Research Institute for Sustainability Helmholtz Centre Potsdam

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
Democratic Transformations
© iStockphoto/ Orbon Alija

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

“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

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

The transformation of rural areas is one of the focal points of Brandenburg's sustainability policy.

Brandenburg Sustainability Platform and Sustainability Council

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

Democratic Governance and Agency

The new planetary challenges of our time are highly complex. New and effective forms of democratic governance for civil society, states, and markets are needed.

Ecopolitics and Just Transformations

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

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

Digitalisation and Sustainability Transformations

How do we achieve a transformation towards more sustainable lifestyles?

Transforming Consumption and Provisioning

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

The TELUX Socio-Cultural Centre (SKZ) in Weißwasser, 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.
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.
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.
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.
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).
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.
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.
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.
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].
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.
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.
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.
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 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 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.
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.
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.
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...
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