Organisation: Advisory Board & Competence Center for Sustainable Development (Matthias Bornemann, Dr. Diana Grundmann, Prof. Dr. Thomas Potthast)
every Monday, 6 p.m. c.t., HS 25, Kupferbau

Here more about the lecture series

In the 21st century, societies are facing multiple challenges and crisis phenomena, particularly on a global scale. The guiding principle of “sustainable development” is the basis for finding answers to the question of a fair way of life that is sustainable for people and the environment. The Sustainable Development Goals (SDGs) adopted by the United Nations in 2015 in the UN Agenda 2030 provide a concrete framework for orientation. The 17 goals cover a wide range of topics: From the commitment to peace and the fight against poverty and hunger to education for all and the protection of biodiversity, the climate and our resources. They are interlinked and should not be viewed in isolation. Conflicting goals are therefore possible and the corresponding trade-offs must be discussed.

In the lecture series, scientists from various disciplines will present research findings and provide insights into selected SDGs, controversies, challenges and ways to achieve the goals.

Organisation: Health for Future (H4F) Tübingen and Scientists for Future (S4F) Tübingen, in cooperation with the Competence Center for Sustainable Development of the University of Tübingen
Tuesday, 8 p.m. c.t., HS 25, Kupferbau

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The climate crisis and environmental changes are affecting the health of all living beings on this planet, with extensive consequences in the near future. This connection is becoming increasingly clear: air and water pollution, heatwaves, extreme weather and climate-related conflicts are on the rise, causing wars and displacement, poverty, hunger and disease. The Covid-19 pandemic has made us realize that our planetary health must be preserved: political, economic and social systems are inextricably linked to the complexity of our life forms and their health on this planet.
An unambitious climate policy would change our living conditions so quickly that the reduction of harmful influences (mitigation) would come too late and adaptation would no longer be an option for many people. Even our social order could become an obsolete model for future generations if we miss the systemic change towards sustainability!
As part of a susceptible nature, humans are caught up in their own actions: civilizational conditions come into focus with the planetary concept of health, with its preventive, epidemiological and therapeutic consequences for all those involved. Even beyond the health sciences, the following questions ultimately arise in all sciences: How could humanity learn to recognize, consider and control health, political, economic, legal and social interrelationships in their entirety, while preserving the natural systems of our planet? What is the relationship between the private appropriation of nature and the common good and human rights? What prevents us from immediately and emphatically seeking appropriate ways of seeing and acting?

Sustainable and globally just? Sustainable development as a challenge for economics

Organisation: Department of Economics & Advisory Board/Competence Center for Sustainable Development: Prof. Dr. Taiga Brahm, Dr. Diana Grundmann, Prof. Dr. Thomas Potthast, Martin Priebe, Arno Schmidt

Sustainable development aims to achieve a “good life” for all people - worldwide and in the future. This is directly linked to economic issues: How can the negative consequences of climate change and social inequality, for example, be reduced? How can social and ecological principles be combined with our welfare economy in the best possible way? (How) can economic growth and resource consumption be decoupled? In any case, sustainable development can only succeed if the economic, ecological and socio-cultural dimensions are considered and addressed together.

In view of the negative effects of an excessive growth economy and the Green New Deal, there is currently much discussion about green growth, sufficiency and post-growth. This also has a direct impact on economics at colleges and universities. Questions of sustainability in research and teaching will clearly play an increasingly important role.

This lecture series creates a space for discussion and reflection in which the possibilities, but also the limits, of economics geared towards sustainable development are explored.