IASS的主要研究议题

Institute for Advanced Sustainability Studies

（IASS）

IASS是默克尔政府任上成立的国际性智库，目标在于鼓励学者跳出象牙塔，以务实的行动、开展专业知识转化、提升社会生活方式的可持续化，促进政府、非政府、非营利组织、企业及公众之间的沟通，以便达成共识。

下面为大家简要介绍IASS的部分研究方向、项目及议题，排名不分先后。中文翻译为节选，仅供参考。若需了解更多详情，请点击文末“阅读原文”。

未来学

Futures

未来即是恒常的当下。未来和立足于当下对未来的反思，打开并塑造了言说的空间，并将秩序施加于我们的世界。

本研究方向考察“未来”的具体特征及其被创造的方法。我们如何将“未来”具象化？怎样将其概念化？其社会链式效应又是什么？

研究者们还探索“未来”如何被构建用以支持可持续的转型：如何配置未来以成功提高当前政策制定和社会实践中对长期影响的认识？

以气候工程领域为例，IASS的研究人员研究了如何创造和规范未来。 什么是主导的想象力; 如何理解和表现不确定性; 科学政策的后果是什么？ 

研究人员还在探索政治，经济和教育领域中更广泛的未来化问题，并探讨如何增强后代代表性的机会。 

部分研究在探索可持续长期金融工具的前景以及教育项目的发展，以促进对未来的有意识思考。

The future is ever present. We encounter the future in scientific calculations and the justifications that legitimise policies and interventions; it is the subject of insurance policies and financial products. Futures – and the myriad reflections of the future in the present – open and shape discursive spaces and thus impose order on our world.

This research project considers the specific characteristics of these futures and the methods by which they are created. What futures are imagined; how are they conceptualised; and what are their social ordering effects? The project also explores how futures can be constructed to support transformations towards sustainability: How must futures be configured to successfully foster greater awareness of long-term impacts in present-day policymaking and societal practices?

Reviewing the field of climate engineering, researchers at the IASS examine how futures are created and enacted. What are the dominant imaginaries; how are uncertainties understood and represented; and what are the consequences at the science-policy interface? The researchers also address broader issues of futurisation across the fields of politics, economics and education, and explores opportunities to enhance the representation of future generations. Other research activities consider the prospects for sustainable, long-term financial instruments and the development of educational projects to foster conscious reflection on the future.

系统风险

Systemic Risks

世界的日趋复杂，使可靠的风险预测难以为继。系统风险在诸多方面与常规风险不同：它们既高度复杂，又与其他风险相互交织，其影响扩散至公共、经济生活的不同领域。最为引人注目的是，它的影响既超越了诸如科学，政治和社会系统之间系统界限，也超越了国家界限。我们的研究着力于确证系统性风险是如何出现的，并明确系统风险与其触发点存在的早期预警信号。

IASS研究组采用创新方法进行系统风险研究，通过跨学科研究方法和研究视角分析科学与社会之间复杂的相互依存关系。这些相互依存关系将在多种领域进行检验，诸如商业，技术，环境和社会。在此背景下，研究人员将试图去辨识和描述不同系统性风险之中共同的模式和结构，期望以此发展出长效的系统风险的早期预警系统。更进一步的研究则将寻找能够缓解系统风险管控的政策工具和治理方法。

The growing complexity of our world makes it increasingly difficult to forecast risks with any reliability. Systemic risks differ from conventional risks in a number of respects: they are both highly complex and intertwined with other risks, and their impacts are spread across diverse areas of public and economic life. Most notably, their impacts transcend both systemic boundaries (between scientific, political, and societal systems, for example) and national boundaries. Our research seeks to determine how systemic risks emerge and to identify early warning signs for the existence of both systemic risks and their trigger points.

