Citizens’ Assembly berlin In its coalition agreement, the new Berlin state government promised that citizens' committees would be increasingly used as participation instruments at the state and district levels. AdobeStock/vegefox
Can public participation deliver effective climate action?
Blog post by Clara Mewes, Charlotte Unger & Daniel Oppold
European Union, 2020 European Union, 2020
The "REAL_DEAL" for Europe's Citizens
New IASS project will reshape active participation in the European Green Deal
Louis Kotzé Louis Kotzé, Klaus Töpfer Sustainability Fellow 2022 IASS
Planetary Climate Litigation for the Anthropocene?
Lecture by Louis Kotzé
Air quality modelling Air quality modelling IASS/Rolf Schulten
Research and Dialogue for Sustainable Societies
What we stand for

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What we work on

Transformative Sustainability Research

The Institute for Advanced Sustainability Studies (IASS) conducts research with the goal of understanding, advancing, and guiding processes of societal change towards sustainable development. Our researchers collaborate with diverse actors from science, policymaking and public administration as well as business and civil society to develop a common understanding of sustainability challenges and generate potential solutions. The Institute pursues a research approach that is transformative, transdisciplinary, and co-creative.

About us

In brief

Energy modelling can support the European Green Deal

How can we achieve a climate-neutral energy system in Europe? IASS-Researcher Diana Süsser explores how energy modelling can enable informed decision-making for the energy transition.

Performance and Album Release

With her album "This Land is Not Mine", IASS Art Fellow Kat Austen pays homage to a landscape ravaged by open cast mining: Lusatia, at the German-Polish border. Watch her perform on 27th January, 8 pm, in Berlin or via live stream

News

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Many people would like to use less plastic but struggle to overcome barriers to change.
IASS Policy Brief

Strategic Policies to Reduce Plastic Waste

Many people would like to reduce their consumption of plastic packaging, but face barriers such as the limited availability of unpackaged goods and scarcity of zero-waste stores. An IASS Policy Brief presents three strategic policy recommendations that could help reduce the consumption of packaging in everyday life.

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Solar power is booming across the globe.
IASS Policy Brief

Integrating International Quality Standards in Solar Auctions

Solar power is booming across the globe, and public auctions have become the dominant policy tool for deployment. But a lack of solar-specific experience and capacity in newly adopting countries can result in technical failures and lower solar plant performance. International quality standards used as technical requirements in the design of public auctions could offer a solution. An IASS Policy Brief outlines the potential benefits and challenges.

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Constructive collaboration between science and business can unlock potentials for sustainability transformations that enjoy broad support.
Publication

“Transdisciplinary research” – what does that mean?

The wicked problems of the Anthropocene present major challenges to traditional scientific methods. Transdisciplinary research is a way to overcome these challenges as it involves both non-academic societal actors and academics from various disciplines. Despite its increasing popularity, the transdisciplinary approach still has not quite caught on everywhere – and it is often misunderstood. A publication from the Institute for Advanced Sustainability Studies (IASS) summarises definitions and characteristics of transdisciplinary research and outlines an exemplary three-phase model that transdisciplinary teams can use to carry out their research successfully.

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A footbridge over the Western Neisse connects Görlitz on the German side and Zgorzelec on the Polish side.
IASS Policy Brief

European Funding for Sustainable Structural Transformations in Cross-Border Regions

Profound structural transformations are unfolding in Lusatia and many other regions of Europe as part of a broader shift towards sustainable development. Various European funding programmes,including programmes under the European Green Deal and national support schemes, have been adopted to cushion the impacts of the reduction and phase-out of coal-fired power generation.

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Dossiers

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Felder, Wälder, Windräder: eine Landschaft in Brandenburg.

Sustainability in Brandenburg Dossier

Brandenburg is facing major sustainability challenges, such as agrarian transformation, energy transformation, mobility transformation, transformation of Lusatia, adaptation to climate change, promotion of rural areas, revitalisation of the economy after the Corona pandemic, and water supply and water protection. As a Potsdam institute, the IASS is actively involved in sustainability work in Brandenburg.

Tsunami - iStockphoto - estt

Systemic Risks Dossier

Modern societies are vulnerable to “systemic risks” such as pandemics, financial crises, or climate change. Due to their complex and interconnected nature, systemic risks pose a particular challenge to conventional approaches to risk analysis and management. The research group on systemic risks at the IASS analyses risks and opportunities around transformation processes for sustainable development and, in a second step, develops policy recommendations for the governance of systemic risks.

Zugang zu bezahlbarer, verlässlicher, nachhaltiger und zeitgemäßer Energie für alle ist eines der UN-Nachhaltigkeitsziele.
IASS Research on the 2030 Agenda for Sustainable Development

The Sustainable Development Goals (SDGs) Dossier

By endorsing the 2030 Agenda for Sustainable Development, the international community signalled its commitment to tackling global challenges through cooperation. The Agenda provides a blueprint for reconciling economic growth with social justice and environmental sustainability.

What will the future hold for young Brazilians? Their country is facing considerable social and environmental challenges.

Brazil: Strengthening Resilience in Times of Crisis Dossier

With 200 million citizens of diverse ethnicities, Brazil is the largest and most populous nation in Latin America. Brazil is also home to most of the world’s largest rainforest: the Amazon. The Brazilian economy is the ninth-largest in the world but has languished in recent years. A group of researchers at the IASS is casting a spotlight on sustainable development and democratic change in Brazil.