Social aspects of environmental policy - Sub-project 1: Analysis and environmental policy implications (SozUP)

Environmental, social and societal policies are closely interlinked. On the one hand, environmental policy measures not infrequently meet with resistance because they may entail or exacerbate actual or presumed social hardships. On the other hand, environmental burdens such as traffic noise or air pollution hit many already disadvantaged groups particularly hard. Environmental protection thus has a social impact. An ambitious environmental policy can only succeed if its social benefits are appreciated and conflicting goals are addressed through appropriate policy mixes.

The research project focuses on the interactions between ecological and social policy goals. The project team analyses social aspects in different environmentally relevant policy fields and identifies potential synergies and conflicts between ecological and social goals. With this knowledge, synergies are to be better utilised, actively created and proactively communicated. The project will develop concrete proposals for socially equitable transformation processes in different environmental policy fields of action. The project pursues the overarching goal of contributing to the scientific foundation of a "strategy of social environmental policy".

First, the researchers will explore and systematise the social impacts of environmental policy and environmental pollution with the help of literature, discourse and trend analyses. They develop an analysis and evaluation heuristic. This will be used to analyse the status quo in environmentally relevant fields of action, to identify knowledge gaps and to point out needs for action.

In the need areas "housing" and "food", deeper analyses of the interactions between environmental protection and social goals are carried out. The team develops concrete proposals for ecologically ambitious and socially acceptable strategies to advance transformation processes in these fields. In specific papers, the team explores legal aspects of rent regimes (partially) including heating costs as well as distributional effects of the European Social Climate Fund and the envisaged EU emissions trading system for buildings and road transport.

The entire project is accompanied by dialogue and participatory events. An advisory board accompanies the project.