The crises of recent years have made it clear that the environment and environmental policy are highly affected by them, which has led to a public debate among experts and a large number of studies. The focus is particularly on the question: What is the status of the global Sustainable Development Goals (SDGs) in the face of numerous global crises, from the war in Ukraine to the effects of the climate crisis? The question of what can be learnt from previous crises for sustainability policy will also be discussed intensively.

Against this background, the project aims to help anticipate and analyse crises and develop proposals for a forward-looking approach to environmental policy. Foresight methods are used to identify corridors of probable and possible developments, which serve to anticipate possible developments and to better understand dynamics and influencing factors.

The research project pursues three primary objectives: Firstly, to anticipate which crises could arise in the near and medium future that could have a significant impact on the environment or the work of the environment department. Secondly, to analyse from various perspectives how these crises could unfold and what concrete effects selected crises or crisis clusters could have on the environment, the transformation process and the work of the environment department, based on possible future developments. And thirdly, proposals will be developed on how transformation towards sustainability can succeed in the light of individual selected crises or polycrises. The aim is also to clarify what contribution the environment department can make and whether and, if so, what the environment department can do to prevent or mitigate the crises.