"ReSearch for the Future" magazine (Pdf, 10 Mb) - Lund University

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Economy & EnvironmentDid you know ...?... The Academy of Music,the Theatre Academy and the Art Academyat Lund University are located in MalmöResearching the cities of thCities are responsible for up to 80 per cent of the global emissions ofgreenhouse gases. At Lund University, research is being designed to reduce thisnumber. “We are a resource for the development of society,” says Lena Neij,professor at The International Institute for Industrial Environmental Economics.We meet in the IIIEE building in central Lund. Outsidethe window, autumn leaves float to the groundand bells from the cathedral can be heard.Lund is an unusually densely-populated city forScandinavia, and Lena Neij is convinced that evenmedieval cities can be equipped for the future.“Thinking long-term, we can’t buildunsustainable cities. The growth of cities is abig challenge, but it can lead to exciting andinnovative solutions,” she says.Her opinion is that the solutions are alreadythere for the most part, but what is missing isimplementation.“These solutions would generate suchgreat results. We see how buildings can bemade more energy efficient, how peopleare placing solar panels on their roofs, andhow new models for waste managementare being created.”Wants the universityto be more activeWith this as a background, she is offering ahelping hand to all of the groups involved inefforts to reduce the impact they are havingon the climate and the environment. Perhapsthe university is not the first place businesses and localgovernments turn to when planning new and sustainablecity districts.That’s too bad, according to Lena Neij, who inMarch was appointed Unesco Chair for her work onsustainable development and environmental policies.“We would like to become a forum that brings togetherdifferent initiatives and groups who all have theaim of supporting more sustainable cities,” she says.Believes in the city’s potentialEven though the city has obvious problems, Lena Neijstill believes in its potential.“Cities are a wonderful arena to work in andthey are often proactive and sensible when solvingproblems,” she says.During the Climate Change Conference in Copenhagen,the mayor of Toronto said, “While nationstalk, cities act.”Lena Neij agrees, and says that the decisions haveto be made at the local level first. That is also wherecollaboration between the university, industry andthe city’s decision makers can be established andbegin to function long-term. “Collaborations likethose are being developed in many cities today,”says Lena Neij.On the local level, Lund University is working witha number of research groups in housing development,energy, and waste management in order to supportclimate-smart solutions for the cities of the future.They are also working with the city of Lund for futureenvironmental ventures.“That way our research isn’t just theoretical; instead,we can put our support for cities into practice,”she says.●Lena Neij, professor at The International Institute for IndustrialEnvironmental Economics, is actively working to promotesustainable development in Skåne.Give experiences, not stuffHello Oksana Mont, Sweden’s onlyprofessor of sustainable consumptionand production. What can wedo to make our consumersociety more sustainable?“Few companies are workingto develop sustainable goods,even though thisshould betheobvious direction for all companies.But sustainable consumptionand production means morethan just providing sustainablegoods, it is about encouragingsustainable lifestyles.”How can companies andstores become better atreducing their total impacton the environment?Oksana Mont“They need to think along theentire chain of production and consumption. Thinkof a furniture factory, for example. It’s not enough forthem to save energy in the factory itself, but they alsohave to make sure that they are buyingclimate-smart materials. They alsohave to provide service to repairthe furniture so that it can be used again. Often theyfocus too much on their own business and forget therest of the chain – both the upstream and downstream.”As a consumer, how can I knowwhich items pass the test?“I see the role for both authorities and retailers inremoving environmentally dangerous and unhealthyproducts instead of eco-labelling the products thatare good. It is hard to be a conscientious customerif it means you have to go through 25 000 items ina shop to find few organic alternatives. It would savetime and make purchasing decisions easier if consumerswere to navigate among 5 000 sustainable goodsinstead.”How can companies make money whilemaintaining sustainable lifestyles?“Besides making theinfrastructure andproducts sustainable,8 reSEARCH for THE FUTURE
