Dear Readers,

A year full of crises is coming to an end. Globally and nationally, it was marked by a multitude of energy and climate policy challenges, not least due to Russia's war of aggression on Ukraine. The security of energy supply has been pushed quite strongly onto the energy policy agenda due to the escalation of the conflict and Russia's sometimes obscure politics regarding the supply of natural gas. Climate protection, energy price and energy supply risks clearly show: the transition towards a renewable energy mix of the future is more necessary than ever.

Solving the challenges means joining forces

In combination with a consistent energy strategy, the switch to renewable energies not only offers the opportunity to meet climate protection goals, but also to become less dependent on imported fossil fuels. The German study on heating without oil and gas by the Wuppertal Institute which was commissioned by Greenpeace pointed out: the heat supply of buildings in Germany could be reduced by almost one third through energy efficiency and completely converted to renewable energies by 2035.

So far, the potential contribution of the Circular Economy to climate protection has been significantly underexposed. In 2022 various analyses for the federal and state levels by the Wuppertal Institute have shown the potentials, such as Munich's Zero-Waste concept, shaping the digital transformation within the ShapingDIT project or the Zukunftsimpuls "The Circular Economy as a New Narrative for the Textile Industry." However, the multiple crises situation has also shown how important short-term behavioural adjustments are, but also sustainable consumption and production patterns beyond that – a topic area that the Institute has been dealing with since its foundation.

The accelerated expansion of renewable energies was also at the top of the German Federal Government's agenda: at the beginning of April 2022, the cabinet passed the "Easter Package", the largest energy policy amendment in years, in which the government formulates unprecedented ambitions in terms of expansion targets. Work by the Wuppertal Institute on the social aspects of the energy transition clearly shows that the implementation of such targets is not only a technical challenge, but that it is particularly important to state clear priorities and to involve all stakeholders in the transformation process. With further packages of measures, the Federal Government has set accents in this regard during the course of the year and, above all, developed ideas to reduce planning and approval times drastically.

The current challenges of climate change, energy source price explosion and security of supply also determined the German Sustainability Congress on 24 and 25 October 2022 which took place in Wuppertal on the occasion of the 200th anniversary of the Stadtsparkasse Wuppertal in cooperation with the Wuppertal Institute and Neue Effizienz. The congress was an opportunity for exchange, but also showed how much competence the Wuppertal science landscape has to offer in terms of solving the climate protection issue.

A lot needs to be done and there is a lot of room for improvement – globally as well as nationally: time to pick up the pace significantly

From 6 to 20 November, the 27th Conference of the Parties to the UN Framework Convention on Climate Change (COP27) took place in Sharm El Sheikh (Egypt). While the negotiations have brought little progress on how to close the gap between the goals of the Paris Climate Agreement and actual action, a historic step has been taken elsewhere. For the first time, the international community has agreed to set up a fund to finance the loss and damage caused by climate change. Researchers from the Wuppertal Institute followed the negotiations on site and summarised the most important results in their analysis "Last Call for 1.5 degrees".

However, progress in climate protection in Germany must also be reflected upon critically because we are far behind our own targets in climate protection. Apart from accelerating the expansion of renewable energies, the development of a comprehensive green hydrogen network, binding targets for a genuine circular economy and its consistent implementation, clear targets for climate-neutral housing, a serious mobility turnaround and effective incentives for sustainable consumption and production patterns are needed. 
In all of this, socially just solutions are essential in order not to lose social acceptance for the transformation. The current gap can only be closed with more speed, consistency, courage, and honesty because it will not be possible without massive structural changes; purely incremental steps will no longer suffice. This was made clear by the scientists of the Wuppertal Institute in the Zukunftsimpuls "Transformationslücke schließen – Handeln unter Hochdruck" (Closing the Transformation Gap - Acting at High Pressure) published in September. The authors drew up a "5-point plan for more speed" for each of the key transformation areas. They are intended to show how climate protection, energy and raw material security, the green hydrogen economy, the circular economy, and the heat and mobility transition can be accelerated.

Seize the opportunity to set the course in 2023

Despite the many insecurities which we have to consider with regard to the current energy crisis, we are optimistic that there is also an opportunity in the crisis. The pressure to act may be a booster for change and may set the central course for more independence, resilience, and sustainability. This requires big steps and also a broad rethinking: what we need now is a culture of enabling instead of preventing. Prof. Dr. Manfred Fischedick, President and Scientific Managing Director of the Wuppertal Institute, summed up what a smart response to the energy supply crisis and the competition for sustainable markets could look like in his recent statement "Investment and Innovation Offensive".

Let us come together to seize this opportunity and prepare ourselves for the future. By increasing the speed and adding a large amount of courage and honesty in dealing with difficult decisions, we can close the transformation gap.

The entire team of the Wuppertal Institute hopes that you can take a break at the end of the year to renew your energies.

We look forward to tackling the transformation challenges together with you in the coming year!