In this episode we explain how co-accounting can be used by countries and companies to quantify their environmental impacts and discuss the benefits and limitations of these methods.

References

Sandoz fire: https://www.iksr.org/fileadmin/user_upload/Dokumente_en/Press_Releases/30_Jahre_nach_SANDOZ_Hintergrund.docx_de-DE_en-GB.pdf

GDP: https://ec.europa.eu/eurostat/statistics-explained/index.php?title=Beginners:GDP_-_What_is_gross_domestic_product_(GDP)%3F

GDP Critique: https://www.scientificamerican.com/article/gdp-is-the-wrong-tool-for-measuring-what-matters/

A brief history of ecological accounting: https://www.aefr.eu/en/article/4078-a-brief-history-of-ecological-accounting

UN- SEEA: https://seea.un.org/

CARE Model: https://www.routledge.com/Humanitarian-Ecological-Economics-and-Accounting-Capitalism-Ecology-and-Democracy/Richard-Rambaud/p/book/9781032046648

CSRD: https://www.deutscher-nachhaltigkeitskodex.de/en/reporting-obligations/corporate-sustainability-reporting-directive-csrd/important-information/

Benefits of good environmental accounting for corporations: https://www.mdpi.com/1911-8074/18/9/480

Costa Rica Example: https://www.researchgate.net/publication/5960649_Costa_Rica's_Payment_for_Environmental_Services_Program_Intention_Implementation_and_Impact

Decoupling Debunked: https://eeb.org/wp-content/uploads/2019/07/Decoupling-Debunked.pdf

Critical studies:

Holmes, C. & Yarrow, D. (2023) https://www.tandfonline.com/doi/full/10.1080/03085147.2023.2237350

Järvinen et al. (2022). https://link.springer.com/article/10.1007/s10551-020-04600-7

Data Sources

https://data.worldbank.org/indicator/NY.GDP.MKTP.KD.ZG?locations=EU

https://data.worldbank.org/indicator/NY.GDP.TOTL.RT.ZS

In this episode we talk about the institutional set-up of the electricity market in Germany and the European Union. We explain the different options for buying and selling electricity, how prices are computed, and how an increase in renewable energies might change the market design in the future.

Main References

Agora Energiewende. (2019). Liberalisation of electricity markets in Germany. Agora Energiewende. https://www.agora-energiewende.org/fileadmin/Projekte/2019/Liberalisation_Power_Market/Liberalisation_Electricity_Markets_Germany_V1-0.pdf

Bundesnetzagentur. (2025). Monitoring report 2025. Bundesnetzagentur. https://data.bundesnetzagentur.de/Bundesnetzagentur/SharedDocs/Downloads/EN/Areas/ElectricityGas/CollectionCompanySpecificData/Monitoring/MonitoringReport2025.pdf

Bundesnetzagentur. (n.d.). SMARD – Strommarktdaten für Deutschland. https://www.smard.de/en

Meyer, T. (2025). Strom: Über Nostalgie, Zukunft und warum der Markt längst entschieden hat. BoD – Books on Demand.

Additional references

Electricity Maps. (n.d.). Live electricity map [Interaktive Karte]. Abgerufen am 17. Juni 2026 von https://app.electricitymaps.com/map/live/fifteen_minute

EPEX SPOT. (2019). EUPHEMIA public description: Single price coupling algorithm. https://www.epexspot.com/sites/default/files/2020-02/Euphemia_Public%20Description_Single%20Price%20Coupling%20Algorithm_190410.pdf

FLOSM. (n.d.). Stromnetze mit Umspannwerken und detaillierter Infrastruktur [Interaktive Karte]. https://www.flosm.org/de/Stromnetz.html

Kopernikus Projekt (2025). A cost-efficient energy transition: Scenarios for climate neutrality 2045 – Summary. Kopernikus-Projekt Ariadne. https://doi.org/10.48485/pik.2025.016

In this episode we talk about liberalisation, one of the central reform movements in infrastructure governance during the last 30 years. We discuss the liberalisation of the electricity and telecommunication sectors in Germany, which is also intertwined with a larger movement on the EU level.

