Wuppertal Institute for Climate, Environment and Energy
Publikationsserver des Wuppertal Instituts für Klima, Umwelt, EnergieNot a member yet
7538 research outputs found
Sort by
We have to talk! : Claims of early career researchers to transform circular economy research ; perspective
Full text linkIt is evident that the concept of Circular Economy (CE) has gained significant traction in recent years, both in academic research and in practice as a means of advancing sustainability. The diversity of perspectives on how to develop, implement and improve a closed-loop system is evident in the many research domains that publish CE studies. This vibrant and dynamic field of research not only provides a plethora of open questions and research gaps but also offers a meaningful opportunity to contribute to actual transformation processes.
As early-career researchers (ECRs) from a range of disciplinary backgrounds, we individually examine specific practices, technologies, materials, or actors and their roles in the CE context. Following two years of discussion and reflection on our research topics in the context of CE within an interdisciplinary graduate school, we present this article as
a reflection on the current state of CE research. Fig. 1 provides an overview of the research topics that we have been investigating.
The perspective of ECRs is particularly relevant to overcome the current silo mentality, as ECRs view CE as a unified field of study rather than a disparate collection of disciplinary perspectives and are less constrained by established research traditions. From this position as ECRs, we aim to highlight the shortcomings of the current research orientation and structure, emphasising the value of integrated knowledge. In the following section, we will address four challenges that we, as ECRs, have faced, with concrete examples from our own research and a call for a more reflexive, engaged and interdisciplinary approach to CE research
Trialogical cooperation for urban transformation : key relations for enhancing transformative governance
Full text linkUrban transformations towards sustainability require cooperation among various stakeholders. There is an increasing amount of research on how to facilitate these cooperations, particularly regarding necessary governance modes and capacities. However, studies that specifically examine the cooperation among three key actor groups, or in short, the trialogical cooperation, are limited. This study focuses on the trialogical cooperation between city makers, city administrators, and transformative researchers, as these groups play a crucial role in implementing sustainability measures. Although many challenges related to multi-actor cooperation have been discussed in literature, they have not widely been systematically explored. Existing studies often concentrate on specific projects without adequately analyzing the perspectives of individual stakeholders. This article offers a broader view by providing insights into the perceptions of participants involved in this trialogical cooperation in projects throughout Germany. These perceptions were gathered through reflexive workshops and group discussions. As a result, a conceptual model to analyze key relations and factors influencing trialogical cooperation for urban sustainability was developed. This model is presented in this article and can be utilized to systematically examine various forms of multi-actor cooperation. We identify three key relations that significantly shape the studied trialogical cooperation: 1) the interaction between existing contexts and current forms of cooperation; 2) the mutual influence between individuals and institutions; and 3) the enhancement of collective and individual transformative capacities through reflexive learning. Through this study, we contribute to a deeper understanding of multi-level challenges within one of many (trialogical) cooperations for urban transformation towards sustainability
Considerations of a possible global hydrogen energy trade
Full text linkScientific literature and the energy policies of many countries indicate that hydrogen and its derivatives, such as ammonia and synthetic hydrocarbons, are likely to play an important role in future energy systems and economies. Global plans indicate that import-export energy markets will likely continue to be part of future energy systems, but there has been limited literature on the specific evolution of international energy trade with regards to magnitudes, potential energy carriers, and influence of social and economic factors. Here we review and discuss various aspects of hydrogen's potential for becoming a globally tradeable energy commodity in the context of the Frontiers in Energy Research Topic: "Export and import of electrolytic hydrogen using renewable energy and subsequent synthetic fuels between regions–assessment of technology routes, potentials, and strategies". Technical challenges are likely to impact that hydrogen potential including the form of energy being transported, primary energy and raw material availability and costs, hydrogen generation, derivative synthesis, and transport infrastructure. Timing of infrastructure development is a key consideration due to the potential economic impacts of unusable infrastructure if export, import, and transport capabilities become available at different times. Additionally, we identify and review social and market considerations including hydrogen certification, water availability and use, ecologic considerations, social acceptance, other human factors, investment risk, and market development. Based on those considerations, we propose factors that would benefit nations and investors to consider as they contemplate investments in hydrogen systems and set the stage for further research contributions to this Frontiers in Energy Research Topic
Heating energy feedback in apartment buildings : interface design as the key to a participatory energy transition
Full text linkProgress in cutting greenhouse gas emissions in the heating sector has so far been modest. Apartment buildings present particular challenges due to the wide variety of technical conditions - such as their year of construction, the building envelope, their size and the diverse needs of their tenants. Digitally processed energy consumption data offers a valuable opportunity to improve transparency, foster participation and encourage energy saving.
