Focus on socio-ecological transformation: Symposium at the German Welfare Congress

On September 16, 2025, Dr. Mirjam Jenny, Scientific Managing Director of the Institute for Planetary Health Behaviour at the University of Erfurt, chaired the symposium "Climate in Transition: Social and Ecological Transformation" as part of the German Welfare Congress (Deutscher Fürsorgetag).

The focus was on the consequences of climate change - from heatwaves to droughts and floods - and the question of how municipalities, institutions, and politicians can respond to the coming transformations. Among other things, the design of social spaces, infrastructure, financing, social security, and questions of distributive and intergenerational justice were discussed.

Together with Brigitte Knopf (Denkfabrik Zukunft KlimaSozial), Katja Kipping (Deutscher Paritätischer Wohlfahrtsverband), Michael Schäfer (Federal Ministry of Labour and Social Affairs) and Marc Elxnat (Deutscher Städte- und Gemeindebund), the discussion explored how ecological change and social justice can go hand in hand.

Dr. Mirjam Jenny emphasised afterwards:

Climate change not only affects our environment, but also our social coexistence. We can only create a fair and sustainable future if we think about ecological and social issues together. And for climate protection and climate adaptation to be accepted by society, political measures must already be designed in a socially just way and bring clear benefits to people’s everyday lives.

You can find the full program at: www.dft2025.de/dft-programm/