Transcript of the podcast: How can the sustainability transformation work?

More courage and confidence, a clear steer from policy-makers and fact-based discussions are required to make a success of the sustainability transformation, according to Jan Peter Schemmel, the Oeko-Institut’s CEO, in the new episode of the institute’s “Wenden bitte!” podcast. Precisely because the forthcoming change processes will affect every stakeholder in the economy and society, there needs to be clarity on the goals and pathway towards a low-carbon, sustainable world.

Key levers for a successful transformation

Jan Peter Schemmel summarises the most important approaches and lists nine fields of action:

1. Exit from fossil fuels: We must push the rapid expansion of renewable energies, especially wind and solar power.
2. Energetic building renovation and electrification: We must renovate more buildings energetically and electrify the building sector.
3. Mobility transition: We must shift more from private motorised transport to public transport and rail and electrify the transport sector as a whole.
4. Energy and resource efficiency: We must leverage the potential for energy and resource efficiency.
5. Green hydrogen: We must establish a green hydrogen supply for particularly energy-intensive industries where no alternatives exist.
6. Circular Economy: We must move from linear to circular business models and transition to a genuine circular economy.
7. Acriculture and food: We must reorient our agriculture and food system away from meat production and consumption towards other foods.
8. Forests and soils: We must ensure that forests and soil capture and store more carbon and that forests are restructured to increase their resilience to climate change.
9. Sufficiency: We must move away from more material consumption towards more quality of life and sufficiency.

The role of independent science in the upcoming sustainable transformation is to gather necessary facts and make knowledge available in such a way that politics, business and civil society can make informed decisions.

Read the full podcast transcript of episode 20 “How can the sustainibility transformation work?”