"Make Science, not Miles" - Today, Ana Nap and Roger Keller from the Geographisches Institut UZH at University of Zurich joined us for a brownbag lunch at the Helvetas office in Zurich to talk about their award-winning Airmiles Group and its groundbreaking work in reducing air miles emissions within the scientific community. A very inspiring exchange - especially because geographers and development practictioners are often caught in the same dilemma when they must choose between field visits and climate protection. Three things I learned and think we should consider implementing asap: 🔸 Make carbon reduction a joint effort across the organisation by involving all departments and teams. 🔸 Set achievable goals and communicate (lack of) progress regularly and to everyone. 🔸 Don't see this as a technical challenge only - it's a societal effort requiring substantial behaviour change, and many are willing to contribute their share. Thanks to Roger, Ana and Maya Wolfensberger Malo for the great event - looking forward to more joint learning! #Sustainability #AirMilesReduction #UZH #GIUZ #Helvetas
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5 most interesting takeaways from presentation on reducing CO2e emissions from flights at Geographisches Institut UZH: - UZH decided flight-related #greenhousegas emissions must not exceed 60% of the pre-pandemic level and emissions must decrease 3% year-on-year through 2030. - The Air Miles team collected data on flights (to where, type of staff - professor vs. PhD, reason for travel), which led to a per capita budget of 1.5 tonnes CO2e /year; by comparison, a flight from Zürich to New York City causes 1.1 tonnes of CO2e per myclimate. An incentive #tax raises funds to pay for #bus and train travel. - You need to be creative in finding ways to reduce flights, thinking about #equity (not favoring European experts to speak at a conference to avoid flying in scientists from far away; ensuring young #scientists can network at conferences) and bundling trips (visiting multiple sites on one trip). - Replacing short #flights with #train trips (up to 8 hours) doesn't reduce #carbon #emissions by that much because a 1 hour flight doesn't emit carbon the way long-distance flights do. (But still take the train!) - Their work is a lot like what we're doing at Helvetas under the direction of my colleague Maya Wolfensberger Malo. Helvetas collects information about the #carbonfootprint in all its offices around the world, with the goal of reducing #CO2e internally rather than paying for #offsets for #pollution we've caused. Helvetas has also introduced a #carbonlevy, which will be increased annually; The funds going into a #decarbonization fund, which supports projects to reduce emissions at country offices, such as #solarpanels, e-bikes and #energy audits. Stay tuned for more info on this project... Thank you Bernd Steimann for bringing the speakers to Helvetas. More on their Air Miles project: https://lnkd.in/ez9zpAXD Roger Keller Ana Nap #climatechange #environment #globalwarming
"Make Science, not Miles" - Today, Ana Nap and Roger Keller from the Geographisches Institut UZH at University of Zurich joined us for a brownbag lunch at the Helvetas office in Zurich to talk about their award-winning Airmiles Group and its groundbreaking work in reducing air miles emissions within the scientific community. A very inspiring exchange - especially because geographers and development practictioners are often caught in the same dilemma when they must choose between field visits and climate protection. Three things I learned and think we should consider implementing asap: 🔸 Make carbon reduction a joint effort across the organisation by involving all departments and teams. 🔸 Set achievable goals and communicate (lack of) progress regularly and to everyone. 🔸 Don't see this as a technical challenge only - it's a societal effort requiring substantial behaviour change, and many are willing to contribute their share. Thanks to Roger, Ana and Maya Wolfensberger Malo for the great event - looking forward to more joint learning! #Sustainability #AirMilesReduction #UZH #GIUZ #Helvetas
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Check out what is going on in the world of Digital Twins in Finland 🤓
🌐 Are you interested in how Digital Twins are developed? 🌍 Are climate and nature close to your heart? ⭐ The Digital Twins Technologies group at CSC - IT Center for Science is organizing a seminar "Digital Twins: Earth, Forest, Water" on May 27th at the Life Science Center in Keilaniemi. We have keynotes from speakers across various Finnish institutions working on digital twins in this theme as well as presenting use cases for taking advantage of the information provided in the twins. In addition to having keynotes we also welcome poster presentations if you are working on this theme. Just let us know in the registration form if you'd like to present a poster - this also gives you a spot for a flash talk on your work! 📋 Check out the full agenda and sign up here - on-site registration open (no charge!) until May 15th, online participation also available: https://lnkd.in/dyQU9FpD 9:00 - 9:30 Coffee served 9:30 - 10:00 Climate Change Adaptation Digital Twin (Jenni Kontkanen, CSC) 10:00 - 10:30 On-Demand Weather-Induced Extremes Digital Twin (Niko Sokka, FMI) 10:30 - 10:45 Break 10:45 - 11:15 Digital Waters (SYKE, speaker to be confirmed) 11:15 - 11:45 Marine and freshwater data integration – cases AquaINFRA and Digital Waters (Juha Oksanen, National Land Survey) 11:45 - 12:45 Lunch break 12:45 - 13:15 Biodiversity DT: Forest Biodiversity Dynamics (Bekir Afsar, JYU) 13:15 - 13:45 Harvester DestinE (Mikko Strahlendorff, FMI) 13:45 - 14:15 Forest DT – MetsäKaksonen development project (Juho Heikkilä, Finnish Forest Centre) 14:15 -14:40 Coffee break 14:40 -15:15 ForestTwin & ARTISDIG (Matti Mõttus, VTT) 15:15 - 16:00 Closing words + Poster presentations (2min elevator pitches) + open poster session
