Publications
Top 10Publicationsof 2025
Each year, the Wuppertal Institute presents the ten most important peer-reviewed publications of the past year. With this selection from 2025, the institute aims to highlight central scientific contributions by its researchers and to provide insights into the current state of its internationally recognised research.
Five articles from 2025 were selected on the topic of climate, energy, and resource transition, two articles from the area of consumer behaviour and three articles from the area of research methods. The articles can be accessed via the links below.
Climate, energy, and resource transition
Compounding injustices can impede a just energy transition; in: Nature Energy
In coal-intensive regions, a just energy transition is particularly crucial for tackling climate change and ensuring social cohesion in Europe. In their article "Compounding injustices can impede a just energy transition" in Nature Energy, Dr. Lukas Hermwille, Co-Head of the Transformative Industrial Policy Research Unit, and Max Schulze-Steinen from the Global Climate Governance Research Unit, together with other researchers, analyse how deep-rooted historical "injustice burdens" overlap and reinforce new injustices of the transition, thereby massively complicating a just structural change.
The authors argue that purely financial compensation mechanisms often fall short of addressing these injustices. Using the concept of "compounding injustices", they show that a lack of procedural participation and recognition of regional identities place an additional burden on transformation processes. Based on empirical analyses – including in the context of European transformation regions – they develop institutional reform proposals, including a European Just Transition monitoring system.
Energy and socioeconomic system transformation through a decade of IPCC-assessed scenarios; in: Nature Climate Change
The presentation of future emission pathways is a central component of the IPCC assessment reports. In the article "Energy and socioeconomic system transformation through a decade of IPCC-assessed scenarios", published in Nature Climate Change, researchers compare several IPCC reports and analyse the development of the scenarios considered.
On behalf of the Wuppertal Institute, Dr. Lukas Hermwille, Co-Head of the Transformative Industrial Policy Research Unit, and Wolfgang Obergassel, Co-Head of the Global Climate Governance Research Unit, together with eleven other scientists, examine the developments and changes in the energy and socio-economic systems recorded by the IPCC over the last ten years. The systematic evaluation of the the IPCC's 5th and 6th Assessment Reports as well as the IPCC's Special Report "Global Warming of 1.5ºC" shows that reference scenarios without specific climate protection measures consistently show lower CO2 emissions in more recent reports. Key drivers include falling costs for low-carbon technologies, reduced expectations of economic growth and structural shifts in energy and industrial systems.
Providing the transport sector in Europe with fossil free energy – a model-based analysis under consideration of the MENA region; in: Frontiers in Energy Research
In the article "Providing the transport sector in Europe with fossil free energy – a model-based analysis under consideration of the MENA region", Christine Krüger, Dr. Larissa Doré, Tomke Janßen, Mathieu Saurat and PD Dr. Peter Viebahn from the Future Energy and Industry Systems Research Division examine scenarios for the production and export of synthetic fuels in the MENA region. The results show that imports from the MENA region are an attractive option from a purely economic perspective. However, taking into account investment risk, lower import quotas for synthetic fuels would be more favourable for Europe: Higher production costs in Europe would be offset to a certain extent by lower investment risks. The study thus provides important strategic impetus for European energy and foreign policy. The article was published in Frontiers in Energy Research.
The potential of international institutions to foster transitions: the example of the Global Stocktake under the Paris Agreement; in: Environmental Innovations and Societal Transitions
For three decades, the international community has been struggling year after year at the COP to make progress in the fight against climate change, yet emissions continue to climb. This raises the question: How effective is global climate policy – and what influence do international institutions have on the development of emissions? Wolfgang Obergassel and Christiane Beuermann, both Co-Heads of the Global Climate Governance Research Unit, together with Dr. Carsten Elsner from the Transformative Industrial Policy Research Unit and other researchers, examine this question using the example of the Global Stocktake (GST) in the article "The potential of international institutions to foster transitions: the example of the Global Stocktake under the Paris Agreement".
The authors use an interdisciplinary framework of five governance functions and compare it with the results of the first GST, which was completed in late 2023 at COP28 in Dubai. The conclusion is nuanced: While the GST process successfully provided important orientation, such as the move away from fossil fuels, binding rules and financial resources for implementation are still lacking. The article was published in the journal Environmental Innovations and Societal Transitions.
We have to talk! Claims of early career researchers to transform circular economy research; in: Resources, Conservation and Recycling
In the journal Resources, Conservation and Recycling, Alexa Böckel from the Circular Economy Research Division and Konrad Schoch from the Sustainable Production and Consumption Research Division call for fundamental systemic change in circular economy research: In their analysis in the article "We have to talk! Claims of early career researchers to transform circular economy research", they advocate for a more reflexive, engaged and interdisciplinary approach to circular economy research – and criticise, among other things, intransparency of power relations in research, disciplinary fragmentation and the tension between scientific neutrality and normative orientation. The authors propose applying the principles of the circular economy to the scientific system itself to strengthen reflexive and transformative research approaches.
