Press releases of Europa-Universität Flensburg (EUF)

How can everyone live well while respecting planetary boundaries? - Prof. Dr. Frauke Wiese and her junior research group are getting to the bottom of this question. The group focuses on the concept of sufficiency: in other words, developing a strategy for reducing energy and resource consumption through social innovation and, if possible, eliminating it altogether. Prof. Dr. Frauke Wiese explains: “We are looking at the question of what social and political strategies are needed to reduce consumption and production in moderation and distribute energy and resources appropriately.” 

Various topics come into focus here. The researchers do not look at individual solutions, but collect, compare and model various societal or political guidelines that contribute to making resource-conserving behavior more attractive. There are many approaches: In the area of mobility, for example, the aim is to encourage cyclists, pedestrians and public transport instead of private cars. In the area of buildings, the focus is on a needs-based distribution of living space and conversion instead of new construction. And in production and consumption, in addition to more durable and repairable products, shared use, advertising restrictions and exnovation, the conscious withdrawal from harmful technologies contribute to an economy of enough. 

"While the public debate focuses primarily on technical solutions such as efficiency and renewable energies, we are looking above all at social innovations. There is great potential to reduce our energy requirements and therefore also our resource and land requirements without compromising our quality of life. However, this does not depend on the responsibility of individuals, but is a collective task that requires a good social framework," says Frauke Wiese, explaining the topic.

Overall, the questions are: What measures contribute to enabling everyone to live a good life within planetary boundaries? What political framework conditions are needed to reduce energy requirements in such a way that both Germany and Europe can operate in an ecologically sustainable and socially just way?

With her team, Frauke Wiese provides data and tools for other researchers to quantify the potential of various policy measures to reduce energy and land requirements. The results are made available to civil society and, above all, to politicians as decision-making aids on the way to a just transformation of our energy systems. In a sufficiency policy database, the researchers present around 400 practical measures with which sufficiency can be integrated and considered throughout society. In its recently published “Impulsen zur Entwicklung einer Suffizienzstrategie für Deutschland”, the group outlines a national sufficiency strategy and makes concrete policy proposals for civil society, politics and administration.

Frauke Wiese has now been awarded the BAUM | Environment and Sustainability Prize for her work in this area.  The prize was established in 1993. It is awarded annually to people in companies, science and journalism who are committed to environmental protection and sustainability.

Students at the Europa-Universität Flensburg can benefit from the latest research findings on the Master's degree in “Sustainable Energy” with a specialization in “Transformation”. In this Master's program, they not only look at the energy transition from a technical perspective, but also consider economic, ecological and social aspects. "It is important to me that the research findings we gain are applied directly. I am therefore delighted that my teaching on the topic of sufficiency has met with great interest from our students."