Research

As part of the project, a detailed evaluation plan will be developed based on the CAP Strategic Plan evaluation plan and in accordance with the evaluation framework specified by the European Commission under Regulation (EU) 2022/1475. Based on the detailed concept, analyses will be conducted using established and proven quantitative and qualitative methods and techniques—including target-actual, before-and-after, and with/without comparisons. For these analyses, an operational model approach for agriculture in Germany will be developed and applied.

This doctoral research project traces the historical evolution of governance models within the global coffee commodity chain, from the regulatory era of the International Coffee Agreement (ICA) to the contemporary landscape dominated by private sustainability standards and emerging producer-driven initiatives. The study critically examines the shift from intergovernmental mechanisms—such as export quotas and price stabilization accords—to a fragmented system where NGOs, multinational corporations, and producer nations themselves now wield significant normative power. Employing a qualitative case study methodology, the research will utilize historical archival data from international organizations and in-depth, semi-structured interviews with key stakeholders across the chain (including policymakers, standard-setters, corporate buyers, and producer representatives). This empirical data will be analyzed through a critical discourse analysis (CDA) framework to deconstruct the power dynamics, competing narratives, and ideological assumptions that have shaped these governance transitions. The project aims to make a significant contribution by providing a nuanced, historically-grounded analysis of power redistribution in global agro-food chains. It seeks to illuminate the implications of this governance evolution for equity, resilience, and development outcomes in coffee-producing countries, ultimately proposing a refined theoretical model for understanding governance in global commodity chains.

Recently published pathways on Austrian climate neutrality ([BMF 2022], [Anderl et. al. 2023], [Schmidt et al. 2023], [Steininger et al. 2021], [BMK 2024b]) highly agree on short term requirements: significant expansion of renewables, conversion to electric drives, switching to renewable based heating systems (esp. heat pumps), and to renewable production technologies in industry. The former three are the lower-hanging fruits to be harvested by 2030 to keep Austria on track for achieving its climate goals. For the longer term – beyond 2030 –, however, these studies diverge – implying crucial uncertainties – and leave blind spots. INFRA-ENSURE is to fill these gaps, will identify no-regret actions and derive policy implications. In particular, the lengthy planning and construction timelines for infrastructure necessitate early decision-making to ensure its timely availability and alignment with climate neutrality goals. INFRA-ENSURE will distill the shared infrastructure demands across different pathways and thus deliver a robust decision basis and explore the relative advantages, plausible scales and order of investment requirements of major alternatives. Improving our understanding of post 2030 pathways and respective infrastructure needs therefore requires a systematic and comprehensive assessment of all involved energy consumption sectors, which in turn requires advancing state-of-the-art energy system models in combination with tools that are able to capture economy-wide effects. This is the assessment that INFRA-ENSURE will carry out.