Spatial Science Colloquium 2025, Berlin
A representative of the Mazovian Office of Regional Planning in Warsaw took part in Spatial Science Colloquium 2025, which took place in Berlin on 26–27 June 2025. It is a recurring event organised by Leibniz Institute for Regional Geography (Leibniz-Institut für Länderkunde), a German research centre focusing on regional geography. This year’s edition, titled Excessive change? New departures and old contradictions in socio-ecological transformation, pertained to transformation towards sustainable and climate-neutral development.
The conference brought together representatives from the worlds of science, public administration, planners and social activists. The main speakers were: Dirk Messner, President of the German Environment Agency (Umweltbundesamt); Anna Lisa Boni, Deputy Mayor of Bologna for EU Funds and Climatic Mission 2030; and Andreas Novy, Professor of Socio-economy at the Vienna University of Economics and Business, co-author of the Second Austrian Assessment Report on Climate Change (AAR2) – a comprehensive scientific paper on climate change in Austria.
The conference focused on the thesis that the current progress of the transformation is unsatisfactory. Attempts were made to identify the barriers behind this. The social dimension of the transformation process was strongly emphasised by analysing social trends and political environment, challenges related to radicalisation of views, populism and disinformation. In this context, the need to change the narrative was emphasised in order to reach communities for whom climate issues are not a priority, but with whom it is possible to build a dialogue rooted in a real context and focused on universal values.Attending the conference was an opportunity to learn about the progress and barriers Europe is facing on the path to the transformation. All speeches shared understanding of the need to take action in the face of climate change, but also agreed that the scale of the challenges had initially been underestimated. The initial assumptions require revision so that they better respond to social needs, taking into account the local context and emotions. These are certainly universal conclusions worth considering in the process of shaping development policy.
