Thomas Sterner, professor of environmental economics at School of Business, Economics and Law, University of Gothenburg,and BECC PI, has been ranked as no 9 of the most 101 influential opinion leaders in Sweden for sustainable development. The ranking is made by the sustainability magazine Aktuell Hållbarhet. Motivation: The professor's engagement is most noticeable internationally; As a visiting

https://www.becc.lu.se/article/thomas-sterner-no-9-swedens-most-influential-opinion-leaders - 2025-08-25

Welcome to a seminar about the dimensions of land-use change on Tuesday 31 May, 13.00-15.30. When: Tuesday 31 May 13.00-15.30Where: Blå Hallen, Ecology Building, Lund University, Sölvegatan 37, 22362 LundFind the programme here as pdf Registration required by 26 MayCoffee and refreshments will be provided for participants who register by 26 May here (open webform).Programme13.00     Introduction a

https://www.becc.lu.se/article/becc-science-seminar-dimensions-land-use-change-31-may - 2025-08-25

Katarina Hedlund. Photo: Inger Ekström Katarina Hedlund, BECC PI and Professor at the Department of Biology at Lund University, is one of the authors of the first Global Soil Biodiversity Atlas mapping the soil biodiversity of the entire planet. This unique Atlas provides a detailed analysis of soil organisms and the threats to soil biodiversity at global scale.  The Atlas was launched by the JRC

https://www.becc.lu.se/article/new-atlas-illustrates-global-soil-biodiversity-and-threats-soil-organisms - 2025-08-25

The common reed is considered a weed, but in the farmed landscape it can benefit biodiversity as its seeds become food for insects and its pollen is a mummy for some pollinators. Here it grows beautifully in a spring barley field. One of the world's greatest challenges is to feed the world's population in a sustainable way. Organic farming is one option, but the downside is that it produces lower

https://www.becc.lu.se/article/organic-farms-potential-higher-yields - 2025-08-25

A new article in Ecology Letters has shown for the first time that grassland plants dependent on insect pollination are particularly susceptible to increasing land-use intensity in the landscape. Authors are BECC researchers Yann Clough, Johan Ekroos, BECC coordinator Henrik Smith et al. The researchers investigated the effects of land-use intensity in the surrounding landscape on the distribution

https://www.becc.lu.se/article/new-article-about-grassland-plants-and-surrounding-land-use - 2025-08-25

Children in areas with lower socioeconomic levels gain the most from targeted nature projects, especially if they have no direct access to nature close to where they live. Photo: Anna Avdeeva/iStockphoto The income and education levels of a child’s environment determine their relationship to nature, not whether they live in a city or the countryside. This is the finding of a new study conducted by

https://www.becc.lu.se/article/socioeconomic-circumstances-shape-childrens-connection-nature-more-where-they-live - 2025-08-25

CEC director Henrik Smith, is one of the researchers behind a debate article in Dagens Nyheter on September 8. The researchers are arguing that there is a unique possibility to use the areas that was damaged in the fire to create a new protected forest area. "The forest fire in Västmanland had disastrous consequences in human terms. But the fire opens at the same time up the possibility to create

https://www.becc.lu.se/article/becc-coordinator-henrik-smith-about-forest-fire-area-dn-debatt - 2025-08-25

Øystein Opedal was one of 494 European researchers to receive an ERC Starting Grant for his project “POLLCLIM: Plant adaptation in a changing pollination climate“. As Øystein is a member of BECC, we were curious to know a little bit more about his grant. The ERC Starting Grant is intended for early-career researchers and the only selection criterion is scientific excellence. After undergoing peer

https://www.becc.lu.se/article/oystein-opedal-receiving-erc-grant - 2025-08-25

Hydrogen, not a greenhouse gas, emitted into the atmosphere will react with and increase other greenhouse gases, e.g. methane, ozone and water vapor, causing global warming. Hydrogen is expected to play an important role in the transition to a climate-neutral society. Although hydrogen is not a greenhouse gas with a direct climate impact, there are large knowledge gaps about its indirect impacts o

https://www.becc.lu.se/article/new-project-fills-knowledge-gaps-climate-impact-hydrogen-emissions - 2025-08-25

Long-term effective methods are needed to curb the negative effects of coastal erosion. Within the LIFE Coast Adapt project, researchers from Lund University, together with officials from Region Skåne and several coastal municipalities in Skåne, have tested various nature-based methods to contribute to a practice in the field. The project has now come to an end with promising results. In the LIFE

https://www.becc.lu.se/article/collaboration-led-methods-can-protect-our-coastal-environments-erosion - 2025-08-25