Consumer behaviour
The influence of a hypothetical eco-score on purchase decisions: Empirical evidence on consumer preferences and consumer segments for mobile phones; in: Cleaner and Responsible Consumption
In the article "The influence of a hypothetical eco-score on purchase decisions: Empirical evidence on consumer preferences and consumer segments for mobile phones", Dr. Kathleen Jacobs from the Circular Economy Research Division and two co-authors examine the effects of a multi-level eco-score for mobile phones on consumer behaviour. The researchers used adaptive choice-based conjoint analysis and cluster analysis.
The results show that eco-scores have a significant positive influence on purchasing decisions. Two of the four identified consumer groups show particularly strong preferences for higher eco-scores, indicating untapped market potential for sustainable mobile phones. The study provides differentiated insights into the relative importance of attributes such as price, brand, and environmental performance – and offers reference points for the formulation of European product policies. The article was published in the journal Cleaner and Responsible Consumption.
Feasibility of sufficiency-policy instruments: an assessment using impact chains for the German mobility sector; in: Sustainability: Science, Practice and Policy
The transport sector is far from achieving the climate targets set out in the Paris Agreement. Rapid decarbonisation requires not only the replacement of fuels, but also energy savings through modal shift and demand reduction – core objectives of sufficiency policy in the transport sector.
In the article "Feasibility of sufficiency policy instruments: an assessment using impact chains for the German mobility sector", Dr. Johannes Thema from the Energy Policy Research Unit and other authors analyse the feasibility of sufficiency policy instruments for the transport sector. To this end, the researchers established and evaluated impact chains for 83 policy instruments in the transport sector, from policy stimulus and induced activities, resulting outputs and outcomes to final impacts.
The analysis shows that policy instruments with many supporting factors also tend to have many barriers and risks, which is particularly true for broad instruments that have diverse relevant factors. The fewest risks are associated with targets in the areas "promotion of active modes" and "reduction of motorised individual transport", as they are less costly as well as less labour- and material-intensive. The analysis can serve as a foundation for fact-based, constructive discussions about political feasibility: decision-makers can use it to compare very different policy instruments, for example in terms of the associated effort or the supporting and hindering factors. The article was published in the journal Sustainability: Science, Practice and Policy.
Research methods
Breaking down societal challenges: an exploration of relations between problems and solutions in mission-oriented policies; in: Science and Public Policy
Mission-oriented policies aim to address societal challenges by catalysing innovation and sectoral policies towards defined goals – but often lack an approach for breaking down complex challenges into manageable sub-problems.
In the journal Science and Public Policy, Daniel Wurm from the Circular Economy Research Division, together with a colleague from Fraunhofer ISI, presents a novel analytical framework called the "mission firmament" in the article "Breaking down societal challenges: an exploration of relations between problems and solutions in mission-oriented policies". The tool enables systematic mapping of the relationships between problems and solutions, thereby allowing strategic leverage points to be identified. The authors illustrate their framework with the case of the national strategy for circular economy in Germany.
Analyzing sectoral policies for deep decarbonization: the case of national freight transportation; in: Climate Policy
In the journal Climate Policy, Maria Rosa Munoz Barriga from the UN-Habitat Collaborating Center Research Unit and an international team of researchers present a new analytical approach in the article "Analysing sectoral policies for deep decarbonisation: the case of national freight transportation", which addresses the problem of fragmented national strategies for decarbonising freight transport and the underestimation of the systemic complexity of these strategies. The framework integrates expert assessments and systemic transformation requirements. The results illustrate that isolated economic instruments are not sufficient and that greater consideration must be given to infrastructure planning in particular. The study thus offers practical guidance for more ambitious national transport strategies.
How social entrepreneurs search for knowledge to solve complex social problems – An empirically based model and typology; in: Journal of Business Research
Social entrepreneurs make significant contributions to tackling global challenges by solving complex social problems. However, how they deal with this complexity is not yet well understood. In the article "How social entrepreneurs search for knowledge to solve complex social problems – An empirically based model and typology", Dr. Katrin Eling, Scientific Advisor Strategic Research Field Development, together with two other scientists, develops a model of social entrepreneurs’ problem solving at the individual level.
Based on interviews with founders from Germany and Ethiopia, the study identifies three types of changemakers – and shows how normative guiding principles function as a mental compass. The study contributes to the further development of innovation and entrepreneurship theories in the context of social transformation. The article was published in the Journal of Business Research.
Further Top Ten
The annual selection of important scientific publications is available here for the following years: