The field of economics is once more under fire: too little research is being devoted to the development of sustainable, feasible solutions to the problems of climate change, financial crises, and social and economic structural change; in the wake of the recent financial crisis, a fundamental reform of the teaching of economics is still pending. In order to improve this situation, the conference “Economic Sciences and Social-Ecological Transformation” was attended on 6 November 2017 by approximately 200 participants from various research fields and areas of interest that included economics, the social and sustainability sciences, and representatives of civil society, business, and public policy. They debated how scientists in the fields of economics and business could better contribute to a sustainable transformation of society. more

How vulnerable are we to the consequences of climate change? To find systematic answers to this question, scientists developed new research methods: climate impact and vulnerability assessments. It was less than two years ago, when the first nation-wide and cross-sectoral study “Germany’s Vulnerability to Climate Change” was published. For this study an encompassing methodological approach with participation of scientists and authorities was developed. more

Sufficiency means more with less, the goal is to reduce resource consumption in order to reach a Good Life. Yet, this aim is far from being fulfilled and sustainable and sufficient lifestyles face many obstacles. The Sufficiency Politics Map is an online tool supporting actors of change, ranging from civil society, politics to businesses, who wish to promote sufficiency. It intends to support them to find their way through the complexities of sufficiency policy, to communicate successfully and, above all, engage them to act politically. The map was developed by Angelika Zahrnt and Dominik Zahrt in cooperation with the IÖW and was published on the Blog Postwachstum as a contribution to the 5th International Degrowth Conference in Budapest. more

To become climate-neutral until 2050 – This is the main objective of the Berlin Energy and Climate Protection Program (BEK), passed in June 2016 by the Berlin Senate. Ambitious, but achievable, according to the brochure "Climate-Neutral Berlin 2050", which was now published in German and English. It was developed by the IÖW on behalf of the Berlin Senate Department for Urban Development and provides an overview of the final BEK report. The measures, generated with great participation of public actors, reveal how Berlin can save more energy, reduce CO2 and reach climate-neutrality until 2050. Less energy consumption and more energy from renewable energy sources are key factors. more

Recent technological changes as well as social and organizational innovations have spurred a broad transformation of dominant means and ends for value creation. A fundamental transition has begun: from big, centralized factories to far more decentralized places of production. New forms of value creation emerge due to “disruptive elements” such as “FabLabs”, “Maker-” or “hackerspaces”. Those new labs have technologically advanced profiles, allow individuals access to production technologies and are accompanied by digital ideas of Open Source Hardware or Open Innovation. more

The Institute for Ecological Economy Research is in the top group of climate-think-tanks in a ranking of the International Center for Climate Governance (ICCG). The Venice-based research center analyzed 244 non-university institutes in the fields of climate politics and economics of climate change. The ranking, which is based on 15 different indicators, has been conducted for the third time since 2012. more

The aim of the study is to demonstrate what a climate-friendly and socially responsible road map for transition for Vattenfall’s phaseout of lignite in Germany by 2030 could look like. To this end, the report first outlined a road map for the phaseout of lignite and compared its (regional) economic advantages and disadvantages. Then, to ensure a socially responsible phaseout, and in particular to provide for the loss of jobs, an alternative road map was drafted that showed how this loss of jobs could be compensated by the expansion of renewable energies, at least in terms of numbers. more

The implementation of sustainable consumption presents one of the greatest challenges of our era. Consumption is a wanted and necessary phenomenon, integral to our society and economy, yet our way of consuming contradicts important ecological and social long-term goals. Although research on sustainable consumption has gained in importance and been addressed by various disciplines, the new Handbook of Research on Sustainable Consumption is one of the few to compile and summarize the important research findings. more

The journal Evidence & Policy invites contributions to a special issue on "Advancing evidence-based sustainable development policies: new approaches addressing the science-policy interface. Guest editors are André Martinuzzi, Institute for Managing Sustainability at WU Wien and IÖW scientist Gerd Scholl. Deadline for Submission of abstracts is April 1st, 2015. more

Do you remember what was happening back in 1985? Scientists report a hole in the ozone layer. The Brundtland Commission is working on the report ‘Our Common Future’. The French secret service sinks the Greenpeace ship Rainbow Warrior I. ‘Sustainable’ is still a technical term used in forestry. Little consideration is given to CO2 emissions and climate change. That year, on 30 May, a dedicated group of progressive thinkers in the field of environmental research planted a seed in the Berlin soil that would grow and grow: they founded the Institute for Ecological Economy Research. more