Marie Haeger-Eugensson
R&D Manager at technology and environmental consultancy COWI.
“Here at COWI, we often work with several issues at the same time, such as climate adaptation for heat and flooding, the spread of pollutants in water, soil and air, and maintaining – or, ideally, improving – biodiversity. These types of investigations are carried out as part of urban development projects and infrastructure projects, in which proposals for relevant actions are often requested. We also identify the need for research and development work, which is why COWI has both run and been involved in various research collaborations with academia and government agencies for many years. We need broad – preferably interdisciplinary – expertise if we are to interpret measurements and modelling results correctly, propose relevant and effective actions, or identify when new research is required. The University of Gothenburg’s research within these fields is therefore extremely important.”
Erik Kjellström
Professor of Climatology at the Swedish Meteorological and Hydrological Institute (SMHI).
“Our operations are largely based on observations and various types of calculation models, and benefit greatly from research within these fields.
All three areas are close to our core subjects of climatology, meteorology, hydrology and oceanography. Climate is perhaps the most obvious area, and here we are working to understand what drives the climate system and its variations, as well as drawing up and working with climate scenarios for the future. The climate system is complex, and extensive research collaboration is needed to include all the important elements. Climate change is, in turn, an important influencing force on biodiversity. When it comes to chemical pollutants, we carry out extensive work on both our air environment and the marine and water environment.”
Johan Kling
Head of the Water Resources Management Department at the Swedish Agency for Marine and Water Management
“Environmental toxins in the aquatic environment are a problem that we still don’t have enough knowledge about. Despite bans, past use of certain chemical substances remains a significant threat to our aquatic environments. Some chemical substances that should not be dispersed and accumulate in ecosystems are nevertheless present in nature. New substances, such as PFAS, are appearing at a rapid pace, creating a cumulative effect. The management of our aquatic environments and biodiversity needs more knowledge about how environmental toxins are spread and which actions we can take. One growing threat and uncertainty within this work is how climate change will affect both ecosystems and their sensitivity to environmental toxins. We need research that integrates adaptations into ecosystems, changing the spread of environmental toxins.”
