Throwback at Outstanding Posters from ICSS Students

24 November 2025

Photo: UHH

Kat Linscott

To mitigate climate change, we urgently need to move away from oil and gas. Yet some states show little interest in doing so – on the contrary, they even try to delay the global phase-out of fossil fuels. These oil addicted countries fear the transition, as their economies are heavily dependent on oil – in Saudi Arabia, for example, the oil sector accounts for about a quarter of GDP.

 WHAT STRATEGIES CAN OIL-RICH NATIONS USE TO TRANSITION THEIR ECONOMIES AWAY FROM OIL?

 This was the question ICSS student Kat Linscott explored in her poster for the course Researching and Shaping Climate Futures – with a very personal motivation: “I was inspired by the discussions on the future of oil that were taking place in Canada, my home country. I found it difficult to picture a world where it's feasible for a country like mine to stop producing and using fossil fuels without significant welfare loss.”

 The situation is more complex than it may first appear. Oil-rich nations risk a hard crash: as demand declines, revenues collapse, jobs disappear, and political instability grows.

Kat developed a framework to open a path towards a fossil-free future. The goal is to reach Peak Oil – the moment when global demand for oil begins to decline permanently. In Phase I, the transition is prepared: no new exploration projects, greater efficiency, diverting revenues into sovereign wealth funds, and investing in renewables. Phase II marks the actual exit: ending subsidies, decarbonizing the economy, and retraining workers for new industries. New opportunities could emerge in markets such as hydrogen, biofuels, or CO₂ storage.

“Finding ways to equitably transition these nations’ economies off of fossil fuels could turn them from the biggest proponents of delay to drivers of decarbonization,” says Kat. Her conclusion: “Plan long-term. Start today. Just transition.”

Marie Spokas

Fast Fashion Has Its Price. While in the Global North we continue to buy more and more new clothes, discarded garments end up as waste on the most beautiful beaches of the Global South. A system full of inequality and negative environmental impacts.

BUT HOW CAN THE FASHION INDUSTRY BECOME MORE SUSTAINABLE?

This is the question ICSS student Marie Spokas explored. In the course Researching and Shaping Climate Futures, she created an outstanding poster entitled “Redesigning the Fashion Industry.”

When it comes to sustainability, the fashion sector still has a long way to go. Pollution is only part of the problem. “Alongside the pollution, the fashion industry emits an estimated 10% of global carbon emissions annually,” says Marie Spokas. “Tackling climate change must include transitioning this industry from an infinitely growing, linear model to a circular one.”

Her poster highlights strategies for this transformation: consumers can repair more often and shop more consciously. Labelling systems that provide transparency on production conditions could also help. Such systems must be established by policy makers, who can further contribute through bans on hazardous chemicals or stricter supply chain regulations. But above all, manufacturers themselves must take responsibility: cover disposal costs, enable free repairs, design more durable products, and ensure transparent supply chains.

“The transition will require creative, complex solutions, as well as participation from stakeholders at all levels,” says Marie Spokas. “There’s still so much more research to be done!”

Valentina Buenfil Román

 Whether Nestlé with its controversial water practices or oil giants like Shell and BP – in the face of the climate crisis, more and more people choose to boycott certain products. But:

 HOW EFFECTIVE ARE CONSUMER BOYCOTTS IN ACCELERATING CLIMATE CHANGE MITIGATION?

This is the question ICSS student Valentina Buenfil Román explored in the course Researching and Shaping Climate Futures – and for which her poster was awarded by the jury.

 Her findings: boycotts can send a strong signal, but so far their impact has been mainly reputational, with limited economic consequences. For boycotts to be more effective, greater participation is needed. Whether people join depends on cognitive trade-offs: on the one hand, the sense of empowerment and collective action; on the other, doubts such as liking a product or not wanting to harm employees.

“Boycotts can send a strong message to big corporations: we need more climate action and less greenwashing,” says Valentina. The key, she argues, is to strengthen motivation – for instance, by showcasing successful examples and highlighting positive outcomes. This way, individual consumer choices can become a true driver of deep decarbonization.

Steffen Sippel

Climate lawsuits play a growing role in efforts to prevent the climate crisis. Steffen Sippel is interested in how climate science can advance climate action and has examined the connection between climate lawsuits and climate science.

WHAT IS THE ROLE OF ATTRIBUTION SCIENCE AS EVIDENCE IN CLIMATE LITIGATION CASES? AND HOW CAN LAWYERS AND CLIMATE SCIENTISTS WORK TOGETHER EFFECTIVELY?

Attribution science is a field of climate science that investigates how much human-induced climate change has influenced and altered specific extreme weather events such as heat waves, droughts, or heavy rainfall.

Climate litigation can be a useful tool to hold actors accountable when they fail to adequately address climate change.

Realizing this potential relies heavily on the interaction of social drivers: successful cases depend on building bridges between lawyers, climate scientists, and social movements. Research that helps these fields collaborate effectively is crucial in this context.

Clara Harms

Could we live well in a world with collapsed ecosystems and exhausted natural resources? To many, the answer seems obvious: No. But how can this question be asked (and maybe answered) in the language of mathematical models?

HOW CAN WE BRING NATURE INTO THE PICTURE?

This is the question ICSS student Clara Harms explored in the course Researching and Shaping Climate Futures. In her poster, she reflected on Integrated Assessment Models – mathematical tools that are used to study economic developments and try to find optimal climate mitigation paths.

Her criticism: “Sometimes these models don’t do a good job in representing how important nature is for human wellbeing and how it is damaged by human activities. It’s very complicated to model the many ways through which humans and nature influence each other. But this is quickly overlooked when model results are presented and taken up in political debates.”

With her poster, Clara wants to highlight how important it is to always think about these two aspects together: human wellbeing and a stable nature. Luckily, there are already methods which do exactly that. These models project economic development, at the same time checking whether nature remains in a healthy state. Clara would wish for more studies taking up this perspective.

“How we want to live in the future is one of the biggest questions we can ask. The tools we use to answer it should be well designed” she concludes. And, just as important: “All models have limitations. We should be very clear on where these are, so we can use them properly.”