Headline: Climate & Air Quality

The transport sector is a major contributor to environmental degradation, including air and noise pollution, damage to ecosystems and human health. To monitor air and noise pollution and generate data that will aid in assessing their health impacts related to it, the new research project Net4Cities will develop research infrastructure in eleven European cities in ten countries. This research and infrastructure will support efforts to implement the Zero Pollution Action Plan as part of the European Green Deal. The project is coordinated by the Research Institute for Sustainability (RIFS) in Potsdam.

Cities in the Global South are particularly vulnerable to the impacts of global warming. Rising temperatures are worsening the effects of ozone pollution, for example. Like many other cities in the Global South, Santiago de Chile is highly segregated along socio-economic lines. RIFS scientist Tabish Ansari and a team of researchers have examined and compared the effects of heatwaves and ozone episodes in different areas of the city.

The annual Potsdam Science Day will take place on 6 May from 1.00 p.m. through to 7.00 p.m. at the University of Potsdam’s Griebnitzsee Campus. The Research Institute for Sustainability (RIFS) will be attending with a booth focussed on the energy and transport transitions and the findings of a nationwide survey on these two crucial transformations.

Achieving the goals of the Paris Climate Agreement will require the combined efforts of states and companies around the world. How can developing countries achieve carbon neutrality and boost their resilience while pursuing economic growth and improved living standards? A study by the Research Institute for Sustainability (RIFS) draws on the example of Nepal to analyse the benefits of a net-zero emissions strategy.

COP27 in Sharm El-Sheikh, Egypt from 6 to 18 November 2022 will see the international community come together to agree on further action towards achieving the climate goals agreed under the Paris Agreement. IASS researchers will attend and participate in the COP27 with various contributions relating to the core issues and the consequences of the conference outcomes.

A new study by an international team of researchers finds that the atmosphere is a significant source of plastic pollution in water bodies.

On the overarching theme of "Towards a Sustainable Transformation - Climate, Energy and Nature in a Changing World," the Potsdam Summer School 2022 will continue as a transdisciplinary and interactive series of events from 22d till 31 of August.

The European Green Deal plays a crucial role in the EU’s efforts to achieve its ambitious climate policy goals. By implementing a carbon border adjustment mechanism that will impose levies on imports, the EU hopes to prevent companies from relocating their activities to countries with less ambitious climate policies. Which countries are exposed to greater economic risks as a result? What makes them particularly vulnerable? And how can the EU help them to protect the climate? IASS researchers have tackled these issues in a new study.

Germany’s first national Citizens' Assembly on Climate has agreed on over 80 recommendations for climate policy, addressing mobility, construction, heating, food systems, and energy. The assembly was accompanied and supported by a panel of experts, led by Professor Ortwin Renn of the Institute for Advanced Sustainability Studies (IASS) in Potsdam.

Can expert commissions develop solutions for controversial issues that will enjoy broad democratic support? A team of researchers from the Institute for Advanced Sustainability Studies (IASS) has analysed the work of Germany’s “Coal Exit Commission” using a set of new criteria. While the authors view positively the Commission’s success in reaching a compromise, they criticise its failure to deliver an outcome that promotes the common good, particularly with respect to the high cost of the coal exit and its unambitious contribution towards Germany’s climate goals, as well as the lack of public participation.

A partial transition of German road transport to hydrogen energy is among the possibilities being discussed to help meet national climate targets. A team of researchers from the Institute for Advanced Sustainability Studies (IASS) has examined the hypothetical transition to a hydrogen-powered transport sector through several scenarios. Their conclusion: A shift towards hydrogen-powered mobility could significantly reduce greenhouse gas emissions and greatly improve air quality - in particular, heavy duty vehicles represent a low-hanging fruit for decarbonization of road transport.

The threat posed by ozone to human health and vegetation continues to be a matter of concern for German politicians, scientists, and the general public. Participants in a workshop organised by the Institute for Advanced Sustainability Studies (IASS) and the German Environment Agency (UBA) analysed the current state of knowledge on ozone and identified areas where more action is required. The resulting publication contains a catalogue of recommendations for tackling the ozone problem.

Taking place in Madrid from 2 to 13 December, the 25th United Nations Climate Change Conference (COP 25) will focus on the implementation of the Paris Climate Agreement. The Institute for Advanced Sustainability Studies (IASS) will be represented in Madrid by a number of experts, who will address a range of issues.

From 23 – 25 September 2019, heads of government from around the world will convene at the United Nations’ General Assembly to discuss efforts to advance climate action and global sustainable development. The summit aims to boost national ambitions to achieve the objectives of the Paris Agreement and will review the implementation of measures relating to the Sustainable Development Goals. The relationship between air pollution and climate change plays an important role in this context, and is the subject of a new IASS Policy Brief titled “A Practical Approach to Integrating Climate and Air Quality Policy”.

As well as helping to make sustainable mobility more visible, the STADTRADELN campaign exposes the weak links in Potsdam’s cycling infrastructure. As an online IASS survey reveals, the campaign only managed to convert a few people to cycling: nearly all of the participants were already regular bike-users.

To avert devastating climate change impacts, we need to make dramatic lifestyle changes. Lance Bennett, Professor of Political Science and Communication at the University of Washington and currently IASS Senior Fellow, explains how better communication can help us succeed in changing course.

