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Experts from politics, business, science and civil society can and should be involved in efforts to identify, analyse, and reduce risks relating to climate change. Prof. Ortwin Renn outlines the four stages of the risk governance framework developed by the International Risk Council’s (IRGC): from a pre-assessment and appraisal of risks and concerns, through to the evaluation and the implementation of risk governance.

The Marine Regions Forum 2023, held last November in Dar es Salaam, Tanzania, highlighted ways to work together towards a common goal of improved ocean governance at national, regional, and global levels. It brought together ocean actors and experts from the Western Indian Ocean region and from other parts of the world to exchange on pressing ocean issues and explore ways forward. The organisers have now released two publications that offer insights into the discussions and present a set of key messages.

Economic crises can positively affect efforts to protect the climate. However, policymakers must ensure that energy and climate policies are resilient to the pressures that occur in times of crisis. During crises governments are advised to use green economic stimulus packages to support structural change consistent with the goal of deep decarbonisation.

Can the transition to a zero-carbon society in the Global South propel sustainable development? A team led by scientists from the Research Institute for Sustainability (RIFS) has developed the first quantitative approach to measure the extent to which energy transitions in the Global South incorporate elements of energy justice.

Tipping elements of the Earth system should be considered global commons, researchers argue in a new paper published in the renowned journal Proceedings of the National Academy of Sciences (PNAS). Global commons cannot - as they currently do - only include the parts of the planet outside of national borders, like the high seas or Antarctica. They must also include all the environmental systems that regulate the functioning and state of the planet, namely all systems on Earth we all depend on, irrespective on where in the world we live. This calls for a new level of transnational cooperation, leading experts in legal, social and Earth system sciences say. To limit risks for human societies and secure critical Earth system functions they propose a new framework of planetary commons to guide governance of the planet.

The sheer wealth of information and fast pace of modern life can make it difficult for researchers to engage policymakers in dialogue. A new fellowship established at the RIFS offers researchers the opportunity to explore developments in science communication targeting political decision-makers. The fellowship is funded by the Federal Ministry of Education and Research (BMBF) and is part of the #FactoryWisskomm platform established by the BMBF to promote science communication. The inaugural FactoryWisskom Fellow will be Sébastien Vannier of the Centre Marc Bloch, a Franco-German research centre for social sciences and humanities in Berlin, who plans to launch a podcast.

What they see in the sky determines how the people of the Rio Tiquié in the Amazon rainforest deal with their land. Each constellation of stars is associated with certain developments in nature and tasks for humans. Brazilian filmmaker Mariana Lacerda, currently a fellow at the RIFS, wants to understand the indigenous peoples’ "handling of the world" in North-West Brazil and capture it in a film. She is developing the film script in dialogue with collaborators from the Rio Tiquié.

The Sustainability Advisory Board of Brandenburg state has developed a set of recommendations titled “Social cohesion in an open society – Democracy as a way of life” and presented them to the state government on 8 January 2024. The recommendations are based on a policy brief in which the authors recommend an all-of-government approach to address various issues of social justice and public participation as well as the goal of safeguarding quality of life while remaining within planetary boundaries.

There is a growing interest in sustainability among orchestras, ensembles and concert halls in Germany –in terms of reducing their environmental impacts, and in relation to programming, such as creating concert formats that engage with sustainability on a thematic level. Is the classical concert industry contributing to the broader transformation of society towards sustainability? RIFS researchers see room for improvement, finding that many institutions and orchestral musicians are not sufficiently self-critical in their approach to sustainability issues.