Who owns the future? Conflicts over property in the climate crisis

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The team of speakers of the CRC ’Structural Change of Property’ (fro
The team of speakers of the CRC ’Structural Change of Property’ (from left): Hartmut Rosa, Silke van Dyk and Tilman Reitz. Image: Anne Günther (University of Jena)

How can the socio-ecological transformation succeed-and what role do property relations play in this? Researchers from the collaborative research centre (CRC) »Structural Change of Property« at Friedrich Schiller University Jena and the University of Erfurt will discuss this at a public evening event at Volksbad Jena on 15 January 2026. Seven social science projects will present current findings and enter into dialogue with the audience in table discussions. This will be followed by a panel discussion with Sophie Lampl (Greenpeace) and Hans-Jürgen Urban (IG Metall) on political room for manoeuvre in the climate crisis.

Ownership, participation, responsibility: Why the climate crisis is also a question of ownership

Whether energy transition, mobility or agriculture: the ecological crisis is exacerbating conflicts over who benefits from change, who bears the social and ecological costs and who decides judgement over scarce resources. The CRC »Structural Change of Property« focuses on this dimension-and combines perspectives from Sociology, Political Science and Philosophy.

Silke van Dyk, Professor of Political Sociology at the University of Jena and spokesperson for the collaborative research centres, emphasises: »With this event, we want to draw attention to the hurdles to a socio-ecological transformation and show what these have to do with the property relations in our society. Sustainability can only be socially acceptable-or it will fail.«

Hartmut Rosa, Professor of General and Theoretical Sociology and co-spokesperson of the CRC, adds: »We talk about climate targets, technologies and acceptance-but not about who owns the crucial resources. Nobody owns the wind, but the energy transition is decided judgement on questions of ownership: Who owns the land on which the wind turbines stand? Who controls grids, patents and investments?«

Research from Jena and Erfurt in dialogue: seven projects present their results

The event provides insights into research on a wide range of topics-from questions about nature’s property rights to global conflicts over »green« resources and technologies. Examples from the projects:

  • Nature as a subject of property? Philosopher Tilo Wesche discusses whether climate, species and environmental protection could benefit if nature (such as the river »Saale« or Mount »Jenzig«) were legally conceived as a »property subject«--and who could exercise such rights.
  • Protecting the global commons: Political scientists Petra Gümplova and Verena Wolf investigate how ecosystems such as oceans or the atmosphere can be protected, which are necessary for everyone and at the same time are being exploited economically.
  • »Who owns the wind?« Sociologist Matthias Groß and his team ask whether wind can be »stolen«--and what new questions of ownership arise with the growing importance of wind power for the energy transition.
  • China, industrial policy, green technologies: Stefan Schmalz and his team analyse the consequences of the boom in green technologies in China for the socio-ecological transformation in Germany.
  • Hydrogen worldwide-local costs: Anne Tittor turns her gaze to Chile and Argentina and analyses ownership structures in hydrogen production as well as social and ecological consequences.
  • The social question as a blockade: Klaus Dörre investigates why parts of the labour force no longer feel politically represented-and how unresolved distribution issues are slowing down the transformation.
  • Own less, share more? Hartmut Rosa and Jörg Oberthür analyse the role of consumer and platform economies for a sustainable future.

    • Panel with Greenpeace and IG Metall: Where is the room for manoeuvre?

    Following the table talks, participants will discuss with Sophie Lampl (Greenpeace) and Hans-Jürgen Urban (IG Metall) which political options are realistic in the current situation-and how closely these are linked to ownership and power relations.

    Silke van Dyk formulates the claim as follows: »A successful energy and climate transition needs infrastructures in public hands. Only where energy supply, grids and key technologies are democratically controlled can profit interests be limited.«

    Hartmut Rosa also emphasises the cultural dimension: »The ecological crisis is also a crisis in our relationship to things. In a property system centred on availability, we lose touch with what we own and use.«