Embracing innovative approaches to the study of systemic risks, the IASS research team analyses the complex interdependencies between science and society through the lenses of inter- and transdisciplinary research perspectives. These interdependencies will be examined across a variety of fields, including business, technology, the environment, and society. Within this context, researchers will seek to identify and characterise common patterns and structures across different systemic risks with a view to developing an early warning system for systemic risks over the longer term. Further research will seek to identify policy instruments and governance methods that ease the management of systemic risks.

数字化

Digitalisation

数字化技术全面进入经济生活和日常生活，它所带来的挑战和机遇受到媒体、社会和政界密切关注，并引发激烈论辩。论辩所涉及的主题包括：个人隐私受到的挑战、未来就业、网络安全、提高效率、节约资源和促进经济增长。目前，我们尚不能明确通信、服务、工业生产等领域的数字化，能否及在多大程度上推动或阻碍可持续发展转型。

IASS关于数字化主题的研究核心在于：数字技术在实施联合国可持续发展目标方面可以发挥什么作用？工业生产过程的数字化将如何影响能源和资源的使用？它将如何改变工作环境？这些新的数字通信形式对民主参与过程有何影响？数字化给发展中国家和新兴经济体带来了哪些机遇和挑战？

项目采用跨学科研究方法，旨在为数字技术和服务的影响提供可靠的科学评估。我们的研究人员将确定数字技术对可持续经济和社会转型的潜在风险和益处。研究成果包括科学论文以及为私营部门决策者，民间社会团体和国际合作组织提供建议。

Recent years have seen a proliferation of digital technologies throughout the economy and in everyday life. The challenges and opportunities presented by this development are the subject of increasing debate in the media, society, and the policy community. Prominent themes within these debates include the emerging challenges to privacy, the future of work and cyber-security as well as efforts to enhance efficiency, conserve resources and enhance economic growth. At present it remains uncertain whether and to what extent the digitalisation of communication, services, and industrial production will foster or impede transformations towards sustainable development.

What role can digital technologies play in the implementation of the United Nations Sustainable Development Goals? How will the digitalisation of industrial production processes affect energy and resource use? How will it change the working environment? What effect do these new, digital forms of communication have on democratic participation processes? What opportunities and challenges does digitalisation present for developing countries and emerging economies? These questions lie at the heart of research relating to this topic at the IASS.

Using transdisciplinary research methods, these projects aim to provide robust scientific assessments of the impact of digital technologies and services. Our researchers will identify the potential risks and benefits of digital technologies for transformations towards sustainable economies and societies. The outcomes of this research will include scientific papers as well as recommendations for policymakers actors in the private sector, civil society and organisations for international cooperation.

心智模式转化与可持续发展

A Mindset for Athropocene（AMA）

AMA项目是德国可持续发展高等研究所的一项跨学科研究项目，通过以科学为基础的反思和赋能，将个体心理的内在发展作为实现生态文明的主要媒介，AMA项目将研究与实践并重，助力打造全球范围内的协同式发展社群，为培育良善心性提供可持续发展的潜在动力。

AMA项目聚焦个体内在成长的外在转化，以“人”为基本研究与实践重心，旨在探索并整合有利于人类心灵发展的各类途径，以提升自我觉知为依托，撬动个体对它者、组织、环境的洞察，激发个人内在潜能、促进知识向行动的转化，实现人与自然的可持续发展。

项目致力于建立“自我—组织—社群”的发展路径，帮助实务工作者以修己身为根本，通过整合心理学、哲学中有益于心灵疗愈、成长和觉悟的方法和技术，促进发展内在意识，由内至外地协助人们改变自己、改变工作方式，最终促进主体间、组织机构间、乃至政府间的沟通进程。

项目初衷在于支持社群中的个体克服来自心理的、社会的乃至生态的困境与挑战；其愿景在于实现人与自然的和谐相处，尊重和珍惜世界上的一切存在及其内在价值。通过共同探寻适宜的方法与路径，修养心性、践行以期达成天人相应的可持续之道。

The AMA Project is a transdisciplinary research project at the Institute for Advanced Sustainability Studies (IASS) in Potsdam, Germany. It is a science-based reflection and empowerment hub for change agents engaging in inner transformation as an integral part of socio-ecological transformation. The AMA project conducts research and acts as a network catalyst supporting the emergence of a global community that cultivates virtuous mental qualities as potential drivers of sustainability.

