SDGs and Grand Challenges

Here you will find an overview of the projects and activities of the gW/N in the core area "SDGs & Grand Challenges". Click on the links to find out more! If you have any questions about the individual projects, please contact benedikt.becsi(at)boku.ac.at or mathias.kirchner@boku.ac.at.

Project UniNetz

As part of the UniNEtZ project, the BOKU has taken on "sponsorships" for 3 SDGs and has agreed to participate in a further six SDGs, with these activities being located in different departments. The Center for Global Change & Sustainability (gW/N) acts as the central coordination point for the BOKU. The overall coordination of the UniNEtZ project lies with the Alliance for Sustainable Universities. The BOKU, as the central university in the alliance, but also in the UniNEtZ project, is involved in the overall coordination and contributes to successful cooperation between the UniNEtZ partners.

More about UniNEtZ at BOKU: short.boku.ac.at/uninetz
The official UniNEtZ website can be found here: https://www.uninetz.at/

Facebook: https://www.facebook.com/uninetz/
Instagram: https://www.instagram.com/uninetz/

Reference national energy and climate plan (Ref-NEKP)

At the initiative of the scientific representative in the National Climate Protection Committee (NKK) Gottfried Kirchengast (Uni Graz, ÖAW) and Helga Kromp-Kolb (BOKU), Karl Steininger (Uni Graz) and Sigrid Stagl (WU), under the scientific coordination of Mathias Kirchner (BOKU) with the valuable help of the students Christoph Ambach, Julia Grohs, Andrea Gutsohn, Jonas Peisker and Birte Strunk as well as around seventy experts a reference plan as the basis for a scientifically sound national energy and energy policy that is in line with the Paris climate goals Climate plan for Austria (Ref-NEKP) created.

In the sense of good scientific practice in the science-policy dialogue, this is not a plan that specifies what is to be done politically, but rather a description of possible implementation paths with which Austria can achieve its fair and appropriate contribution to the Paris climate goals (keyword policy relevant, not policy prescriptive).

An edited final version was published by the ÖAW Verlag. The Ref-NEKP first precedes an introduction and motivation and a vision for 2050. On the one hand, he highlights bundles of basic measures that are essential for Austria's contribution to the achievement of the 1.5°C target and, on the other hand, shows possible implementation paths that assume different value-based weightings of the measures. The description of the bundle of measures as well as the ways of implementation is qualitative, as quantification was not yet possible with the given resources or there is still a need for research. The extensive chapter "Detailed information: collection of measures and description", supplemented by a comprehensive bibliography, completes the entire volume.

In 2020, the Ref-NEKP received the Sustainability Award in the “Communication & Decision-Making” category. You can read an interview on the here.

APCC Special Report Landnutzung, Landmanagement und Klimawandel (Land use, land management and climate change) (SR21)

The SR21 is intended to summarize and evaluate the state of knowledge with regard to the subject area of ​​land use and climate change. The report will concentrate on scientific findings that have been gained in Austrian research projects, relate to Austria and - where necessary - also make use of international sources. An open process is to be pursued over two years, which involves the scientific community in the field of land system research as broadly as possible.

In order to ensure that the report “stays on the ground” and takes into account issues that are important in practice and politics, the aim is to involve stakeholders as actively and widely as possible. Interested citizens and stakeholders from ministries, federal states, NGOs and stakeholders are invited to read and comment on the report. Direct exchange between authors and stakeholders is made possible at two meetings.

Thomas Lindenthal, Martin Schlatzer, Werner Zollitsch and Mathias Kirchner support the SR21, especially in the areas of climate protection measures and the effects of climate change.

FARECarbon – An effective, economically efficient and at the same time socially fair CO2 tax for Austria

The decarbonization of society requires a wide range of climate policy measures, in which the pricing of CO2 plays an essential role. However, CO2 taxes are not without controversy and are associated with numerous indirect effects and uncertainties.
Against this background, a stakeholder-supported multi-model comparison of macroeconomic models for Austria is carried out in FARECarbon. More precisely, political scenarios are simulated with three different macroeconomic models based on different economic theories. These simulations provide a solid basis for policy making by illustrating the range of expected impacts and the associated uncertainties. The close cooperation with the stakeholders throughout the project will, on the one hand, lead to the definition of realistic policy scenarios and, on the other hand, ensure the integration of the different perspectives of the stakeholders into the development of a proposal for the taxation of CO2 in Austria. This significantly increases the political relevance of the results.

The project is led by Joanneum Research, with investments from BOKU, the University of Graz, and WIFO.