About

The Research Unit Sustainability and Climate Risks is devoted to inter- and transdisciplinary research and education on human-induced environmental change that is either global in nature or found in regions around the world.

Sustainable development and climate change are key challenges of today's society. Research and solutions for these areas are closely interconnected and require systems thinking. Our research seeks to identify and compare alternative options for sustainable development and improve the understanding of its dynamics, including the key components ‘environmental quality’, ‘economic efficiency’, and ‘social equity’. Climate change and the associated impacts of climate extremes can affect our sustainable development goals, and sustainable development can reduce the root causes of climate risks.

We cross-fertilize disciplines and build bridges between the natural and social sciences. Our current research foci include climate extremes and their impacts, the economics of land use, climate economics and decision-making. The latter emphasizes the dynamic consistency of environmental and social targets under uncertainty.