Since its foundation in 1991 the Wuppertal Institute has been working on visions for a sustainable low carbon society. Today the Institute's four research groups all contribute to different facets of this issue.

As early as 1990 the Enquete Commission "Protecting the Earth" of the German Parliament found greenhouse gas emission reductions by 80 per cent by 2050 necessary for Germany to comply with the ultimate goal of the UN climate convention. Based on this target the Wuppertal Institute has conducted several long term scenario analyses for the German energy system which show that energy use can become much more efficient by 2050 and the energy demand could be supplied by Combined Heat and Power (CHP) and renewable energies. These scenarios are basic for the current long term energy strategy which is annually updated by the German Federal Ministry for the Environment. A long term energy scenario has also been made on behalf of a coalition of NGOs for the Czech Republic.

However, sustainable low carbon societies are to be created as well on the local level. Scenario analyses provide strategic guidance for the policy of cities and municipalities: E.g. a city like Munich can cut its CO2 emissions by up to 90 per cent by mid-century. This is the result of the study conducted together with Siemens: "Sustainable Urban Infrastructure: Munich - Roads towards a Carbon-Free Future". The study shows that transforming a city into a virtually carbon-free urban environment will be a major challenge - one that can only be mastered if achieving this aim becomes top priority for all stakeholders: decision makers, utilities, urban planners and, particularly, investors and residents.