environment and climate research

Trees bring benefits to society, regardless of their origin

Environment - Oct 20
Environment
The contributions to people provided by trees in Geneva outweigh their disadvantages, regardless of whether they are of native or non-native origin.
Environment - Health - Oct 15

Green earplugs

Environment - Health

Cars, trains, planes: For two thirds of the European population, traffic noise is part of everyday life. However, the right environment can have a major impact on this nuisance, as Empa researchers have found out. Green spaces in urban areas help to make road and railroad noise less of a nuisance. Only in the case of aircraft noise does this seem counterproductive: the greener the surroundings, the more disturbing the aircraft noise.

Politics - Environment - Oct 15

Unequal distribution of research into marine resources

Politics - Environment

Exploration and utilisation of resources from the world's oceans is not equally distributed across the globe. Although many of these resources originate in the Global South, they are mostly being researched by just a few countries from the North. Accordingly, this is also where most of the benefits and profits are flowing to, despite the Convention on Biological Diversity. This was the finding of an analysis of literature from the last 50 years.

Chemistry - Environment - Oct 14

Biodegradable flip-flops coming soon

Chemistry - Environment

Biodegradable plastics are very much on trend. But there are still very few sustainable alternatives for products containing foamed plastic. ETH Pioneer Fellow Zuzana Sediva is developing a process that could one day be used to make shoe soles and yoga mats from organic waste.

Astronomy - Environment - Oct 15

Two planets around a red dwarf

Astronomy - Environment

The -SAINT-EX- Observatory, led by scientists from the National Centre of Competence in Research NCCR PlanetS of the University of Bern and the University of Geneva, has detected two exoplanets orbiting the star TOI-1266. The Mexico-based telescope thus demonstrates its high precision and takes an important step in the quest of finding potentially habitable worlds.

Environment - Oct 14

Winners and losers of energy transition

Environment

Accounting for multiple social aims other than costs is critical for transitioning from fossil fuels to renewable electricity. A new study by UNIGE proposes a viable compromise.

Environment - Economics - Oct 13

Mental accounting is impacting sustainable behavior

Environment - Economics

UNIGE psychologists are analysing the way our minds plan the use of resources so that interventions can be developed to reduce excessive energy consumption and carbon emissions.

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environment and climate research

Switzerland has been at the forefront of climate research. The Nobel Peace Prize 2007 went to Al Gore and all the members of the UN’s Intergovernmental Panel on Climate Change (IPCC). Among those honoured are a number of Swiss scientists. Switzerland has decided to strengthen its leading position in climate research through several research initiatives and programs.

Research  institutions

Research programs

  • NCCR Climate: The Swiss National Science Foundation SNSF funds a long term climate project under the National Centre for Competence in Research (NCCR) scheme, the NCCR Climate. This NCCR is a network grouping the universities of Bern, Fribourg and Geneva, the Zurich Federal Institute of Technology, a number of Federal agencies, and the Swiss Re reinsuring company. It was established in 2001 with the aim of contributing substantially towards this concern and to better understand the climate system by carrying out interdisciplinary research on its variability and its potential for change. It includes such topics as historical climate change, the development of computer models to diagnose and forecast climate events, and the impact of climate change on ecosystems. 

  • The World Climate Research Program WCRP is an international program sponsored by several international organisations. It identifies knowledge gaps, prioritizes needs and leads world-class research into climate variability and climate change to meet end-user requirements and policy needs.

Platforms

  • Database allowing an overview of environmental research in the broad sense, covering themes as varied as the origins of the Earth, the understanding of natural processes or the solving of concrete environmental problems. 
  • The platform for cleantech, launched by the Swiss Government, provides all kind of information on cleantech for researchers and companies (only in German and French). Cleantech cover all products and services having a positive and sustainable effect on environment and climate.

Forums

  • Proclim is the Swiss forum for climate and global change issues. It seeks to facilitate both integrated research activities and the necessary linkages among scientists, policy-makers and the public at home and abroad . Its aims are the integration of Swiss research in international programs , s upport for interdisciplinary collaboration and dialog and information exchange and dialog with decision makers. 

  • The Swiss Committee on Polar Research (SCP) is a common forum of the Swiss Scientific Academies. Its main tasks are the national spreading of polar research results and informations through public events and publications.

Other useful links

  • Federal Office of Meteorology and Climatology
  • Swiss Biological Records Center ( Centre Suisse de Cartographie de la Faune) gathers, manages and diffuses information on the distribution and the ecology of fauna in Switzerland.

  • Swiss Village in Masdar City: Masdar City, located in Abu Dhabi, is the world’s first carbon-neutral zero waste city. Switzerland is a close partner of Masdar City: A Swiss Village is being realised in the first construction phase of Masdar – the opening is scheduled for 2011. The Swiss Village is to offer a balanced mix of uses with offices, research labs and light manufacturing facilities, restaurants and shops, a Swiss business hub, a Swiss private school, apartments as well as the Swiss Embassy and an embassy residence. 

Associations and agencies for renewable energies

Portals in the field of renewable energies

  • www.energieforschung.ch, a page of the Swiss Federal Office of Energy (SFOE), provides information about activities of the Swiss Government.
  • The platform for cleantech, launched by the Swiss Government, provides all kind of information on cleantech for researchers and companies (only in German and French). Cleantech cover all products and services having a positive and sustainable effect on environment and climate.