The objectives of the Paris Climate Treaty, including the achievement of the 2-degree target, require a major transformation of our (economic and social) systems within this century. The phase-out of fossil fuels and the development of a climate-friendly economy requires a far-reaching transformation of our central infrastructure towards resource-saving and climate-friendly systems on which human societies and the functioning of a social system are based. At the same time, the fundamental demand remains that infrastructure must be resilient in order to guarantee the security of supply and public services. In this respect, the design of the technical functionality of our infrastructure significantly influences the type of services provided, thus considerably influencing human activities and energy flows.
A systematic approach is therefore required to evaluate the entire physical infrastructure (transport/mobility, buildings, communication, material supply and disposal, energy supply, etc.) and institutional infrastructure (legal system, social system, economic system), as well as socio-political objectives regarding climate resilience and sustainability. Only in this way, we can create the basis for the necessary transformation of our infrastructure and its social functions.
The aim of the project was to analyse cutting-edge research in the EU (national and transnational) at the European level. The focus was put on energy, transport, water and ICT infrastructure. The core questions of this project were:
- Who are the important clients and beneficiaries of research in Europe?
- Who are the central researchers/research groups in Europe?
- What are innovative, exciting research topics and relevant research results for Europe and Germany?
- How relevant is the research to implementation?