The ITN PERFORCE 3 research consortium held their biannual meeting on 26 April at Stockholm University where Early Career Researchers (ESRs) of the consortium spent two weeks attending a series of advanced training courses. Highly fluorinated chemicals or PFAS encompass a large and diverse class of over 4700 substances and are widely used in consumer and industrial products. They are …

Thawing permafrost missing from climate negotiations
An international initiative led by researchers at the Bolin Centre for Climate Research, among others, stresses the need to take thawing permafrost into account in negotiations to reach global climate goals. From June 6th to 16th, the UNFCCC secretariat (UN Convention on Climate Change) and Germany hosts the Bonn Climate Change Conference where UNFCCC parties, negotiation groups, researchers and observer …
Professor Cynthia De Wit awarded Stockholm University’s top honour medal
Professor Cynthia de Wit is one of the two recipients of Stockholm University’s gold medal in the 8th size* awarded to academics whose work to promote the University’s research or education has been longstanding and significant. The motivation behind the decision of the President of Stockholm University Astrid Söderbergh Widding to award Professor De Wit is as follows: As a …
“We do not have the time to waste!”
Science has an important role to play in the transition to a sustainable society. But more cooperation is needed and decision-makers must act faster on incorporating scientific evidence into meaningful policies. These were the key messages at the international sustainability conference hosted by the three main universities in Stockholm and Stockholm Environment Institute. Watch Inger Andersen´s keynote address “The role …
Impressions from “eScience Tools in Climate Science: Linking Observations with Modelling 2021″
With the present-day remarkable computing speeds used in the Earth system models and super-sensitive measurement techniques for collecting observational data, it is the need of the hour to combine both these in a way that they complement and improve each other. For example, models could be constrained using the observations and experiments could be inspired from model simulations. This is …
Partnerships in academia crucial for human and planetary health
Partnership and cooperation are necessary to achieving global goals – and here academia plays an important role – emerged during the seminar “New Partnerships for Human and Planetary Health,” which was organised by Karolinska Institutet, KTH Royal Institute of Technology and Stockholm University, in May. The seminar was part of World Academic Forum Stockholm Summit with representatives from Karolinska Institutet, …
Study uncovers double standard in regulation of antimicrobial substances
The regulation of antimicrobial substances differs when used in biocidal products compared to cosmetic products, shows a new study led by researchers at the Department of Environmental Science published recently in the journal Emerging Contaminants. Such inconsistencies could potentially endanger both the environment and human health. The researchers performed a systematic comparison using document analysis focusing on aims, scope, information …
When three’s not a crowd: vapour cocktail drives new particle formation in the upper troposphere
Newly-formed particles are important for cloud formation and are persistently observed over almost all regions of Earth’s upper troposphere. However, the vapours and mechanisms that drive the formation of these particles are not well understood. Now, a new study by an international team of researchers, including scientists from the Department of Environmental Science, published in Nature, presents a new mechanism …
Stockholm University ranks among top 30 in the world in environmental science
The 2022 edition of QS World University Rankings per subject places Stockholm University among the top 50 in four subjects, and the best in Sweden in five subjects. The highest ranked subject was environmental science, where Stockholm University ranks 28th in the world. QS World University Rankings are published by Quacquarelli Symonds, QS, a company specializing in higher education information. …
Standalone course showcases why tackling climate change requires a cross-disciplinary approach
What can we do to counteract climate change and how this responsibility should be shared? Get answers by taking the course Climate Change Solutions: Bending the Curve this coming autumn! Send your application by 19 April. Dealing with climate change is an urgent issue for humanity today. Most recently, climate change has received attention in the form of two reports …
High black carbon emissions from traffic lie behind poor air quality in Nairobi
Fine particular aerosols and black carbon emissions from fossil fuel combustion, attributed to road traffic, are major contributors to poor air quality in Nairobi, Kenya, shows a new study by researchers at the Department of Environmental Science recently published in Communications Earth & Environment. It is one of the few studies on air pollution in sub-Saharan Africa and the only …
No longer about risks in the distant future – researchers attend Fridays for Future march
On 25 March, climate demonstrations under the international environmental movement Fridays for Future took place around the world. In Stockholm, thousands of people gathered outside the Swedish Parliament building and marched towards Tantolunden in the centre of the city. Several researchers from Stockholm University were there to show their support. “I am here because the climate issue is high on …