions on the elections

Election Sunday left me at once elated, uncertain, and angry. Voter turnout has improved, the Greens were the clear winners in many places, and the climate crisis is taking centre-stage at last. At first glance the AfD appears to have lost some of its momentum. But this is only true if one ignores their successes in the former East German states – sadly, that is impossible to do.
Die Spinnerei e.V. ist in der Lausitz tätig und macht Angebote zu Naturbildung und Kultur. Das Team berichtet von regelmäßigen verbalen und in jüngster Zeit auch körperlichen Angriffen.

22.05.2019

Lusatia Goes to the Polls: Civil Society under Threat

Substantial financial assistance is being provided to Germany’s former coal regions to support their socio-economic transformation, but an active civil society will also be crucial to their revitalisation. Grass-roots initiatives in Lusatia are struggling in the face of hostility and a lack of support from local government.
The future starts in the mind. For sustainable development, we need to become more aware of the long-term consequences of our actions.

One Planet, Many Futures

The future has always been an important frame of reference for sustainable development. Indeed, the concept of sustainability emerged from the realisation that we need to use our planet’s resources sparingly in the interests of future generations. Many different people are working on ideas and solutions for the future and taking steps towards their implementation. But who are they? What steps are they taking? And what kind of futures do they want to bring about? These are the questions addressed by a special feature of the journal Sustainability Science.
Zimbabwe-after-cyclone_Idai_Copyright_Ashraf_Hendricks_GroundUp

Most Affected, Least Heard

It seems reasonable to expect that the people who suffer most from the impacts of climate change are represented in the international climate negotiations. Patrick Toussaint, a researcher at the Institute for Advanced Sustainability Studies (IASS), has analysed the status quo from the perspective of international law. He concludes that those who currently bear the brunt of climate change – or will do so in the foreseeable future – have little or no influence on the negotiations.
Senior Fellow Michael Palmer

Governance for Future Generations

In recent months young people across the world have been going on strike on Fridays to protest about their governments’ failure to adequately address the climate crisis. In their view, lack of political action to protect the climate is putting their future in jeopardy. But Wales is leading by example here with a law passed in 2015 that echoes the demands of the Fridays for Future protesters: the Well-being for Future Generations Act. It requires public authorities in Wales to consider the long-term effects of their decisions and make sustainable development a touchstone for policymaking.
Activists from Germany and South America came together at the IASS to share their experiences campaigning against fossil fuel infrastructure.

04.04.2019

Natural resource exploitation in Germany and South America: Activists share their experiences of resistance and transformation

Today, emerging visions of a better society are forged in practical experience and experimentation. The contexts, approaches, and methods employed by activists differ radically from one experiment to the next. As researchers with the IASS project Politicizing the Future, we were keen to facilitate exchange on the subject of societal visions among activists from very different contexts and to see what could be learnt from their experiences for the development of more sustainable societies.
The log and the flame: what fire can teach us about the transformation towards sustainability

15.05.2018

The log and the flame: what fire can teach us about the transformation towards sustainability

The “Green Me Global Festival for Sustainability” is an annual event hosted at different locations around the world. Recent iterations of the festival have explored the elements earth, water and air across film screenings, discussions, and other initiatives. Researchers from the IASS have contributed to a number of these events over the years. The eleventh GreenMe Festival will take place in Berlin later this year under the motto “Action, Passion, Fire”. This prompted me to explore the themes of fire and sustainability in a dinner speech at a recent function to which sponsors and supporters of the festival were invited in early May. The following essay draws upon my comments there.
IASS Thinking Space

Intelligent Robots, Sustainability, and the Crisis of Democracy: What Kind of Working World Will the Future Bring?

Digitalisation and globalisation are fundamentally changing the working world. International experts discussed the consequences at the “Thinking Space on the Future of Gainful Employment” held at the IASS on 30 November and 1 December.
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