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🌊 Mission Ocean: A Pathway to Restoring Our Ocean and Waters by 2030 🌊 The EU's Mission Ocean initiative is a bold and necessary step toward addressing the critical need to restore the health of our oceans and waters by 2030. Through innovative research, citizen engagement, and blue investments, this initiative aims to protect marine ecosystems, improve biodiversity, and secure the sustainable use of marine resources. 🌍🌿 Central to this mission is the creation of the European Digital Twin Ocean (EU DTO), a powerful digital model that will allow for real-time monitoring, simulations, and predictions of oceanic and human interactions. By combining natural and socio-economic data, EU DTO will play a pivotal role in understanding and addressing the complexities of our marine environments. 💡 At SEADITO, we are proud to be part of this endeavor. SEADITO contributes to the mission by developing advanced social-ecological models that help integrate human activities with marine spatial planning. Our project’s aim is to test, calibrate, and validate these models through case studies in the Baltic Sea, North Sea, and Mediterranean regions, ensuring they align with the EU DTO vision. 🌊🔬 Together, we are taking critical steps toward a more sustainable and resilient ocean future. #MissionOcean #EUDTO #BlueEconomy #SustainableOceans #MarineManagement #SEADITO Aalborg University SINTEF 📸Photo: Publication Office of the European Union
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#MercatorOcean took the floor at the "High Level Event on Ocean Action: Immersed in Change"! ⬇️ Our Director General, Pierre Bahurel, joined a panel discussion on "Satellite Technology for the Conservation and Sustainable Use of the Ocean." 🛰️ The panel highlighted the critical role of satellite and in situ observations in monitoring the Ocean. By integrating these observations with models, we can create a comprehensive digital representation of the Ocean, paving the way for the development of the EDITO - European Digital Twin Ocean 🌐🌊 This innovative approach is essential for policymakers and decision-makers, providing them with the tools needed to make informed decisions about conservation, mitigation, and adaptation strategies. As we look ahead to the Third UN Ocean Conference in June 2025, events like this foster the exchange of best practices and successful experiences related to Ocean governance and health, driving forward national, regional, and global solutions. #SustainableOcean #UNOceanConference #UNOC25 #BlueEconomy
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🇮🇹🇪🇺 The Eurac Research Delegation recently has been in Turin at as part of the G7 Climate, Energy and Environment Planet Week. The Deputy Director Roberta Bottarin and Hydrologist Giacomo Bertoldi related Eurac Research’s commitment to the topic of water as part of a panel discussion of the G7 side event, “Who needs Water?”. What can general research do and what is Eurac Research working on specifically to defend and use our Planet’s most precious element more efficiently? At the event, Eurac Research team presented many aspects of its research that focus on water: from the effects of climate change to the biological quality of rivers, to the use of satellites to measure snow cover to needs in agriculture, melting glaciers, social challenges for supply and the changing aspects of winter tourism. #iera #alliance #eurac #euracresearch #G7Climate #EnergyandEnvironmentPlanetWeek
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How is the #OceanDecade helping to improve ocean predictions across the world? Ensuring a safe and predicted ocean is at the heart of the mission of the Ocean Decade. In order to use the ocean sustainably and to protect fragile marine ecosystems, it is critical to understand how the ocean functions, and predict how it will behave in the future as it responds to pollution, overfishing and climate change. To do so, the OceanPrediction Decade Collaborative Centre, a cross-cutting Ocean Decade structure hosted by Mercator Ocean International, promotes collaboration to enhance ocean predictions across the world. 👉 Join the platform and keep up to date with it: follow OceanPrediction Decade Collaborative Centre on LinkedIn, and find out more on their website at www.unoceanprediction.org 👉 Are you working in the field of ocean prediction? Add your name, organization, ocean forecasting system, or service to the OceanPrediction Decade Collaborative Centre Atlas of expertise: https://ow.ly/I6wg50U27pt 👉 Keen to engage with the ocean prediction field? Register by the end of day to attend #OceanPredict24 online, the 2024 Ocean Predict Symposium, on 18-22 November - a key event gathering ocean prediction experts from across the world: https://ow.ly/AREH50U27pu
