Urban transformations need to address basic needs to be effective
On 25.11.2024 by David Kaufmann, Michael WickiCities and their urban transformations are critical to achieve the Sustainable Development Goals. Our new research shows that European cities tend to prioritize environmental and technical issues, such as biodiversity or transportation, while their residents prefer issues linked to their everyday socio-economic needs, such as cost of living or public health. The findings are highly relevant for the energy transition as this transition seems to be only feasible when considering fairness and avoiding political backlash in energy planning.
Expensive but effective: Why citizens support costly but durable carbon removal practices
On 18.11.2024 by Susanne RheinAs climate change accelerates and CO2 emissions reductions alone prove insufficient to meet climate targets, carbon removal has become essential for tackling hard-to-abate emissions. However, deploying carbon removal at scale presents a critical challenge for governments: How can they ensure it is both effective and affordable enough to secure public support? We show that this public support challenge can be overcome if carbon removal practices are deployed in combination with regulations that the public expects to work over the long term, even if these regulations increase costs.