More and more citizens are joining forces to generate their own energy locally. The coalition agreement between the parties CDU/CSU and SPD reinforces this commitment: they want consumers to play an active role in shaping the energy transition – for example through community energy, tenant electricity or energy sharing. Researchers from the IÖW and the Leuphana University of Lüneburg show in a policy paper what obstacles community energy still faces and how these can be removed. more

Berlin must make its heat supply climate-neutral – as stipulated in the Heat Planning Act. Heat storage systems play a central role in this. This is shown by a joint study conducted by the Reiner Lemoine Institute (RLI), the IÖW and the Institute for Climate Protection, Energy and Mobility (IKEM) on behalf of the Berlin Senate Department for Mobility, Transport, Climate Protection and the Environment (SenMVKU). Conclusion: Heat storage systems make it possible to use surplus heat, become less dependent on fossil fuels and reduce the load on the electricity grid. more

“We let the change in!” - is the motto of the Lab on the first floor of the Institute for Ecological Economy Research (IÖW). Associations and initiatives can use the rooms for work meetings, workshops and exchanges with researchers. This allows us to try out new forms of transdisciplinary collaboration and support employees, students, alumni and groups from the institute's network in their voluntary work. Free spaces are now available again. more

On foot, by bike, with a walking frame or pram, in a wheelchair, by car or public transport: a city's mobility is as diverse as its inhabitants. How can the city of Berlin better meet these different needs? A citizen science study will be launched in April 2025. Freie Universität Berlin and the Institute for Ecological Economy Research (IÖW) are inviting people to take part in the study under the motto “Be Mobile in Your Own Way”. The aim is to find out what barriers exist for people who want to move around the city in a healthy way. Registration for the study is open until the 1st of April 2025. more

Community-supported agriculture and social enterprises are alternatives to traditional economic structures – they value solidarity, cooperation, democracy, and community. The focus of the new issue “Ökologisches Wirtschaften” shows where impulses for a sustainable transformation of the economy can be found. “Instead of certification systems that are made available to companies and instead of new legal forms for companies, we focus on the less noticed and in some cases even less widespread concepts that socio-ecologically motivated actors from civil society are trying out to shape alternative forms of organization,” says Christian Lautermann, head of research field at IÖW, in the introduction to the focus topic. more

Swappable battery systems are hardly widespread in Germany. Could they push electromobility in this country? Researchers from the Institute for Ecological Economy Research (IÖW) and RWTH Aachen University have carried out a well-founded comparative analysis for the first time. The conclusion: swappable batteries can be more resource-efficient than fully integrated batteries and increase user acceptance of e-mobility, but their establishment requires high initial investment and the standardization of various components. The study, funded by the German Federal Ministry for Economic Affairs and Climate Action (BMWK), systematically compared economic and ecological factors. more

To accelerate the expansion of wind turbines, several European countries have tried to streamline their planning and implementation processes in recent years. However, progress is frequently hindered by conflicts of interest and competing objectives between wind energy stakeholders, highlighting underlying issues of justice. In a paper, the JustWind4All project team developed a nuanced understanding of the notions of acceleration and justice in energy transitions. The researchers from the IÖW and the Dutch Research Institute for Transitions BV (DRIFT) developed a heuristic that can be used by research and energy policy to make temporal and spatial justice issues visible and understandable to enable an energy transition that is both just and accelerated. more

In October 2024, the international community will come together at the Convention on Biodiversity (COP 16) in Colombia to agree on further measures to protect global biodiversity. A healthy, plant-based diet is key to halting the loss of biodiversity. Measures for a biodiversity-friendly food system are therefore recommended by the Institute for Ecological Economy Research together with authors from other sustainability organizations in a recent policy brief. more

Thousands of citizens are committed to the energy transition locally. They are part of energy communities and invest in locally generated renewable energy. In a recent policy paper, researchers from the Institute for Ecological Economy Research, Leuphana University Lüneburg and the Ecolog Institute demonstrate the high relevance of the energy transition from the bottom up and point out that the potential is much greater than has been exploited to date. more

The steering group and board of the Sustainability Transitions Research Network (STRN) has elected Dr. Florian Kern as the network’s new chair. Dr. Kern will take over from Dr. Jochen Markard as of 20th of June. Today, the change was announced to the STRN community at the 15th International Sustainability Transitions Conference. Dr. Florian Kern has been a member of the STRN steering group since 2016. He is head of the research field “Ecological Economics and Environmental Policy” at the Institute for Ecological Economy Research (IÖW) in Berlin. more