The Earth System Governance Project is delighted to announce the transition of its International Project Office from Utrecht University, the Netherlands, to Uppsala University in Sweden. The IPO will be based in Uppsala University’s Department of Earth Sciences within the Unit of Climate Change Leadership (CCL) from 2025 to 2030. From 2019 to 2024, the IPO was embedded within Utrecht University’s Copernicus Institute of Sustainable Development, a partnership which has proven to be very successful for the Earth System Governance Network.
Uppsala University, founded in 1477, is a top-ranked research institution with 50,000 students and nearly 5,000 researchers. Committed to high-quality education and impactful research, it strives for sustainable development, community engagement, and a culture of openness and respect. The Unit of Climate Change leadership explores strategies to cope with various environmental problems through transdisciplinary research on natural and social systems and their interaction at the science-policy interface. The IPO will also collaborate closely with the UUniCORN Future Institute, a recent initiative at Uppsala University, which aims to promote transdisciplinary and co-creative research on societal challenges linked to sustainable development and will provide a dynamic work environment for the IPO. The hosting of the ESG project at Uppsala University is supported by UUniCORN, and Zennström Philanthropies, founded by Uppsala University alumnus Niklas Zennström and his wife Catherine Zennström to support strategic programmes for human rights and the environment.
Mikael Karlsson, who leads the Unit of Climate Change Leadership and Judith Lundberg-Felten, project coordinator in the Climate Change Leadership team, will lead the activities of the IPO at Uppsala University for strategic planning, long-term development of partnerships, organizational leadership and liaison to the ESG foundation. ESG network members will have the opportunity to meet Mikael Karlsson at the upcoming ESG conference in South Africa. He expresses his enthusiasm for hosting the ESG Project’s International Project Office:
“The ESG Project is a world-leading endeavour to protect a planet in peril. We are therefore honoured and delighted to be able to host the IPO for the next five years, and we are confident that we can support the organisation’s continued development. We are also off to a flying start given that we are pleased to welcome Prof. Aarti Gupta (Wageningen University & Research) and Prof. Frank Biermann (Utrecht University) as Zennström visiting professors in Climate change leadership. They have just joined our unit starting in March 2025, contributing to ongoing research, fostering new collaborations,and engaging in teaching and outreach. We warmly welcome this collaboration, as Prof. Gupta’s involvement with the Scientific Steering Committee will facilitate a smooth transition of the IPO, bridging the new IPO and the SSC. Moreover, Prof. Biermann will bring valuable historical and broader perspectives to the ESG Project. We are excited about this new chapter and look forward to creating a flourishing environment for the project to expand”.
Cristina Inoue and Jonathan Pickering, co-chairs of the ESG Project’s Scientific Steering Committee, conveyed their strong support for the new partnership:
“We are deeply grateful to Uppsala University and Zennström Philanthropies for their commitment to the next phase of the Earth System Governance Project. The IPO is the beating heart of the network and it will be in safe hands with the excellent team at Uppsala, complementing the University’s strong reputation for sustainability science. We’re excited about the opportunities this will open up to explore new horizons for earth system governance research and engagement, and to support the great work happening around the network, including the South-South Initiative, Early Career Researchers committee, taskforces and working groups.”
Currently a project coordinator and a research assistant are being recruited to the IPO at Uppsala university with the aim to run at full capacity by summer 2025. Applying for the said positions is possible until March 17th, 2025.
Ema Vrînceanu will continue serving as network coordinator from Utrecht and works closely with the Uppsala team to facilitate the transition. Ema can be reached at ipo@earthsystemgovernance.org
Department of Earth Sciences at Uppsala University. Picture: J. Lundberg-Felten