References

Bieling, H.-J. (2008). Liberalisierung und Privatisierung in Deutschland: Versuch einer Zwischenbilanz. WSI Mitteilungen 10/2008. https://www.wsi.de/data/wsimit_2008_10_bieling.pdf

Dewenter, Ralf; Haucap, Justus (2004) : Die Liberalisierung der Telekommunikationsbranche in Deutschland, Diskussionspapier, No. 27, https://www.econstor.eu/bitstream/10419/23614/1/paper_27.pdf

Serrallés, R. J. (2006). Electric energy restructuring in the European Union: Integration, subsidiarity and the challenge of harmonization. Energy Policy. Volume 34, https://doi.org/10.1016/j.enpol.2004.08.041

Science Direct Summary "Competitive Market": https://www.sciencedirect.com/topics/economics-econometrics-and-finance/competitive-market

Natural monopoly definition: https://www.unescwa.org/sd-glossary/natural-monopoly

In the context of neoliberal reforms privatization is often presented as a way to make infrastructure service delivery more efficient and cost-effective. In this episode we try to give a strutured overview of potential avantages and disadvantages of both public and private service provision. We also discuss why public-private-partnerships are so popular and what are the challenges in the negotiation of such contracts.

References

Buse, K. & Bayliss, K. (2022). England's privatised water: profits over people and planet. https://doi.org/10.1136/bmj.o2076

Castro, R. (2024). Regulation of Natural Monopolies. https://doi.org/10.1007/978-3-031-55251-9_6

Deutscher Bundestag. (2024). Daseinsvorsorge. Begriff und Rechtsgrundlagen. https://www.bundestag.de/resource/blob/1013810/b600c65d9eff3e5f3eef1214a957ed04/WD-3-059-24-pdf.pdf

Devkar, G. A., Mahalingam, A., Deep, A., Thillairajan, A. (2013). Impact of Private Sector Participation on access and quality in provision of electricity, telecom and water services in developing countries: A systematic review, https://doi.org/10.1016/j.jup.2013.08.002.

European Commission. Services of general interest. https://commission.europa.eu/topics/single-market/services-general-interest_en

Fabre, A. & Straub, S.. (2023). The Impact of Public–Private Partnerships (PPPs) in Infrastructure, Health, and Education. https://www.aeaweb.org/articles?id=10.1257/jel.20211607

Fukuyama, F. (2016). Governance: What Do We Know, and How Do We Know It?. Annual Review Political Science. 19:89-105. https://doi.org/10.1146/annurev-polisci-042214-044240

Glaeser, E.L. & Poterba, J.M. (2020). Economic Analysis and Infrastructure Investement. https://www.nber.org/system/files/working_papers/w28215/w28215.pdf

Gupta, S., & Sharma, A. K. (2022). Evolution of infrastructure as an asset class: A systematic literature review and thematic analysis. https://doi.org/10.1057/s41260-022-00255-3

Hartnett, M. (2026). Market Failure: Natural Monopoly. https://www.sciotoanalysis.com/news/market-failure-natural-monopoly

Romero, M., Sandefur, J., Sandholtz, W.A. (2020). Outsourcing Education: Experimental Evidence from Liberia. https://www.aeaweb.org/articles?id=10.1257/aer.20181478&&from=f

The internet is the fastest growing infrastructures in the world and while it already shapes our everyday life, it's impact will still grow in the future. In this episode we try to give you a basic understanding of how the internet works and how it may be different from other large networked systems.

References

General

https://www.cloudflare.com/de-de/learning/network-layer/how-does-the-internet-work/

Video makes up ~80% of online traffic: https://www.demandsage.com/video-marketing-statistics/

Complaint against Telekom AG regarding unequal treatment of different users/service: https://freiheitsrechte.org/ueber-die-gff/presse/pressemitteilungen-der-gesellschaft-fur-freiheitsrechte/pm-netzneutralit%C3%A4t

International competition and private companies in submarine cable Installation: https://www.reuters.com/investigates/special-report/us-china-tech-subcom/

Explore further

Submarine Cable Map: https://www.submarinecablemap.com/ready-for-service/2003

Check your IP location: https://www.iplocation.net/#google_vignette

Check your network: https://www.peeringdb.com/net/572

Mapa of the Internet: https://learninglink.oup.com/access/content/schaller-3e-dashboard-resources/image-map-of-the-internet-20031513285356511

In this episode we explore the concept of spatial justice and establish additional terminology to better understand and analyze related phenomena. We hope that this allows you to better recognize and describe instances of spatial injustice in your environment.

References

Theoretical Framework

Collin Yarbrough & Janille Smith-Colin (18 Nov 2025): Infrastructure (in)Justice: a multi-scalar framework and review of epistemic, restorative, and reparative justice dimensions, Transport Reviews, DOI: 10.1080/01441647.2025.2585037

Case Studies

Brackel, L., Boelens, R., Bruins, B., Doorn, N., & Pesch, U. (2023). People in PowerPoint pixels: Competing justice claims and scalar politics in water development planning. Political Geography, 107, 102974. https://doi.org/10.1016/j.polgeo.2023.102974 ⇒ Cool theoretical information

Kimble, M. (2024). City Limits: Infrastructure, Inequality, and the Future of America’s Highways. Crown, 368 pages.

