Headline: News

Ensuring the successful expansion of wind power will require the broad involvement of citizens. A new IASS Policy Brief offers recommendations for policymakers on how they can rally citizens behind the goals of the energy transition, support public participation at the municipal level, and improve the equity of participation opportunities.

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.

The environment in the Arctic Circle and the Yamal region of Western Siberia is changing rapidly and the outlook for the region’s social, political, economic, and environmental future is clouded in uncertainty. A new IASS Discussion Paper presents the findings of the research project “Yamal 2040: Scenarios for the Russian Arctic”, in which researchers explored different future scenarios in cooperation with local stakeholders.

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.

Ambitious efforts to advance the clean-energy transition are not only good for the climate, but also pay off economically. According to a new study by the IASS, late decarbonizers are likely to face increasing risks to economic stability and industrial competitiveness. Furthermore, uneven decarbonization between countries could foster international tensions in coming years.

The countries that signed up to the Paris Agreement have pledged to limit the global temperature increase to well below 2ºC and, if possible, to below 1.5ºC. A key challenge to achieving this goal lies in pursuing action at both the national and international levels. The problems and opportunities arising around this process are the focus of a new booklet in the series "Information for Civic Education", which was developed with the support of researchers from the Institute for Advanced Sustainability Studies (IASS) in Potsdam.

What does German public opinion say about the clean-energy transition? According to the findings of a recent representative survey, almost 80 percent of Germans see the decarbonization of the energy and transport sectors as a collective responsibility. More than half think the transformation is not occurring with sufficient speed. In addition, most view the transformation as too expensive.

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.

The use of autonomous vehicles is being trialled in cities around the world, with applications ranging from garbage collection to freight forwarding and public transport. Many of these trials examine not just technologies but also the social acceptance of autonomous vehicles. A new study by researchers from the Institute for Advanced Sustainability Studies (IASS) and the Singapore University of Technology and Design (SUTD) looks to Singapore to explore how societies can best support the introduction of autonomous vehicles.