News & Features

Five researchers at the Department of Environmental Science have secured in excess of 20 million SEK (€1.8million) in the latest Swedish Research Council (VR) and the Swedish Research Council for Sustainable Development (Formas) funding rounds, attracting 19.9 million SEK (€1.8 million) for 4 projects. In addition, Professor Claudia Mohr was awarded 31 million SEK (€2,8 million) by The Knut and …

It’s 3.30pm on November 3rd and there is unusually high activity taking place in the kitchen on the 4th floor of the Geosciences Building, Frescati. Sounds of furniture being dragged are interspersed with quick verbal exchanges in German. Sophie Steigerwald and Flora Borchert, who are PhD students at the Department of Environmental Science, are getting the room ready for the …

The Post-2020 Global Biodiversity Framework needs to consider additional groups of chemicals, according to a large international group of researchers, including researchers from the Department of Environmental Science. They published a perspective article and a policy brief with concrete proposals for improved inclusion of hazardous chemicals that aims to inform the delegates of the UN Biodiversity Conference COP15. “Chemical pollution …

Associate Professor Hitesh Motwani from the Department of Environmental Science will participate in a major EU-funded research project that will pursue an interdisciplinary path towards better strategies to protect vulnerable individuals from mental illness. Mental illnesses represent a significant burden on society, the economy and the individuals affected. The Building Resilience against Mental illness during Endocrine-sensitive life stages (RE-MEND) research …

The warming during the summer months in Europe has been much faster than the global average, shows a new study by researchers at the Department of Environmental Science published in Journal of Geophysical Research Atmospheres. As a consequence of human emissions of greenhouse gases, the climate across the continent has also become drier, particularly in southern Europe, leading to worse heat …

Gustaf Hugelius, Deputy Director of the Bolin Centre for Climate Research, which has been hosted by the Department of Environmental Science since January 1st 2022, is attending the COP27 climate summit in Egypt in hopes of reaching out to companies, civil servants, and organizations with important scientific findings.   The COP27 climate summit is underway in Sharm El Sheikh, Egypt …

Plants are known to not only remove CO2 from the atmosphere but to also emit thousands of compounds, known as volatile organic compounds (VOCs), whose role in climate change has largely been “overlooked.” Now, researchers from the Department of Environmental Science will launch a new research project into the role of VOC emissions in climate change. Forests are the largest sources …

Curbing fossil fuel emissions drastically is the most effective way to reduce long-term climate risks as well as one of the toughest challenges facing world governments today. But many of us often wonder about what individuals can do to make an impact. “We can use our vote to affect climate policy,” says Mem Swanborough, a former Master’s student at the …

A previously approved variant of the herbicide glyphosate causes negative effects on brain development in rats, according to the US environmental authority EPA. Researchers at the Department of Environmental Science now reveal that this knowledge has not come to the attention of EU authorities for the evaluation of current variants. Glyphosate, which is the active ingredient in the product Roundup, …

On 11 September, Swedish citizens will go to the polls to vote in the national election. Recently, an urgent call for action by 1,944 researchers and employees from 45 Swedish universities and research institutes was published in the Swedish newspaper Aftonbladet with a clear message: what does it take for Swedish politicians to take the science of climate crisis seriously? …

Per- and polyfluoroalkyl substances (PFAS) are man-made hazardous chemicals that are spread globally in the atmosphere and as a result they can be found in the rainwater and snow in even the most remote locations on Earth, shows a new study by researchers from Stockholm University and ETH Zurich published in Environmental Science & Technology. According to the authors, PFAS define …

In a new Master’s thesis, Laith Al-Qudah measured air quality during rush hour traffic along two popular bicycle routes in Stockholm for 2.5 months to understand how air pollution affects cyclists’ health. Laith Al-Qudah, a Master’s student in environment and health protection (MHS) at the Department of Environmental Science, recently presented his thesis, for which he measured air quality along …