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🌊 Excited to share insights from our Founder and Director, Dr. (Cdr) Arnab Das, on the tremendous growth of the Blue Economy and connectivity in the Indo-Pacific region. Dr. Das highlights the importance of enhancing Underwater Domain Awareness (UDA) as many marine resources and threats reside underwater. He emphasized that the synergy between digital and green transformations, combined with innovative marine technologies, can greatly enhance the monitoring and protection of our aquatic ecosystems. 🌏 Dr Das recently participated remotely in the conference "Sustainable Blue Economy in Context of Climate Change and Biodiversity Degradation Powered by Marine Technologies," organized by Digital Innovation HUB Innovamare in collaboration with the University of Zadar, Croatia, in April 2024. At the conference, Dr Das delved into the MRC-devised UDA Framework, discussing its nuances and the critical role of Marine Spatial Planning (MSP). Let's harness these advancements to ensure our oceans' sustainable and prosperous future! Full video of the on-ground activities during the conference here- https://bit.ly/3Vhh4V2 InnovaMare Project - Interreg Italy Croatia, Vlada Republike Hrvatske (Government of the Republic of Croatia), SeaTecHub-EU, EEA and Norway Grants, Innovation Norway, NirDhwani Technologies Pvt Ltd, Ministry of External Affairs, India. #BlueEconomy #IndoPacific #UnderwaterDomainAwareness #MarineTechnologies #Sustainability #Innovation #ClimateChange #Biodiversity #MarineSpatialPlanning #DigitalTransformation #GreenTransformation
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Tuesday 27th of June, we will present our main findings from our study downscaling the planetary boundaries at Belgian level. Interesting insights on Belgium's contribution to derailing some key ecosystemic services. Join us to discover which planetary boundaries are most exceeded at Belgian level, and what could (should) be leveraged to return within our safe operating space. Link to the study => https://lnkd.in/eJEjFRAc
🚨 Webinar Alert! 🌍 Is Belgium living in its safe operating space? 🌍 🗓 Date: Thursday, June 27 ⏰ Time: 12:30-13:30 CEST Sticking to planetary boundaries is essential for humanity's lasting prosperity. In 2023, six of the nine boundaries had been transgressed on a global scale. Belgium, like every nation, has its share of responsibility and can play an active role in ensuring that humanity returns to a safe operating space. We are excited to invite you to our webinar, which will provide a systemic view of environmental pressure in Belgium, in line with scientific principles and the planetary boundaries framework. Objectives of this webinar: • Clarify the planetary boundaries framework. • Present the methodologies to downscale this framework to the Belgian level and their limitations. • Discuss Belgium's environmental footprint compared to its fair share of the safe operating space. Don't miss this opportunity to gain insights and contribute to a sustainable future for Belgium and beyond, register here (it's free): https://lnkd.in/evWj8FwF CeRAC - Centre for Risk assessment of climate change Adrien Lefebvre Jeanne Dumoulin Simon Lalieu (il/lui) Pascal Vermeulen #Webinar #Sustainability #PlanetaryBoundaries #EnvironmentalImpact #Belgium #SafeOperatingSpace #Climatechange #Climateactions
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What do we need to ensure that research and policy can continue to move us towards a more understood and better managed #Ocean? Our marine science policy foresight publication Navigating the Future VI #NFVIOcean presents requirements that are needed to support ongoing development across all four Ocean-related topics the document discusses: people, climate, fresh water and biodiversity. Find out more by reading the document here: https://lnkd.in/gyGRxEga EuroGOOS, European Global Ocean Observing System Global Ocean Observing System (GOOS) EMODnet Copernicus ECMWF UNESCO/IOC Project Office for IODE OceanTeacher Global Academy DITTO (Digital Twins of the Ocean)
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🚨 Webinar Alert! 🌍 Is Belgium living in its safe operating space? 🌍 🗓 Date: Thursday, June 27 ⏰ Time: 12:30-13:30 CEST Sticking to planetary boundaries is essential for humanity's lasting prosperity. In 2023, six of the nine boundaries had been transgressed on a global scale. Belgium, like every nation, has its share of responsibility and can play an active role in ensuring that humanity returns to a safe operating space. We are excited to invite you to our webinar, which will provide a systemic view of environmental pressure in Belgium, in line with scientific principles and the planetary boundaries framework. Objectives of this webinar: • Clarify the planetary boundaries framework. • Present the methodologies to downscale this framework to the Belgian level and their limitations. • Discuss Belgium's environmental footprint compared to its fair share of the safe operating space. Don't miss this opportunity to gain insights and contribute to a sustainable future for Belgium and beyond, register here (it's free): https://lnkd.in/evWj8FwF CeRAC - Centre for Risk assessment of climate change Adrien Lefebvre Jeanne Dumoulin Simon Lalieu (il/lui) Pascal Vermeulen #Webinar #Sustainability #PlanetaryBoundaries #EnvironmentalImpact #Belgium #SafeOperatingSpace #Climatechange #Climateactions
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