David Dunetz has worked for 20 years at the Heschel Center for Sustainability in Tel Aviv, which leads the Israel Climate Forum, a consortium of civil society organizations. As a Visiting Research Fellow at the IASS Potsdam on a joint program with the Israel Public Policy Institute, he is currently researching how civic engagement and participation processes can advance climate policy and democratic innovation.

Natural gas releases fewer harmful air pollutants and greenhouse gases than other fossil fuels. That’s why it is often seen as a bridge technology to a low-carbon future. A new study by the Institute for Advanced Sustainability Studies (IASS) has estimated emissions from shale gas production through fracking in Germany and the UK. It shows that CO2-eq. emissions would exceed the estimated current emissions from conventional gas production in Germany.

Germany’s Ministry of the Environment (BMU) and Ministry of Education and Research (BMBF) have appointed IASS Director Ortwin Renn to the steering committee of the scientific platform for the German Climate Action Plan 2050. The committee, which is composed of up to ten renowned scientists and academics, is tasked with helping the German federal government advance and implement its long-term climate strategy.

Many different technologies already exist for converting the greenhouse gas carbon dioxide (CO2) into products like construction materials and chemicals. But which of them can make a real contribution to climate protection? A new study commissioned by the European Commission provides answers.

In our daily lives we tend to hurry past construction sites. But the fence surrounding a major building site on Friedrich-Ebert-Straße in Potsdam has been attracting attention following the launch of a hugely interesting open-air exhibition on Saturday, 19 January. The exhibition showcases the range of research projects based in the city and explores its diverse research landscape.

The 24th UN Climate Change Conference (COP24) is due to take place in the Polish city of Katowice from 2 to 14 December. At this year’s COP, minds will focus on concrete steps towards implementing the Paris Climate Agreement. A whole host of experts from the Institute for Advanced Sustainability Studies (IASS) will be there. At the international symposium on “Safeguarding Our Climate, Advancing Our Society”, IASS Scientific Director Patrizia Nanz will speak about the role democratic structures can play in the shift to sustainability. And IASS Scientific Director Mark Lawrence will represent the institute at the High Level Assembly of the Climate and Clean Air Coalition on the margins of the conference.

The cost advantage of diesel has caused the number of newly registered diesel cars to sky-rocket over the last twenty years. Scientists have now calculated the exact effects of this “diesel boom”: In a new study published in the journal “Atmospheric Environment” they show that the diesel boom in Europe has failed to benefit the climate.

The City of Potsdam has set itself an ambitious climate protection goal: It wants to reduce its CO2 emissions to practically zero by the year 2050. A new long-term partnership between the city and Potsdam-based research institutes is intended to pave the way for this.

Due to excessive air pollution, in July 2017 the City of Potsdam reallocated space on the very busy Zeppelinstraße in an attempt to reduce car traffic and encourage people to walk, cycle and use public transport. While they welcome the fact that this measure has made cycling safer, participants in an online survey conducted by the IASS are critical of other effects, claiming that life has become more difficult for commuters, and air and noise pollution have only been reduced in a small area – to the detriment of side streets.

Diesel cars are the main source of nitrogen oxide (NOx) emissions in urban areas, an increasingly pressing problem that some German cities are seeking to solve by imposing diesel bans. But that won’t be enough. A new IASS Policy Brief makes recommendations to policymakers on how to deal with diesel emissions.

In order to avert the worst consequences of climate change, the Paris Climate Agreement aims to limit global warming to well below 2°C and, if possible, to 1.5°C. But this goal will only be achieved if the signatory states reduce their emissions considerably more than they have pledged so far under the agreement. Could climate geoengineering be a Plan B if they fail to deliver? A team of authors led by IASS Scientific Director Mark Lawrence argue in an article just published in Nature Communications that the proposed technologies cannot be relied on to rescue the Paris Agreement and the 2°C goal.

What can Buddhism contribute to the current debate on climate engineering? A recent article in the Journal for the Study of Religion, Nature and Culture explores this question.

New study shows how air pollution can be calculated more accurately.

Study co-authored by IASS scientists recommends more transdisciplinary research on the interconnections between climate engineering and sustainable development.

The CITY CYCLING campaign encourages local politicians and citizens to choose cycling as a climate-friendly means of transportation between 1 May and 30 September. Researchers from the IASS are conducting a survey to learn more about participants’ interactions with cycling infrastructure and what it would take to encourage them to cycle more frequently. These findings will be used subsequently in the development of policy recommendations.

The Earth’s surface is the foundation of all human activity. Geological, biological and climatic dynamics like the carbon cycle, soil formation, and climate and ocean currents form a complex web of connected processes, whose interactions are not yet fully understood. The fifth Potsdam Summer School from 10 to 19 September 2018 is devoted to “The Skin of our Planet – the Earth’s Surface System”.

The Governor of Brandenburg and members of the state government came to the IASS on 12 December to discuss energy policy and climate protection. Together with the directors of the IASS and the Potsdam Institute for Climate Impact Research (PIK), they explored the idea of a Future Commission to ensure that Brandenburg’s energy transition is socially responsible and economically sustainable.

Despite extensive efforts among members of the international community and the historical agreement reached in Paris in 2015, greenhouse gases continue to be emitted in vast amounts, with potentially devastating consequences around the world.

Despite the diplomatic success achieved by the international community with the Paris ...

At present, the EU limit values for nitrogen dioxide (NO2) concentrations are regularly ...