Our motivation is to support the global community to overcome the multiple forms of suffering today (psychological, social, and ecological). Our overarching vision is to realize a world where human and non- human beings exist in sound relationship with each other,respecting and cherishing the intrinsic values and potentials of all beings. Through our work, we want to cultivate mental qualities and practice lifestyles that mutually support transformations to sustainability.

Our work is focused on generating societal transformations that support sustainability. We believe there is an over-emphasis on technological and political “solutions” to socio-ecological problems, while the relevance of the mind seems to be downplayed and even neglected. Though not always immediately visible, we realize there are many others like us who see the cultivation of mental qualities as a key contribution to societal transformations to sustainability.

叙事学与思维模式

Narratives and Mindsets

人与可持续发展的关系是什么？引导人们向可持续性生活方式转变的路径和结构是什么，无论是饮食习惯还是能源消费？

集体行为改变的驱动力和推动力，及其相关知识是转型过程设计的关键环节。

IASS的研究活动旨在确定导致“可持续性叙事”成功或失败的因素，从而塑造公共话语。 IASS研究者们还在探讨如何培养个人态度和品质，以及他们如何支持可持续生活方式的集体学习过程。 

与此同时，对IASS研究中使用的各种可持续性概念的批判性反思形成了第三个重点领域：使用不同的“可持续发展”概念怎样影响了跨学科的研究？

What do people associate with sustainability? What are the routes and structures that facilitate the adoption of behavior towards sustainable lifestyles, including eating habits and energy consumption? The knowledge about the drivers and promoters of collective behavioral changes is crucial for the design of transformation processes.

Research activities at the IASS aim to identify the factors that contribute to the success or failure of “sustainability narratives” and that shape public discourse as a result. The IASS research also explores how personal attitudes and qualities can be practically cultivated and how they can support collective learning processes towards sustainable lifestyles. Critical reflection on the various concepts of sustainability used in research at the IASS forms a third area of focus: how is transdisciplinary research affected by the use of different concepts of sustainability?

协同创新与政策建议

Co-Creation & Contemporary Policy Advice

IASS实施的跨学科研究方法促进了学术界，政策制定者，民间社会和商业部门之间的对话。 在此经验的基础上，“协同创新和当代政策建议”研究多利益相关方流程的实施，从而实现交互式学习和决策。 目标是促进开发获得广泛支持的解决方案。 该研究特别关注利益相关者互动的动态以及不同形式知识的整合。 在该项目中获得的洞见将有助于为政策制定者，民间社会团体和公众制定以科学为基础的指导方法。

The transdisciplinary approach to research practiced at the IASS fosters dialogue between academia, policymakers, civil society, and the business sector. Building on this experience, “Co-creation and Contemporary Policy Advice” studies the implementation of multi-stakeholder processes resulting in reciprocal learning and decision-making. The goal is to facilitate the development of solutions that enjoy broad support. This research focuses in particular on the dynamics of stakeholder interactions and the integration of different forms of knowledge. The insights gained in this project will contribute to the development of a contemporary approach to science-based guidance for policymakers, civil society, and the public.

