Conference on the German Sustainability Strategy
On 7 December, the German government hosted a sustainability conference at Uni Bremen, one of several regional dialogue events in advance of the planned 2024 revision of the German Sustainability Strategy (DNS). Good timing and a good choice of location, too, as just two days earlier the University of Bremen had been recognised as the top “Most Sustainable University” in Germany and tenth in the world (out of well over 1,000 universities) in the UI GreenMetric World University Ranking. "We give equal weight to social and ecological considerations in our new university mission statement," said Rector Jutta Günther at the conference opening in the “biscuit tin" auditorium building. "However, we must all become more courageous in implementing the UN Sustainable Development Goals and learn to share." And with that, the theme of the conference was made plain.
Sarah Ryglewski, Minister of State to the Federal Chancellor and also a Uni Bremen alumna, is responsible for the further development of the DNS within the federal government. In an initial discussion round, she emphasised that sustainability must not remain a “feel-good" issue: "We need ideas, ingenuity and commitment from all parts of society – and we need to make the DNS even more concrete and sustainable”.
"Finally getting more concrete – that makes me wince slightly. The DNS has been around for 20 years," replied Harald Heinrichs, Professor of Sustainability and Politics at Leuphana University Lüneburg. Nevertheless, he added, it can be said that Germany has created a good framework for sustainable development, especially by international comparison, which is even enshrined in Article 20a of the German Constitution. For Heinrichs, the deficits are above all in existing participation processes, which have so far mostly involved only the middle classes. "For disadvantaged people who have serious problems getting enough to eat, sustainability is certainly not the number one issue," said Jörn Hermening, head of the local authority in Hemelingen, a district that cannot exactly be considered affluent. But here, too, there was a significant and relativising “but”: sustainability may be a subject for academics, said Hermening, but it also affects the poor, who incidentally leave the smallest carbon footprint.
Katrin Moosdorf, Bremen's Senator for the Environment, Climate and Science, confirmed that assessment in her short presentation. Increasingly palpable and more severe climate events, such as the heatwaves and heavy downpours that are also being felt in Bremen, are making life even harder for those who aren’t able to muster the money for air conditioning or protective building upgrades. Here in Bremen, the Senator said, is a good example of a comprehensive sustainability strategy: the close coordination of organic farming with nature conservation and regional marketing of organic produce for kindergartens.
Unfortunately, opposition to sustainable policies has grown stronger in recent years, with opponents making discrediting charges of "do-gooder politics", lamented Mayor Andreas Bovenschulte, another alumnus. Like the rector, he called for courage in a debate that must be conducted proactively, in the interest of global justice. In the conference’s workshops and discussion rounds, there was plenty of opportunity for exactly that.