Quantitative Modelling of "Sustainable Germany"

What impact does consumers’ behaviour have on the environment? What influence does the promotion of e-mobility have on Germany’s economic development? Are positive environmental effects the result of this development, and if so, what specifically are they? These and further questions are the topic of this project.

In order to make scientifically supported statements on these questions, this project is developing a dynamic, quantitative, computer-based model of "Sustainable Germany" capable of being used in simulation games. This model can then be used to generate findings on societal interactions in interplay with increasing technical efficiency, social innovations, eco-sufficiency approaches, and socio-economic effects (e.g. rich/poor, migration, aging societies). The goal is to use the “Sustainable Germany” model to better understand the dynamic interaction between the different aspects of the three dimensions of sustainability (ecology, economy, social system) within the planet’s carrying capacity and, in doing so, to advance our systematic understanding of sustainable development overall.

The project pursues three main objectives:

developing a model capable of being used for simulations on the basis of preliminary scientific work.
testing and simulating with the parameters to establish the system behaviour and to describe and derive conclusions for political action.
to make the model as a simulation game and its finding available to the public.

adelphi is part of a consortium consisting of Consideo, the Ecologic Institute, the Protestant Institute for Interdisciplinary Research (FEST) and sociodimensions – Institute for Socio-cultural Research, and contributes its expertise on environmental and economic policy questions relating to sustainable development. This includes developing relevant impact chains demonstrating environmental effects, and concepts for simulation games addressing current concepts and challenges for environmental and sustainability policy.