气候与空气质量

Climate & Air Quality

工业革命爆发以来，人类来源的温室气体排放量急剧增加。这导致自1750年以来大气中二氧化碳浓度增加了40％。科学界一致认为气候变化及其各种影响，包括全球变暖和海平面上升，都是由这些过程驱动的。温室气体排放的主要来源通常也是空气污染物的主要来源，如臭氧前体和颗粒物质。据世界卫生组织（WHO）估计，每年全球有700万人过早死亡，这一数字正在增加。此外，气候变化和空气污染都对农业生产产生严重影响，从而对粮食安全产生严重影响。虽然存在明显的问题，但气候变化与空气质量之间存在许多联系。显然，减少温室气体和空气污染物排放对于遏制气候变化和保障人类健康和粮食安全至关重要。

IASS开展气候政策研究以及空气污染的来源和影响及其减缓战略。我们在空气质量方面的工作主要集中在城市地区，特别是在欧洲和南亚，并特别关注空气质量与气候变化之间的密切联系。 IASS还监测、分析并推动在国际层面实施两个关键政策流程：巴黎气候协议和气候与清洁空气联盟（CCAC）相关工作。

Greenhouse gas emissions from human sources have increased dramatically since the dawn of the Industrial Revolution. This has led to a 40 per cent increase in the atmospheric concentration of CO2 since 1750. There is strong scientific consensus that climate change and its various effects, including global warming and rising sea levels, are driven by these processes. Key sources of greenhouse gas emissions are also often major sources of air pollutants such as ozone precursors and particulate matter. The World Health Organisation (WHO) estimates that air pollution is responsible for seven million premature deaths worldwide each year – and this figure is growing. In addition, climate change and air pollution both have severe impacts on agricultural production and consequently on food security. While distinct issues, there are many connections between climate change and air quality. Clearly, reducing greenhouse gas and air pollutant emissions is critical to curbing climate change and safeguarding human health and food security.

The IASS conducts research on climate policy as well as the sources and impacts of air pollution and strategies for its mitigation. Our work on air quality focuses primarily on urban areas, particularly in Europe and South Asia, and pays particular attention to the close link between air quality and climate change. The IASS also monitors, analyses and contributes to the implementation of two key policy processes at the international level: the Paris Climate Agreement and the work of the Climate and Clean Air Coalition (CCAC). Finally, researchers examine how technologies for removing greenhouse gases from the atmosphere or for increasing the reflection of sunlight away from Earth are entering science, society, and politics.

能源

Energy

研究有关能源转型的复杂变革过程，并制定促进可持续成果的解决方案。基于创新型研究技术，探索新型商业模式、组织结构之间的相互依赖及相互作用，挖掘新兴可持续生活方式在能源转型期的适应性。尤其注重能源转型的社会层面以及低碳能源系统的社会技术选择。此外，研究还关注德国作为全球能源转型所发挥的潜在驱动力作用，努力成为G20框架下能源转型与新兴经济体发展研究的重要指针和标杆。

The decarbonisation of the energy system is among the most important challenges of the twenty-first century. The energy sector accounts for approximately two thirds of global CO2 emissions. Hence, the development of a low-carbon energy supply based on renewable sources represents an essential entry-point in the fight against climate change. The deployment of renewable energy is also linked to important co-benefits, including improvements in air and water quality. But the energy transition is more than the development of new infrastructures and technologies; it entails far-reaching changes in society and the economy. It changes natural landscapes, drives the development of new social practices and ways of life, reassigns responsibilities, reshapes governance and political alliances, and redistributes power. In Germany, the energy transition has fostered the spread of energy cooperatives and other innovative organisational models. As a frontrunner in the transformation of its electricity system, Germany represents an important learning ground in the search for sustainable models of energy production and consumption.

The IASS investigates the complex change processes that underpin the energy transition across multiple research projects and develops solutions to foster sustainable outcomes. This research is underpinned by an approach focussing on the interdependencies and interactions between innovative technologies, new business models and organisational structures, evolutions in governance, and emerging lifestyles and practices of adaptation. The study of the social dimension of the energy transition and the integrated assessment of various socio-technical options for the development of a low-carbon energy system form a particular focus of this research. Research activities at the IASS also explore the international dimension of the energy transition and the role of Germany as a potential driver of a global energy transition. Our researchers monitor and assess key processes, including the efforts of G20 states to transform the global energy system, and study developments in major emerging economies.

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