Focus

Sustainability goals and assessment

© plainpicture / Paolo

Reducing dependence on fossil fuels, cutting greenhouse gas emissions, improving the quality of amenities and public services, providing eco-friendly transport options: the mobility transition must be designed with all three dimensions of sustainability – environmental, social and economic – in mind in order to minimise the negative impacts of transport on people and the environment. Identifying sustainable approaches to transport policy at both micro and macro scale has been a focus of the Oeko-Institut’s work for many years.

The researchers look at how mobility can be designed at both the national and the local level so that it contributes to the Sustainable Development Goals (SDGs) adopted by the United Nations. They conduct analyses, propose practical measures, e.g. for urban development, and monitor processes and successes achieved. They follow transdisciplinary pilot projects on local mobility services and assess their environmental, social and economic impacts, with a focus on sustainability. In doing so, they make use of empirical methods, both quantitative and qualitative, in order to embed acquired knowledge and apply it to other contexts and spaces. Here, they place emphasis on demand-led networking and sharing of experience between academics and practitioners.

News

Infographics

  • Infographic from Öko-Institut e.V. titled "What does socially just climate protection mean?" showing strategies for sustainable, socially acceptable climate protection. Central box labeled "Socially Just Climate Protection" connects to three approaches:  Income support (short-term):  Includes transfer payments, climate dividends, and energy payments.  Price adjustments (short-term):  Includes CO₂ levy, reduction of renewable energy levy, and modernization levy.  Reduction in energy consumption and emissions (long-term and lasting):  Split into two areas:  Energy efficiency / renewable energies: building renovation, heating system replacement, climate-friendly mobility.  Behaviour / use: energy-saving advice and sufficiency.  Silhouettes of diverse people are shown at the bottom, representing the inclusive impact of these measures.

    What does socially just climate protection mean?

    Image10/21/2025
    What does socially just climate protection mean? Support for the transition to climate-friendly alternatives is the most important lever for shaping sustainable, socially acceptable climate protection.
  • The twelve largest chemical parks in German industry

    Image07/08/2024
    The twelve largest German chemical parks generated 23 million tonnes of CO2 (mt CO2) in 2022, which corresponds to three percent of German greenhouse gas emissions.
  • Coastal Ecosystems: Blue Carbon Storage

    Image05/29/2024
    Seagrass meadows, mangrove forests and salt marshes can absorb and store up to 216 million tons of carbon from the atmosphere worldwide every year. Over centuries to millennia, they form an enormous carbon store of up to 22,000 million tons of carbon in marine sediment. At the same time, they make an important contribution to the preservation of biodiversity in the oceans and on the coasts, help to protect against storm surges and coastal protection and thus contribute to the nutrition and safety of millions of people. This is shown in a research report by the Öko-Institut and the Leibniz Center for Tropical Marine Research commissioned by the German Environment Agency, which examines the importance of coastal ecosystems for global climate protection.