Smeds, E., Robin, E., & McArthur, J. (2020). Night-time mobilities and (in)justice in London: Constructing mobile subjects and the politics of difference in policy-making. Journal of Transport Geography, 82, 102569. https://doi.org/10.1016/j.jtrangeo.2019.102569

U.S. Government Accountability Office (2024). https://www.gao.gov/blog/funding-and-programs-meant-help-tribes-may-not-be-reaching-them

In this episode we are looking at theories about technological innovation to better understand the currently ongoing transition of our energy system. We discuss relevant components of the new energy system, political drivers and barriers, and hypothesize about what our energy system might look like in the future.

References

AG Energiebilanzen e.V. (2025). Energy consumption in Germany in 2024. Available at: https://ag-energiebilanzen.de/wp-content/uploads/AGEB_Jahresbericht2024_20250815_en.pdf

Meyer, T. (2024) Strom. Über Nostalgie, Zukunft und warum der Markt längst entschieden hat. ISBN: 9 783 769 351224

Innovation Curves

Rogers, E.M. (2003) Diffusion of Innovations, 5th Edition. Free Press, New York.

Howaldt, J., Kopp, R., Schwarz, M. (2025). Diffusion of Innovation. In: Schulz-Schaeffer, I., Windeler, A., Blättel-Mink, B. (eds) Handbook of Innovation. Springer, Cham. https://doi.org/10.1007/978-3-031-25143-6_33-1

Foster, R.N. (1986) Innovation. Die technologische Offensive. 1st edition. Gabler Verlag Wiesbaden.

Multi-Level Perspective

Geels, Frank. (2024). The Multi-Level Perspective on Sustainability Transitions: Background, overview, and current research topics. 10.33774/coe-2024-c15gb.

Learning curves (incl. Graphic)

Roser, M. (2023) Learning curves: What does it mean for a technology to follow Wright's Law? Published online at OurWorldinData.org. Retrieved from: 'https://archive.ourworldindata.org/20251125-173858/learning-curve.html'

Current state of the energy transition

Brucksch, J., Figgener, J., Hecht, C., Sauer, D.W. (2026) Germany adds 6.57 GWh of battery storage capacity in 2025, total capacity hits 24 GWh. https://www.ess-news.com/2026/01/09/germany-adds-6-57-gwh-of-battery-storage-capacity-in-2025-total-capacity-hits-24-gwh/

Deshaies, M. (2026). The German Energiewende: A Green Deal Template or Planned Failure?. In: Henrekson, M., Sandström, C., Stenkula, M. (eds) A Green Entrepreneurial State?. International Studies in Entrepreneurship, vol 49. Springer, Cham. https://doi.org/10.1007/978-3-032-15512-2_7

IIGCC (2025). Policy Briefing: EU CO2 emission performance standards for new passenger cars and vans. https://www.iigcc.org/insights/policy-briefing-eu-co2-emission-performance-standards-for-new-passenger-cars-and-vans?utm_source=chatgpt.com

Schill, W.-P., Aichner, N. & Roth, A. (2026) Favorable conditions allow accelearting the renewable energy transition. DIW Weekly Report 3|2026. https://www.diw.de/documents/publikationen/73/diw_01.c.994726.de/dwr-26-03.pdf

In this episode we are retracing the historic development of the energy systems since earliest civilizations. Our use of energy has always been interrelated with human development, innovation, and progress. By learning about how the energy system has developed alongside human societies, we want to give you some context for the upcoming transition towards decarbonized energy systems.

Main reference

Rutter, P. & Keirstead, J. (2012). A brief history and the possible future of urban energy systems. Energy Policy. Volume 50. Pages 72-80. https://doi.org/10.1016/j.enpol.2012.03.072

Additional references

Syvitski et al. (2020). Extraordinary human energy consumption and resultant geological impacts beginning around 1950 CE initiated the proposed Anthropocene Epoch. Communications Earth & Environment. Volume 1, Article number: 32. https://www.nature.com/articles/s43247-020-00029-y

Fizaine, F. & Court, V. (2016). Energy expenditure, economic growth, and the minimum EROI of society. Energy Policy. Volume 95. Pages 172–186. https://doi.org/10.1016/j.enpol.2016.04.039