Climate change, digitalisation and the Corona pandemic as key challenges of our time have confronted us with very basic questions once again: what do we build our future on? How must we live now in order for life on earth to remain worth living for future generations, and so that they can continue to shape it in the exercise of their fundamental rights?

Sustainability Means Taking Responsibility for the Future

The concept of sustainability is on everyone’s lips: in political debates, in science and research as with in demands from civil society, at national and international level. Sustainability always seems to be something worth striving for that is not yet sufficiently present. It is understood as a systemic balance between ecological, economic and social development, which interact in a complex way. Sustainability is a cross-cutting issue. Ultimately, it is about responsibility for the future.

Science needs to use transdisciplinary research to explore and explain connections, such as with regard to how human actions impact nature. Innovations – be it technologies, processes or behavioural changes – could be the key to a more careful use of the natural foundations of life.

Resilience Arises from Preservation and Renewal

Future viability and resilience are also leitmotifs in the competition of political ideas on various levels – at federal, state and local levels, in the European house and in the global village. What decisions must be made today to preserve that which has been achieved, and to initiate desired developments and work towards resilience of nature, the economy and society against disruptions? Options for action need to be weighed up, priorities set and conflicting goals taken into account. For the most part, there is no lack of (scientific) knowledge, but rather it is about overcoming implementation deficits and building trust in the fact that the democratic constitutional state will master the fundamental change.

The necessary decarbonisation and targeted climate neutrality of the economy and society undoubtedly entail challenges. However, these challenges can be met through the expansion of renewable energies, the promotion of climate-neutral technologies, diversification of energy imports, measures for higher energy efficiency as well as through closed product cycles and recycling. In agriculture, the production of food needs to be considered in the context of species and climate protection. Mobility needs to reconceptualised in many respects, taking the concerns of urban and rural spaces equally into account, and linking them via innovative and sustainable approaches.

Russia’s war in Ukraine is increasing tasks and reinforcing conflicting goals: on the one hand, how can the security of energy supply be ensured, for which we are still dependent on fossil fuels, such as from Russia, due to insufficient coverage of demand through renewable energies, without further endangering the achievement of climate protection goals on the other, while the impact of climate change is manifested worldwide it all its urgency?

With a Wide Range of Offers for More Sustainability in Germany and Abroad

These questions are also of utmost importance for the Konrad-Adenauer-Stiftung’s work in Germany and abroad. With events, studies, and analyses, we accompany the political and social discussion on current issues and provide platforms for interdisciplinary exchange of experiences in Germany, Europe and in the countries of the Global South.

Hence, for us, this topic presents not only a regulatory challenge, but is also a key concern as regards preserving creation and protecting human rights throughout the world. In our view, sustainable development is a prerequisite for prosperity and a principle of the social market economy.

For us, it is important that the shift to greater sustainability is economically viable and oriented towards people’s everyday lives; only this way can it be accepted by them. In conjunction with the ecological, economic, and social dimension, sustainability also has a political component. After all, sustainability thrives on the active participation of citizens who are to help she the future viability of the country. That is why democracies, in particular, are predestined to drive the radical changes. Besides social acceptance, political will to implement sustainability is important for creating the necessary framework conditions.

We would therefore like to provide political decision-makers in Germany and abroad with the impetus for addressing challenges surrounding the environment, resources and other sustainability issues. We therefore advocate alliances between states that strive for high sustainability standards.

International Offices and Programmes

Strictly speaking, issues such as sustainability, energy policy, environmental and climate protection know no national boundaries. Our actions have a global impact in many respects, such that, for sustainable success with these issues, holistic approaches involving as many states as possible need to be pursued and joint solutions found. With our energy security and climate change programmes, we attempt to contribute to this by promoting dialogue on these issues in several regions around the world.

International Energy Security and Climate Change Programmes

Allie Caulfield / Flickr / CC BY 2.0 / Stefan Stahlberg

 

The curtailment of man-made global warming and associated shift away from fossil fuels envisaged by the Paris Climate Agreement, presents humanity with just as great a challenge as the consequences of climate change. With the four regional programmes on energy security and climate change in Latin America, Sub-Saharan Africa, Asia and the Pacific as well as in the Middle East and North Africa, since 2015 the Konrad-Adenauer-Stiftung has been helping to strengthen cross-regional dialogue on the topics of energy, climate and environmental policy in the respective regions. Here, special emphasis is placed on accompanying currents debates, developing solutions as well as promoting specific projects of sustainable action in politics, business and society.

 

Learn more about the energy security and climate change programmes

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Publication Series and Publication Projects

The development towards a sustainable way of living is one of the most important goals for politics, the economy and society. How can we succeed in striking a balance between human way of life and the global ecosystem Earth without having to abstain from everything across the board? Our publication projects provide impetus for thought and grant insights into innovations that could help this development process.

Sustainability Monitor

Oliver Henze / flickr / CC BY-ND 2.0 / creativecommons.org/licenses/by-nd/2.0/

 

With the Sustainability Monitor series, we address, mostly on an occasion-related basis, current sustainability issues from the perspective of the Konrad-Adenauer-Stiftung so as to make them accessible to an interest public in politics, science and civil society; at the same time, we also contribute towards the foundation’s positioning on this important cross-cutting issue of the future.

 

Learn more about the Sustainability Monitor series

Sustainability Navigator – Transformation Through Innovation

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„Sustainability Navigator – Transformation Through Innovation“

(only in German)

YouTube, Onlinekas

Our project “Sustainability Navigator. Transformation Through Innovation” provides an overview of specific innovations for more sustainability. Here, we not only look at the ecological, but also the social and economic dimension.

 

Learn more about “Sustainability Navigator” project

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Networks and Cooperation

To promote sustainable urban development as well as market- and innovation-oriented strategies for climate neutrality, the Konrad-Adenauer-Stiftung has launched the “Strong cities 2030” initiative, and entered into a cooperation with the German think tank EPICO Klimainnovation.

Strong Cities 2030 Network

imran shahabuddin / flickr / CC BY 2.0

 

Urbanisation is one of the mega trends of the 21st century. In 2050, three-quarters of the world’s population are likely to live in cities. This harbours major challenges, while also affording opportunities. The Sustainable Development Goal 11 of the Agenda 2030 aims to make cities and settlements inclusive, safe, resilient and sustainable.

Strong Cities is an initiative of the Konrad-Adenauer-Stiftung with the goal of fostering urban development towards more sustainability, resilience and inclusion. It does so through global exchange between political office holders and experts from science and practice.

 

Learn more about the “Strong Cities 2030” network

Cooperation with EPICO KlimaInnovation

 

Since 2021, the Konrad-Adenauer-Stiftung has been cooperating with EPICO KlimaInnovation. The think tank has set itself the goal of developing sustainable, market- and innovation-oriented strategies for climate neutrality from the centre of society, and contributing towards their implementation. The beating heart of the cooperation between KAS and EPICO is the Policy Accelerator for Climate Innovation.

In this project, within the framework of an agile design thinking process, clear recommendations for action on key topics of energy policy and target visions for achieving climate neutrality were developed, which will also be accompanied in the future and whose implementation is to be promoted via a strong network in politics, business, science and society.

 

Learn more about the cooperation with EPICO KlimaInnovation

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