According to the Intergovernmental Panel on Climate Change (IPCC), it will be necessary to actively remove greenhouse gases from the atmosphere to effectively limit global warming to a maximum of 1,5 degrees. To this end, [...] More

Which options are there for flood protection in the tidal area of the Elbe in light of the effects of climate change? The TideelbeKlima project aims to identify and analyse conceivable options and to evaluate them [...] More

Education, knowledge transfer and capacity building on climate change impacts and adaptation options are key foundations for building a climate-resilient society, environment and economy. A lack of knowledge and a shortage of [...] More

Many farms and the German agricultural sector as a whole face the challenge of bringing their energy supply and emissions into line with energy and climate targets in the medium and long term. For years, however, emissions [...] More

Natural and near-natural ecosystems, such as intact forests and peatlands, provide a variety of ecosystem services and render high value to society. Determining the economic value of such services is an important prerequisite [...] More

A growing number of international research results show not only that extreme weather events in particular lead to an increase in depression and post-traumatic stress disorders, but also that gradual changes in climatic [...] More

In the German National Bioeconomy Strategy from 2020, the federal government formulated guidelines for a sustainable and bio-based economy that relies on natural material flows. These guidelines offer the Federal State of [...] More

The German government as well as a range of industry stakeholders are putting a major emphasis on the importance of green hydrogen as a pathway to decarbonization, as exemplified by the National Hydrogen Strategy of 2020. The [...] More

The effects of climate change are already visible in the densely populated Stuttgart Region, mainly in form of increasing heat stress and frequent heavy rainfall events. Adaptation to the effects of climate change is a [...] More

The green and digital transformation of the economy, the so-called twin transition, has advanced in recent years to become a central political priority for the future. The digital transformation has the potential to save [...] More

As basis for the Environmental Sector Report 2022 for the state of North-Rhine Westphalia this project is investigating the fundamentals and significance of the environmental sector in NRW. The IÖW is focusing on an [...] More

In the Federal Climate Protection Act, Germany has committed to becoming climate-neutral by 2045. The resulting increase in climate protection efforts increases potential conflicts of interest: although climate protection [...] More

Green roofs or photovoltaics? There currently is a competition of goals for using roof surfaces sustainably: On the one hand, potentials for solar energy should be used as well as possible in order to achieve climate [...] More

Photovoltaic (PV) systems on artificial and heavily modified water bodies can also contribute to achieving the expansion targets for renewable energies. First plants are already in operation on artificial still waters, [...] More

Climate change has arrived in Germany – noticeably and evidently. The blooming period occurs two weeks earlier than several years ago, exceptional heat and drought events are becoming increasingly less exceptional. This [...] More

Climate change is progressing untamed, urgently requiring us to think about adaptive measures in order to cope with its consequences. The increasing frequency and intensity of extreme weather events like heavy rainfall, [...] More

The EU and other regions of the world face tremendous social, economic and environmental challenges. Current production and consumption systems are highly unsustainable, but are deeply embedded in current ways of life, [...] More

The Paris Agreement, which is binding under international law and was adopted at the 21st International Climate Change Conference (COP21) in 2015, has provided a new basis for climate protection policy in all countries. [...] More