Read the 2014 self evaluation of BECC. Some of the headlines of the report are: research output, strategic value for the society and the business sector and research and education integration. The BECC Self Evaluation is one step of the total evaluation of the strategic research environments. Before summer the final BECC self-evaluation was sent in, answering 20 questions about our performance dur

https://www.becc.lu.se/article/curious-about-how-becc-doing - 2025-08-25

Example of city densification. A high-rise building is built on a former parking lot. At the same time, there must be space for public transport, walking, cycling, and cars. Some large trees have been spared to make room for To create a functional urban environment for people, the environment and biodiversity, cities need to make careful considerations. Urban densification can be positive, for exa

https://www.becc.lu.se/article/five-challenges-and-tips-creating-functional-urban-environment-when-densifying-cities - 2025-08-25

Summer may be extending longer into the season, but we still have changed the name of our annual meetings in September to Autumn meetings. And this year autumn showed itself in full effect when ClimBEco students arrived by train from the north and the south into Helsingborg on 25-27 September and getting ready for this autumn meeting entitled “The Nature of the Urban: Sustainability challenges in

https://www.becc.lu.se/article/reflections-climbeco-autumn-meeting-2024 - 2025-08-25

Jesica López on her participation at COP16 In the Colombian rainforest, cattle ranching is spreading and leading to forest fires and deforestation. This threatens the environment, climate and indigenous people in the Amazon. More efficient use of existing pastures and alternative livelihoods are some of the factors needed to protect the rainforest, according to a new thesis by Jesica López. Colomb

https://www.becc.lu.se/article/new-thesis-highlights-sustainable-solutions-protect-amazon-rainforest - 2025-08-25

The government has appointed Olof Johansson Stenman, professor of economics at the University of Gothenburg and a BECC PI, as a new member of the Climate Policy Council. "It is an honor, but above all, it is an important task that the council has," he says. The Climate Policy Council is an independent and interdisciplinary expert body that evaluates and reviews the government's climate policy. The

https://www.becc.lu.se/article/olof-johansson-stenman-new-member-climate-policy-council - 2025-08-25

Research estimates that rainforests account for more than half of all carbon captured by plants on our planet. However, photosynthesis is disrupted when levels of ground-level ozone become too high. Photo by Johan Wingborg Exhaust fumes and burning reduce the ability of rainforests to capture carbon by 0.29 billion tonnes each year. A new study by researchers from the University of Gothenburg, wit

https://www.becc.lu.se/article/burning-reduce-rainforest-carbon-sequestration - 2025-08-25

What were the main outcomes of the UN Biodiversity Conference COP16 and what happened behind the scenes? Here are key takeaways from our webinar with negotiators, researchers, NGOs and other experts. On 21 November, some 150 people tuned into the webinar Post COP16 analysis: From biodiversity commitments to action. The event was co-organized by SIANI, Focali, Stockholm Environment Institute, WWT,

https://www.becc.lu.se/article/post-match-analysis-cop16-learn-what-happened-and-why-it-matters - 2025-08-25

Andreas Nord, a researcher at the Department of Biology and Mikkel Brydegaard, senior lecturer at the Physics department - both members of BECC, have been awarded an ERC Consolidator Grant Mikkel Brydegaard draws on his experiences from electrical engineering and atomic physics to develop laser diagnostic tools for new insights into the ecology and diversity of insects.By combining biophotonics (i

https://www.becc.lu.se/article/congratulations-andreas-nord-and-mikkel-brydegaard-recieving-erc-consolidator-grant - 2025-08-25

Grass fodder production in southern Sweden. Photo: Josefin Winberg. Bioenergy plays a vital role in the transition to a fossil-free society. However, the "unused" agricultural land, so-called marginal land, deemed suitable for bioenergy cultivation in southern Sweden is practically nonexistent, according to a new study from Lund University. Much of the land is already in use, for example, for hors

https://www.becc.lu.se/article/land-identified-crucial-swedish-bioenergy-already-occupied-new-study-shows - 2025-08-25

Much of the world's infrastructure is made of concrete, which presents a challenge when it cracks and needs repair. Traditional repair methods involve cutting away a large amount of material. Now researchers at Lund University are investigating an innovative solution: using fungi to mend concrete. This groundbreaking research got off the ground with a Sustainable Idea Exploration grant and support

https://www.becc.lu.se/article/sustainable-construction-how-fungi-research-lund-university-could-revolutionise-infrastructure - 2025-08-25