Environment and Climate Research Hub

Our Research

Interdisciplinary research at the ECH explores the complex dynamics of environmental change – bridging humanities, natural and social sciences to generate impactful knowledge.

Overview | Focus Areas | Projects

Shaping Tomorrow: The Impact of Today’s Research

We are motivated to deliver scientific research that contributes to the protection of our climate and environment. We work jointly in excellent cross-disciplinary teams beyond the border of each discipline on research ideas and collaborations.

At the University of Vienna, one of the biggest and most renowned in Europe, we want to advance environmental research for society. We use the strength of networking excellent expertise of individual disciplines in our research hub.

We focus on training, education and excellent qualification of our members. We constantly develop our knowledge and competencies further to develop innovative concepts and approaches for solutions in the areas of environment and climate.

We want to shape society – as an education institution, a hub and a partner for dialogue. For this reason, we educate students and early career scientists and enter active dialogues with civil society and decision-makers in government and society.

Composition of 4 pictures showing different people discussing with each other and presenting

Our Focus Areas

Projects

The projects presented here showcase the breadth and excellence of environmental, climate, and sustainability research at the University of Vienna and the ECH. They are either listed as Member Projects (hosted at the faculties of ECH members) or ECH Projects, funded by the ECH itself (e.g. ECH Seed Funding Program) or external institutions. Together, they reflect a broad range of research approaches, as well as outreach activities to foster societal impact and change. We feature projects led by ECH members as Principal Investigators (PIs), and projects in which ECH members participate as part of larger research consortia, including Horizon Europe initiatives.

GetCOheSive: Governance Enhancement for Cohesive Societies

22.05.2025 Changing Society

Yuri Kazepov at the Department of Sociology is part of the “GetCoheSive” project and leads the Vienna case study.

GetCoheSive is an Interreg Central Europe project and experiments with new participatory strategies to enhance the democratic capacity in policymaking within four urban contexts: Berlin, Bologna, Ljubljana and Vienna.

MECS: Materials for Energy Conversion and Storage

22.05.2025 Clean Environment

Materials for Energy Conversion and Storage illustrated

Leticia Gonzalez at the Institute of Theoretical Chemistry is part of the Board of Directors and a lead scientist in pillar C at MECS.

The Cluster of excellence “Materials for Energy Conversion and Storage” (CoE MECS) joins multiple scientific groups from Vienna in a common quest of novel solid-state materials that will converse and/or store the energy of the light.

Permanent Latin American Working Group “Alternatives to Development”

22.05.2025 Changing Society

people standing on hill in front of house and forest

Ulrich Brand at the Department of Political Sciences is part of the “Alternatives to Development” working group.

The group exists since 2010, has around 50 members (3 from Europe, the others from Latin America) and we discuss current hot topics on the continent.

Understanding Terrestrial Microbiomes With AI

22.05.2025 Biodiversity and Ecosystems

Shaul Pollak Pasternak at the Centre for Microbiology and Environmental Systems Science (CMESS) is leading this project.

Our planet was shaped by microbial activity throughout the eons, and to this day ecosystems are fueled by the activity of microbial decomposers.

Beyond Development. Toward Systemic Emancipatory Transformations

22.05.2025 Changing Society

Ulrich Brand at the Faculty of Political Sciences at the University of Vienna is part of the global working group “Beyond Development. Toward Systemic Emancipatory Transformations”.

Within Southeast Asia, countless grassroots initiatives exist that work to empower and organize communities to assert their rights to land, livelihood, and political-decision-making.

INNORES: Innores: Innovation Residues – Modes and Infrastructures of Caring for Our Longue-Durée Environmental Futures

22.05.2025 Clean Environment

Innovation Residues between drawn mosaics over rusty background

Ulrike Felt at the Department of Science and Technology Studies is leading the “INNORES” project.

The project investigates how contemporary societies address and care for the “left-behinds” created by innovations – we call them innovation residues.