RIFS Blog

I went quagga mussel hunting on Müggelsee, a lake in Berlin, with researcher Jonas Mauch from the IGB (Institute of Freshwater Ecology and Inland Fisheries, Berlin). The quagga is an invasive mussel that is colonising many of Berlin’s freshwater bodies, and seems to be very successfully edging out local mussel species wherever it gains a foothold.

We often discuss climate change as a technical or economic challenge, framed in the language of carbon budgets, technological innovation, regulatory tools, and market efficiencies. These approaches are indeed important, yet they do not explain why societies continue to reproduce harmful, extractive behaviors even when we fully understand their long-term consequences.

Before the RIFS-Conference on December 3 in Berlin, the reIMAGINE Arctic Research group and associated scholars held a workshop entitled “Conversations in Tough Times on Arctic Research” focusing on Academic Extractivism, decolonialization, sustainability and how they relate to each other.

“We need the pessimism of the mind and the optimism of the will.” With this quotation from the Italian philosopher Antonio Gramsci, which can be traced to the French humanist and writer Romain Rolland, Jürgen Trittin concluded his keynote speech. This appeal – to see the world as it is, whilst having the courage to believe it can be better and more sustainable – not only captures the attitude of many transformation scientists gathered at the 2025 RIFS Conference, but also reflects substantive and methodological explorations of the interplay between democracy and sustainability.

Transdisciplinary sustainability research has grown rapidly over the last decade. It is now widely seen as a key approach to addressing the intertwined ecological, social, and political crises we face today. At the same time, many researchers experience that working transdisciplinarily has become more demanding, more politicised, and more emotionally intense. In times of polycrisis, shrinking democratic spaces, and growing pressure to demonstrate “impact”, two important questions arise: What does it mean to do transdisciplinary research in tough times? And which narratives guide our work, often implicitly, shaping what is possible, visible, and valued?

On 19 November, International Men’s Day, I hosted a workshop at RIFS built around the intention to create a space where we can talk about boys’ and men’s challenges without sliding into backlash, blame, or “either/or” politics, with the aim of encouraging dialogue between genders for mutual understanding and support.

In his keynote speech at the inaugural RIFS conference, Jürgen Trittin, former Federal Minister for the Environment and long-serving politician with Alliance 90/The Greens, analysed the development of the climate debate from broad consensus to deep polarisation.

We all have an interest in protecting our planet. But our unequal living conditions make it difficult to forge cross-class alliances for an ambitious sustainability policy. In her keynote speech "Building 'We' in a Wounded World" at the RIFS Conference 2025, Manisha Anantharaman (Sciences Po Paris) made an appeal to researchers and leaders: they should learn from the people who are fighting environmental problems on the front line to explore the types of political coalitions that challenge entrenched power structures.

During Science Week 2025, RIFS Fellow Angela Lee, along with Cherry Cheung and Charlotte Coosemans, hosted an interactive workshop titled Tracing the Invisible: Walking the Energeocene.

It's been three decades of ongoing climate negotiations, and most of the time, they end in deadlock. By now, we should all understand that it will take more than carbon trading to meet the Paris Agreement's 1.5 °C target. We must drastically reduce our greenhouse gas emissions, and that means phasing out fossil fuels. According to the Intergovernmental Panel on Climate Change, limiting global warming to below 1.5 degrees requires rapid, large-scale, and unprecedented changes across all sectors of society, with clear benefits for both people and ecosystems.

Indigenous researchers have long strived for anticolonial, equitable research practices. With Arctic research expanding rapidly in recent years, genuine and ethical collaboration is more vital than ever. However, without the right tools and awareness, well-meaning efforts risk reinforcing colonial harms.