Research Institute for
Sustainability | at GFZ

RIFS conducts research with the goal of understanding, advancing, and guiding processes of societal change towards sustainable development.

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Many people in Germany feel that society is becoming increasingly polarised. But is that really the case?
© istock/wildpixel

Committed to Democracy: Why Neutrality Is Not the Answer to Polarisation
Blog post by Julia Plessing
Janina Janke
© RIFS@GFZ/ S. Letz

Space as an Arena for Interaction – From the Theatre to Transformation Research
Interview with Fellow Janina Janke
Lighthouse Bass Rock island with nesting Northern Gannets
© RIFS@GFZ/ B. Neumann

Handbook on Conservation and the Sustainable Use of the Ocean
A book published by Barbara Neumann, Daniela Diz, and Ben Boteler
Financial participation can play a crucial role in the local energy transition. Clear rules are key to its success.
© istock/visualspace

Community Financial Participation in the Energy Transition
Blog post by Luisa Schröder, Tobias Haas, Benita Ebersbach and Franziska Mey
Hydrogen Europe Germany Study Brief
© Shutterstock/ FOTOGRIN

Planning for Hydrogen Under Geopolitical Uncertainty
Study in "Nature Reviews Clean Technology"

In brief

Research on Zoonotic Infections

A RIFS team is participating in the collaborative project “ONEMuc – Respiratory Mucus as a One Health Interface”. Research is being conducted into the function of the mucus layer in the respiratory tract as a natural protective barrier against viral infections. The aim is to develop strategies for the prevention and risk assessment of future pandemics.

How Sustainability Is Studied

RIFS Scientist Marianne Bartels has co-authored chapter 13 “Science and Sustainable Development” in the new open-access book "Rethinking Sustainability: Principles and Practice" together with colleagues from the University of St Andrews, Royal Botanic Gardens, Kew, and University of Bonn. Bartels’ analysis highlights how Arctic oil and gas resource estimates are produced from significant uncertainty but are often communicated as precise.

Dossiers

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Prototyp eines supraleitenden Stromkabels.

Superconductivity

In the coming decades, the development of renewable energy sources (RES) such as wind and solar will play a major role in reducing our reliance on fossil fuels and making our energy system more sustainable. But the places where RES are available or would be most efficient are often located far away from the densely populated and industrial areas where the energy is needed: on the open sea in the case of offshore wind and in sunnier climes in the case of solar. This means that the construction of new power lines needs to go hand in hand with RES development. In Germany for instance, expanding the electrical grid has become a crucial precondition for the success of the Energiewende.
The ocean is full of plastic waste.

Protecting the Marine Environment: An International Treaty on Plastic Pollution

Marine plastic pollution poses a threat to the marine environment, affecting both human and ocean health. A global treaty is currently being negotiated under the auspices of the United Nations Environment Assembly (UNEA) to provide a comprehensive global legal framework addressing plastic pollution, including in the marine environment. Scientists within the Ocean Governance research group at RIFS are closely following the negotiation processes and exploring the role of the future treaty in ocean governance.
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.
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.
Justice in Sustainability is the RIFS focal topic for 2022/23.

Justice in Sustainability

The issue of justice is increasingly playing a greater role in the transformation towards sustainability. Calls to improve justice outcomes touch on a variety of issues, in particular the distribution of the costs and benefits of transformations as well as the burdens of climate change and environmental degradation. Other claims target procedural aspects: Who should have access to decision-making about transformation towards sustainability? A third set of justice claims focuses on recognition: Which groups are or should be recognized as rights-holders or as affected or especially vulnerable populations?
Tsunami - iStockphoto - estt

Systemic Risks

Modern societies are vulnerable to “systemic risks” such as pandemics, financial crises, or climate change. Due to their complex and interconnected nature, systemic risks pose a particular challenge to conventional approaches to risk analysis and management. The research group on systemic risks at RIFS analyses risks and opportunities around transformation processes for sustainable development and, in a second step, develops policy recommendations for the governance of systemic risks.
What will the future hold for young Brazilians? Their country is facing considerable social and environmental challenges.

Brazil: Strengthening Resilience in Times of Crisis

With 200 million citizens of diverse ethnicities, Brazil is the largest and most populous nation in Latin America. Brazil is also home to most of the world’s largest rainforest: the Amazon. The Brazilian economy is the ninth-largest in the world but has languished in recent years. A group of researchers at RIFS is casting a spotlight on sustainable development and democratic change in Brazil.
The loss of marine biodiversity is weakening the ocean ecosystem. A new UN treaty may help to protect it.

Biodiversity: UN Agreement for the Protection of the Ocean

Fishing, shipping, pollution and climate change pose a threat to the high seas. An international UN Agreement, adopted in March 2023, will provide the legal framework for states to take action and protect marine biodiversity. In the Ocean Governance Group, scientists at RIFS are researching the impacts of ocean policies and developing recommendations.
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.
The global ocean circulation system and the circulation system of the atmosphere are changing due to global warming. This NASA illustration shows a complex pattern of large and minor surface currents.

Climate Engineering

While there is still hope that risks from climate change can be limited by cutting greenhouse gas emissions, there is also a perception that ‘time is running out’. This perception of a looming watershed has given rise to calls for research on intentional, large-scale interventions into the climate system, referred to as either ‘climate engineering’ or ‘geoengineering’.
Zugang zu bezahlbarer, verlässlicher, nachhaltiger und zeitgemäßer Energie für alle ist eines der UN-Nachhaltigkeitsziele.

The Sustainable Development Goals (SDGs)

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.
Der Chemiekonzern Bayer stellt bereits Produkte aus CO2 her.

CO₂: From Waste to Feedstock

Economic activities and consumer behaviour in developed countries are currently based mainly on the use of fossil-based raw materials, and their emissions are largely responsible for anthropogenic climate change. In efforts to reduce human effects on the climate, the avoidance of carbon dioxide (CO2) emissions is and remains the most important measure. But high CO2 emissions go hand in hand with a demand for carbon in the form of many of the goods that we need on a daily basis, for example for the production of plastics or fuels. Can it therefore make sense to consider the greenhouse gas carbon dioxide (CO2) as a source of carbon? Since the 1970s, scientists have been researching carbon capture and utilization (CCU) technologies. The aim of these technologies is to re-cycle the CO2 contained in emissions as a feedstock for industrial processes. This captured CO2 could replace fossil-based carbon as a component of materials and energy carriers, thereby creating a carbon cycle.