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Would sustainability be easier if people’s needs didn’t need to be taken into consideration? The way laws and rules are made in the Arctic (where many people live) and the Antarctic (where no one does permanently) sheds light on the role that social sciences play in policymaking, explains IASS Fellow Craig Morris in the final episode of his Potsdam Summer School Podcast series.

In these days of “fake news,” the public’s judgement is being called into doubt. But we all make incorrect assumptions about lots of things. On the other hand, in a democracy, why is public participation needed when we could just elect experts to make decisions based on science, asks IASS Senior Fellow Craig Morris.

By 2100, many more people will live on this planet, and a larger percentage of them will live in cities – just not necessarily the ones we currently have. Many of them will gradually have become uninhabitable, requiring the construction of giant new megacities – which has already begun. Can these new cities be made more sustainable? IASS Senior Fellow Craig Morris investigates.

When it comes to transforming our energy systems, many technical issues are already solved, says Piet Sellke. But in order for this transformation to be successful, different perspectives and interests in society need to be harmonised. So his work at the ENavi project centers around co-creating what he calls "socially robust" knowledge. Learn more in our podcast.

When atmospheric scientist Mark Lawrence visited Kathmandu nearly 10 years ago, he got sick from air pollution - really sick. The Scientific Director of the IASS talked to a local shopkeeper, who told him he and many others also frequently had this horrible cough. Years later this inspired Mark to get his colleague Maheswar Rupakheti on board and start investigating and tackling the issue, to improve both people's health as well as reduce the regional climate impact. Learn more about short-lived climate forcing pollutants from Mark and IASS researcher Charlotte Unger, who met with the Climate and Clean Air Coalition...

When people don’t trust each other and their political systems, things essential for sustainability – like walkable cities and resilient communities – move out of reach. But citizens can become active in science in order to improve their own lives, and there are ways to turn warring factions into groups working together. Fixing the climate thus requires mending gaps that divide us, and it can be done, concludes IASS Senior Fellow Craig Morris.

Around the world, climate cases are being brought to court. What role do they play? Researcher Patrick Toussaint explains what climate justice is about, and shares his research on the role of marginalized communities in the decision-making process at the climate summits. Spoiler: They don't really have a say yet, he says.

Two big topics at this year's climate summit are the oceans and financing actions against climate change. In Torsten Thiele's research work, both areas merge: The oceans have a huge influence on our global climate, and on human wellbeing. But it takes a lot of money to really understand and protect them. So Torsten is looking into innovative and holistic ways of Ocean Finance.

Hauke van der Linden, soon-to-be intern at IASS, shares his first impressions at the UN Climate Change Conference 2017, and explains why he's so intrigued by research in the field of Earth System Governance.

Sonja Thielges, IASS expert for climate and energy policy, on the impact of the Trump administration's decision to drop out of the Paris Agreement on this year's UN climate talks at COP23 in Bonn, Germany.