Researchers at the Wuppertal Institute conducted two online surveys to investigate whether tenants are receptive or opposed to receiving heating energy feedback, or remain undecided. Their findings show that attitudes are shaped by several factors, including sensitivity to energy prices, the types of sensors used and trust in data privacy. A key insight is that tenants' perceived self-efficacy - the belief that their actions make a difference - emerged as a key factor in their motivation and willingness to adopt energy-saving measures. However, effective feedback needs to be presented in a way that is easy to understand, practical and relevant to everyday life. It is essential that the impacts of energy-saving measures, including implications for energy costs and CO2 emissions, are communicated clearly. To build meaningful digital interfaces, users need support in developing their energy literacy and digital literacy. For social trust into digital systems, data collection should be limited to the essentials and comply with data protection standards
A finance scheme to help Germany's small private landlords sharply increase their buildings' energy performance : tapping into the banking system
Full text linkResidential buildings were the source of 11.6 % of Germany's greenhouse gas emissions in 2023, emitting around 78 million tonnes of CO2e, mostly due to inefficient heating and inadequate energy efficiency. This needs to be reduced to near zero by 2045. This will involve deep energy performance renovation of some 23 million dwellings, which is expensive and seldom pays back through energy cost savings. Around 43 % of all rental dwellings, almost 10 million, are owned by small private landlords, most of whom show little enthusiasm for deep energy performance investment. Instead, they tend to save small amounts and spend these on piecemeal renovations, while avoiding debt. This study explores the potential of a novel savings and loan scheme that would better accord with their saving capacity, be profitable for banks, and fund large, one-off deep energy performance upgrades. It rests on the fact that the long-term, committed savings of landlords could act as M1 collateral for banks to create large amounts of new M2 money by issuing loans, from which they make reasonable profits. This would enable banks to offer low-interest loans to small private landlords who commit to such savings. These landlords would continue to commit monthly amounts, but these would be savings for only the first few years, then loan repayments. With the savings and loan scheme, we are contributing to the debate on new and creative ways to incentivize specific target groups to accelerate the decarbonization of the building stock
Kreislaufwirtschaft in NRW - Schlüsseltechnologien und Innovationsbedarfe für die zirkuläre Wirtschaftsentwicklung in NRW : Diskussionspapier zum Forschungsmodul 3A "Nachhaltige (Kreislauf-)Wirtschaft" einschließlich der Workshop-Ergebnisse vom 27. Mai 2024
Full text linkDer hier vorgelegte Bericht stellt Ergebnisse des Forschungsmoduls FM 3A "Nachhaltige (Kreislauf)-Wirtschaft" im Projekt "Nachhaltigkeitsstrategie NRW: Vertiefungsanalysen zur Umsetzung aus wissenschaftlicher Sicht" dar. Ziel des gesamten Forschungsmoduls war es zu untersuchen, wie ein Leitbild Nachhaltige Kreislaufwirtschaft vor dem Hintergrund der bestehenden Wirtschaftsstruktur in NRW und den Bestrebungen der EU zur Umsetzung einer Circular Economy entwickelt werden könnte, welcher Aktivitäten es bedarf und welche Hemmnisse zu überwinden sind. Das im Rahmen des FM 3A in 2023 entwickelte Diskussionspapier "Kreislaufwirtschaft in NRW - Überblick über zentrale EU-Maßnahmen und ihre Relevanz für NRW" diente dabei unter anderem als Vorarbeit für dieses Papier. Auf dieser Basis wurde die nachfolgende Untersuchung von (digitalen) Technologiebereichen, die für die Wirtschaftsentwicklung NRWs als relevant diskutiert werden, vereinbart, um Erkenntnisse hinsichtlich ihres Beitrages zu einer grünen Transformation NRWs und der Kreislaufwirtschaft zu gewinnen und notwendige Innovationsbedarfe abzuleiten.
Es wurden für insgesamt elf Technologiebereiche sog. Factsheets entwickelt, die einen schnellen Überblick über die aus wissenschaftlicher Sicht bestehenden Merkmale, den Stand der Technik, die Bezüge zu den Sustainable Development Goals (SDGs) und Kurzeinschätzungen zum Nachhaltigkeitspotenzial geben
Ökologische Plattformökonomie : politische Gestaltungsoptionen für nachhaltigen Konsum und Verbraucher:innenschutz by Design
No full textKünstliche Intelligenz für nachhaltigen Konsum : Ansatzpunkte und Herausforderungen für nachhaltige Konsumentscheidungen auf Basis künstlicher Intelligenz
Full text linkAnwendungen von Künstliche Intelligenz (KI) unterstützen immer mehr Bereiche in unserer Gesellschaft. Im Alltag nutzen viele Menschen, z. T. unbewusst, schon KI-basierte Entscheidungshilfen oder Feedbacksysteme, z. B. lernende Spracherkennungssysteme zur stimmgesteuerten Musikauswahl zuhause oder bei der automatisierten Routenoptimierung zur Navigation im Auto. Auch für nachhaltigen Konsum kann KI förderlich sein, bspw. durch intelligente Algorithmen bei der ökologisch-orientierten Verkehrsmittelwahl oder Feedbacksysteme zur Vermeidung von Fehlkäufen beim Online-Shopping. Es ist zu erwarten, dass künstliche Intelligenz in Zukunft im Bereich des nachhaltigen Konsums eine zunehmend bessere Datenbasis erhalten wird, bspw. durch die Einführung des digitalen Produktpasses.
Dieses Positionspapier dient als Diskussionsgrundlage zur Strukturierung des sich ergebenden Handlungs- und Forschungsfeldes zur KI für nachhaltigen Konsum und der Ableitung von Ansatzpunkten und Forschungsfragen zur nachhaltigen Gestaltung im selben Themenfeld. Dabei wird ein besonderer Fokus auf daten- und entscheidungsbezogene Aspekte gelegt
Künstliche Intelligenz für die Circular Economy : ein Werkzeug für die nachhaltige Transformation?
Full text linkKünstliche Intelligenz (KI) kann die Transformation zu einer Circular Economy (CE) in allen Wertschöpfungsstufen unterstützen. KI kann so dazu beitragen, Ressourcen zu sparen, die Produktlebensdauer zu erhöhen und Stoffkreisläufe möglichst zu schließen. Dies gelingt jedoch nur, wenn Ressourceneinsparungen nicht durch den eigenen Ressourcenverbrauch der KI aufgezehrt und Rebound-Effekte vermieden werden, wie zum Beispiel ein durch neue Angebote auf dem Markt ausgelöster Mehrkonsum.
Das Impulspapier illustriert Anwendungsmöglichkeiten durch praktische Beispiele und liefert Empfehlungen für eine gesellschaftlich, wirtschaftlich und ökologisch verträgliche Anwendung von KI in sieben Kernbereichen der CE