Climate Adaptation · Systems Transformation · Climate Diplomacy
Clarity for climate adaptation decisions.
We don’t simplify complexity. We make it navigable.
Earth Resilience Institute is an independent non-profit institute bringing together science, policy and implementation to help decision-makers navigate complex climate choices – from local adaptation to international climate processes.
Europe · Asia · Latin America · Global climate processes
ResearchScientific evidence & systems thinking
PolicyInternational climate dialogue
PracticePathways to implementation
Local knowledgePlace-based realities
Latest · Policy brief · 7 October 2026
Climate security is no longer a knowledge gap. It is an implementation gap.
At the Berlin Climate and Security Conference 2026, more than 300 representatives of governments, the armed forces, the UN, development banks, civil society and academia discussed how climate risks shape peace and security. Our new policy brief distils eight key insights and seven policy implications – from continuity in funding for fragile contexts to linking early warning with early action.
From the field
Where dialogue turns into action.
Conferences, roundtables and workshops – ERI brings people together where decisions are prepared.
Why we exist
Climate challenges are deeply interconnected.
Decisions about adaptation, finance, governance, energy and development cannot be treated separately. ERI connects these dimensions and helps decision-makers understand not only what needs to change, but how change can actually happen.
We work across disciplines.
Climate resilience needs science, policy, finance, governance, society and local knowledge to work together.
We focus on pathways, not isolated solutions.
Our work looks at how decisions connect over time and how implementation can actually happen.
We connect global processes with local realities.
ERI works across international climate diplomacy, regional networks and place-based adaptation challenges.
How we operate
Bottom-up, not top-down.
ERI is an independent, bottom-up network. We don’t wait for ministerial mandates or multi-year approval cycles – we bring the right people together around a concrete problem and start working.
01
Fast to convene
Researchers, practitioners and policy-makers work with us directly – without lengthy institutional procedures.
02
Driven by the challenge
Teams form around concrete questions and places, not around organisational charts.
03
Complementary to formal processes
We feed results into COP negotiations, ministries and international institutions – adding speed and flexibility where formal structures move slowly.
What we do
Four workstreams. One connected system.
Our workstreams reinforce one another: research informs policy, policy shapes implementation, and implementation generates new knowledge.
01 · Adaptation
Climate Adaptation
Place-based adaptation, resilience pathways and decision-making under climate risk – connecting scientific evidence, local realities and implementation.
02 · Transformation
Systems Transformation
How institutions, finance, governance and policy enable or block large-scale transformation – and how transition goals become concrete pathways and decision points.
03 · Diplomacy
Climate Diplomacy, Facilitation & Policy
We design and facilitate policy dialogues and moderate high-level and expert discussions – translating complex climate issues into practical cooperation.
04 · Decision support
Applied Research & Decision Support
Practical frameworks and decision tools that help organisations understand complex climate systems and identify viable pathways for action.
How we work
From complexity to workable pathways.
We combine systems thinking, scientific evidence, stakeholder knowledge and practical implementation experience.
01
Listen first
We start with the people, institutions and realities already shaping the system.
02
Connect the system
We identify relationships, risks, dependencies and decision points.
03
Build pathways
We turn complexity into concrete options for action, collaboration and implementation.
Selected work
Where our work happens.
Projects, dialogues and applied initiatives that connect climate knowledge with decision-making and implementation.
Tuvalu & Ireland · Pacific · July 2027
Second Conference on Transitioning Away from Fossil Fuels
From pathways to delivery: ERI carries the Santa Marta science process forward into the second conference, co-hosted by Tuvalu and Ireland.
Guangzhou · China
Zero Carbon Prosperity Conference
A multidimensional framework for zero-carbon prosperity – treating transformation not only as a long-term vision, but as a sequence of concrete choices.
The Hague · Netherlands
The Hague Roundtable on Climate & Security
Systems perspectives, moderation and strategic exchange for international climate and policy dialogue across institutions and regions.
Afghanistan
Voices from the ground
With Afghan partners on climate resilience under high vulnerability and recurrent floods and droughts – bringing together local knowledge, climate risk and governance realities.
Our network
Built with partners across regions.
ERI is part of a growing international network of institutions and experts across climate science, adaptation, risk, governance, technology and policy – driven by a bottom-up approach.
KITKarlsruhe Institute of Technology
HUST GuangzhouZero-carbon prosperity & transformation pathways
University of AugsburgHuman geography, transformation & resilience
BUETBangladesh University of Engineering and Technology
KUETKhulna University of Engineering & Technology
IIT HyderabadIndian Institute of Technology Hyderabad
IPN – CICATA QuerétaroInstituto Politécnico Nacional
BAM!Sustainability communication & implementation
Where to meet
Upcoming events – let’s meet in person.
We are on the road a lot. If you are attending one of these events, send us a quick message and we’ll find a time.
28 Sep 2026 · Berlin
Marketing for Future Award – jury meeting
Sissi is in Berlin all day for the jury session of the Marketing for Future Award – happy to meet before or after.
4–7 Oct 2026 · Berlin
Berlin Climate and Security Conference (BCSC)
Main conference on 6 October at the German Federal Foreign Office, organised with adelphi. We are in Berlin from 4 to 7 October.
20 Oct 2026 · Stuttgart
Landtag of Baden-Württemberg
Sissi is at the State Parliament of Baden-Württemberg in Stuttgart on 20 October – happy to meet there.
4–5 Nov 2026 · Berlin
BAM! Bock auf Morgen Festival
Two days on sustainable business transformation at Festsaal Kreuzberg, Berlin.
9–20 Nov 2026 · Antalya, Türkiye
COP31 – UN Climate Change Conference
Meet us at the climate negotiations in Antalya for dialogue on adaptation, transition pathways and climate diplomacy.
New dates coming soon – get in touch via WhatsApp or email in the meantime.
Publications & media
Recent publications and talks.
Report · Zenodo · 2026
Santa Marta Action Repertoire (SMART) – Summary
Summary of the Santa Marta Action Repertoire: concrete areas for action on the transition away from fossil fuels. Edited by F. J. Bohn, J. Burton, A. Cardoso, F. Jotzo, S. Knispel de Acosta, K. Kühne, P.-Y. Oei and A. Zou.
Essay · The Facet
Why Transatlantic Collaboration in Science Matters More than Ever
Sissi Knispel de Acosta on why climate action, energy transformation and biodiversity protection need cooperation across borders, institutions and political legacies.
Video · The Hague · June 2026
The Hague Roundtable on Climate & Security – Arctic
Work with us
Let’s make complex climate decisions navigable – together.
ERI works with researchers, governments, international organisations, civil society, technical experts and implementation partners.