Our Stories

Governments promised a green transition – yet emissions keep rising. New research from ECH members Ulrich Brand, Alina Brad, and Etienne Schneider in 'Nature Climate Change' reveals why the ‘decarbonisation state’ hits structural limits - and how a true transformation might redefine prosperity, justice, and the role of the state itself.

We congratulate Jan André Koch, researcher at the Department of Marketing and International Business at the University of Vienna and ECH member, on receiving funding from the City of Vienna’s Hochschuljubiläumsfonds for his project “Lost in consumption – Exploring the social and psychological barriers to understand why reduced consumption seems to be no option.” The project links sustainability, psychology, and marketing, contributing to interdisciplinary environment and climate research.

How can we move from knowledge to action on climate issues? This question is being addressed by the Environment and Climate Research Hub (ECH) in cooperation with the City of Vienna in its lecture series "Environment, Climate, Sustainability: From Knowledge to Action". What lies behind this topic and how science and administration can work together towards a sustainable future was also the subject of the opening event for the lecture series in the ballroom of Vienna City Hall on 13 October.

From 2–3 October, the ECH retreat in Bad Vöslau brought together researchers across different fields to explore how interdisciplinary collaboration can tackle today’s environmental challenges – from microplastics in the air to climate litigation and parenthood in times of the climate crisis.

The ECH congratulates the University of Vienna for ranking 95th in this year’s THE World University Rankings, becoming the first Austrian university to be listed among the top 100. Excelling in the categories of research, internationalization, teaching, and industry engagement, the University has proved itself yet again despite increasing competition. The ECH is proud to be part of the University’s effort to provide profound scientific evidence that transcends disciplines and academic ranks.

Our food systems are under pressure: resource consumption, climate change, and a growing population are threatening food security. At the 16th qualityaustria Food Forum in Vienna, environmental scientist and ECH co-director Thilo Hofmann showed how sustainable food systems, technological innovations, and more conscious consumption can point the way out of the crisis - for the health of people and the planet.