Headline: News 2022

Around 30 Fellows come to the IASS each year to conduct research on sustainability issues alongside our scientists. The Institute offers Fellows the opportunity to pursue innovative ideas in a transdisciplinary environment. The IASS is fielding applications for Fellowships beginning in the coming year through to 31 July 2022.

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.

The conservation and sustainable use of biodiversity in areas beyond national jurisdiction (ABNJ) is a shared responsibility of all nations. But current regulations and policies are ineffective to address comprehensive marine environmental protection. Over its five-year duration, the STRONG High Seas project (‘Strengthening Regional Ocean Governance for the High Seas’) has advanced the development of integrated approaches for ABNJ in the Southeast Atlantic and Southeast Pacific.

Mangrove forests, seagrass beds and salt marshes, macroalgae and marine sediments: All of these marine ecosystems can store atmospheric CO2 in their biomass and sediments. In an IASS study, researchers present recommendations for Germany to better address this aspect of the ocean-climate-nexus in national environmental policy.

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.

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.

A new study by an international team of researchers finds that the atmosphere is a significant source of plastic pollution in water bodies.

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

Metals such as cobalt and lithium play a vital role in the energy transition and are used in the manufacturing of solar panels, wind turbines, and electric vehicles. However, the mining of these raw materials is environmentally harmful, working conditions are often hazardous, and local communities are frequently excluded from the planning and operation of mines. In a new article, an international research team led by IASS Scientific Director Ortwin Renn describes how current mining practices could be improved and the sourcing and management of metals better aligned with the goals of sustainable development.