Fostering Policy Competence: BECC Grand Seminars

A mix of BECC researchers, researchers from our and other national and international universities, and stakeholders ranging from municipalities, NGO’s, companies, regional and national authorities to the Swedish ministries and occasionally international guests, makes our seminars versatile, informative, and well-attended. In total 17 BECC researchers, 13 LU researchers and 18 external researchers or stakeholders made presentations at our seminars, that are often attended by more than 100 participants. 

IPCC

The following seminars highlighted the recent IPCC reports and discussed their implications in a Swedish context, with perspectives from researchers working in a variety of disciplines and subjects:

IPCC AR6: Mitigation of Climate Change

Kes Mccormick (IIEEE, moderator), Lars J Nilsson (LTH), Max Koch (School of Social Works), Wim Carton (LUCSUS), Lovisa Björnsson (LTH), Mark Brady (CEC), Johanna Alkan Olsson (CEC)

IPCC AR6: Impacts, adaptation and vulnerability

Kes Mccormick (IIEEE, moderator), Emily Boyd (LUCSUS), Ebba Malmqvist (Dep. of Laboratory Medicine), Helena Hanson (CEC), Henrik Smith (CEC), Lennart Olsson (LUCSUS), Martina Angela Caretta (Dep. of Human Geography)

The global biodiversity framework

In connection to the finalisation and adoption of the post-2020 global biodiversity framework of the CBD in December 2022, the seminar below invited experts in different fields connected to biodiversity, economy, and decision-making, to learn from each other and to discuss possibilities for implementation.

How fair and effective is the political process to decide and implement a post-2020 global biodiversity framework @COP15?

Fariborz Zelli (Dep. of Political Science, moderator), Maria Blasi Romero (CEC), Johan Abenius (Swedish Environmental Protection Agency), Susanne Arvidsson (Department of Business Administration), Aysegül Sirakaya (Department of Law), Thomas Hickmann (Dep. of Political Science), Cecilia Lindblad (National contact point IPBES, SEPA)

Europe’s Common Agricultural Policy (CAP)

The beginning of year 2023 marked the start of a new period for Europe’s Common Agricultural Policy (CAP). In this seminar we delved into questions such as: How is the new CAP structured and what does it entail? How does the policy process leading to the agricultural policy look like both at EU- and the national level? And which implications does the newly implemented CAP and Sweden’s strategic plan have for farmers and other practitioners?

How can we work together for an environmentally effective CAP strongly underpinned by evidence? 

Cecilia Larsson and Richard Walters (organisers and moderators, CEC, Lund University), Bengt Johnsson and Andreas Mattisson (Swedish Board of Agriculture), Åsa Wolgast Broberg (Deputy director, Ministry of Rural Affairs and Infrastructure), Tanja Šumrada (Biotechnical Faculty, University of Ljubljana), Camilla Hansson (Federation of Swedish Farmers (LRF))

As a follow-up to the seminar BECC together with LU Land organised a well-attended, international, official side event to the EU-conference on successful environmental practice within the framework of CAP, hosted by the Swedish Ministry of Rural Affairs and Infrastructure. Discussions focused on how relevant actors at different levels (EU, national, regional, and local) can work together for an environmentally effective, cost effective, and evidence-based CAP. 

EU's Green Deal

Swedish climate and biodiversity politics are affected by international agreements, strategies, and policies. In some cases, these are binding while in other cases national implications can be more flexible. In this seminar implications of the European Green Deal, and some of the avenues proposed to reach its goals, for Swedish policy and our research were explored.

EU’s Green Deal and its implications on Swedish climate and biodiversity policies

Rickard Eksten (research liaison officer at Lund University), Magnus Nilsson (consultant at Expertgruppen för Studier i Offentlig ekonomi, a committee of the Ministry of Finance), Henrik Smith (Centre for Environmental and Climate Science, Lund University), Daniel Engström Stenson (Investigative secretary, Cross-Party Committee on Environmental Objectives of the Swedish government), Håkan Pleijel (Dep. of Biological and Environmental Sciences, University of Gothenburg), Emily Boyd (Centre for Sustainability Studies, Lund University).

Carbon zinks

Governments, businesses, and environmental NGOs all embrace net zero GHG emission goals. Forest carbon is a reasonably well-understood carbon sink, yet under threat in a range of countries. The seminar explored to which degree the buildup of forest carbon sinks may be incentivised. 

Incentivising forest carbon sinks?

Fariborz Zelli (Dep. of Political Science, moderator), Detlef Sprinz (Potsdam Institute for Climate Impact Research), Jessica Coria (Dep. of Economy), Mark Brady (CEC / School of Economics and Management), Sonia Chikh M'hamed (Dep. of Strategy, Entrepreneurship and International Business, Angers), Peichen Gong (SLU), Giuliana Zanchi (Swedish Forestry Agency), Emma Nohrén (Member of Parliament, Chair of Committee on Environment and Agriculture), Glenn Oredsson (LRF Farmer’s association).

Bringing together ecology and evolution

Evolutionary responses to agricultural practices affect the insect community and pollination services which insects can provide, challenging scientists that investigate the effects of changes in agriculture practice or the effectivity of conservation measures in the past and the future. Often, the understanding of ecosystems is either focused on the ecology or on evolution of populations. This seminar addressed both together.

Evolutionary perspectives on conservation of populations and their functions in agro-ecosystems

Mikael Pontarp, Anna Runemark, Zachary Nolen, Georg Andersson, and Isolde van Riemsdijk (Dep. of Biology, Lund University), Christine D. Bacon (Dep of Biology and env science, UGOT), Nicolas Loeuille (Institute of Ecology and Environmental Sciences, Sorbonne University), Frank Pennekamp (Department of Evolutionary Biology and Environmental Studies, University of Zurich), Åke Brännström (Department of Mathematics and Mathematical Statistics, Umeå University.

Continue to next chapter: Partnering with Climate Researchers: Swedish Climate Symposium