Did you know ...?...Lund University also includes a Schoolof Aviation, which offers both theoreticaland practical aviation traininge futureSolar energy coversearth’s needs thousandsof times overOpinionClimate researchat Lund University• Lund University carries out climate researchat eight of the university’s faculties and atnearly 30 different departments and centres.• The research spans a range of disciplines:from science, medicine and engineering tosocial sciences, humanities, economics andlaw.• The University’s climate research is characterisedby interdisciplinary perspectives,and a number of the University’s strongresearch areas and Linnaeus research environmentsaddress the climate.Read more about Lund University’sclimate research at:www.lu.se/klimatthere is a growing trend of giving gifts in the formof experiences. There is great potential here to creategrowth in the economy while simultaneouslyreducing emissions. It would be better to give away amassage, a cinema ticket or a cooking class instead ofa shirt or an iPad.”Will we own as much stuff inthe future as we do today?“Hard to say. But we can see a growing trend calledcollaborative consumption. You become a part ofa network where you have access to items withouthaving to own them. This includes sharing cars andrenting children’s car seats, swapping clothes andbooks and much more. It means a more effective useof an item that has already been manufactured, andthis results in reduced emissions. That is another wayfor companies and entrepreneursto make money.” ●Every day there is more bad news – the climateis more sensitive than previouslythought. The Arctic ice is melting faster thananyone could have predicted. For every yearof neglect and failure in climate politics, itbecomes more difficult to limit global warmingand avoid dangerous human impact onthe climate. However, there is still plenty ofopportunity to reverse the trend.A growing number of studies show how itis possible to reduce emissions by so muchand so quickly that global warming could belimited to less than two degrees. Top of thelist of measures are more efficient energy useand renewable energy sources, followed bynuclear power and carbon dioxide storage. Interms of resources, technology and finances,it is therefore quite possible to reduce globalemissions by 50 % or more by 2050. For Sweden,the EU and other parts of the industrialisedworld, this will mean reducing emissionsby 80–95 %, with, in practice, zero emissionsfrom energy and transport by 2050.The sun is our most important sourceof energy. The amount of energy which reachesthe earth and which is converted into wind, waterand wave power and bioenergy is manythousands of times greater than our energyneeds. The UN International Panel on ClimateChange (IPCC), the World Wide Fund for Natureand the European Commission have each, in differentreports, shown how the proportion ofrenewable energy could increase and emissionsdecrease at the rate required. According to theEuropean Commission, such a transition forEurope would require investments correspondingto 1.5 % of GDP. These could easily beweighed up against the fact that we would nothave to pay for imported fossil fuels.A transition is thus not prevented by a lackof resources or technology. Research and technologicaldevelopments are key, but the majorchallenge lies in changing course. This is a matterof politics and the ability to govern developmentsin society. Major, long-term changesin society happen all the time. These have oftenbeen primarily driven by technologicaldevelopment. Electrification, the car and microelectronicsare a few examples. But in manycases the technological developments andchanges have to a large extent been encouragedby governments with deliberate policies.Railways, power transmission, mobile telephonyand the Internet are a few examples.The transition to a climate-neutral societycannot be undertaken without a clear politicalfocus. With the right adjustments to themarket, green technology could be providedwith the conditions in which to thrive anddevelop. The market for sustainable energyalready has a turnover of hundreds of billionsof kronor and it is growing rapidly – andgrowing economies such as Brazil and Chinado not intend to miss this chance.When the debt crisis accelerates, thestock markets fall and the financial system falters,it seems difficult to mobilise the politicalleaders or the market and investments that areneeded for a transition. Rescue measures thatstimulate demand and consumption in orderto suppress the symptoms of the underlyingstructural crisis are close at hand. But what areneeded are long-term investments that preparethe ground for the next cycle of growthand the next phase of economic development.With a coherent political vision and socialgovernance in conjunction with markets forgreen technology, this economic developmentcould lead to rapidly falling emissions.In 2050 we could be living a rich, insightfullife without climate-changing emissions. Ifwe succeed in this, I think our children willhardly wonder at the transition to a climateneutralsociety that has taken place in theirlifetime. For them it will simply be normal.Lars J. NilssonProfessor of Environmental and EnergySystems Studies, Programme Director ofLETS 2050reSEARCH for THE FUTURE 9
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