In this study, a Consequential Life Cycle Assessment (CLCA) was conducted on the introduction of a potato protein for human consumption in Sweden. The assessed environmental impact cathegories in the CLCA were the categories global warming potential, eutrophication and land use. Potato protein is a side-stream that occurs during the production of potato starch and is currently used for animal feed (feed-grade). With the use of the new gene-editing technique CRISPR-Cas9, the stability of proteins in a starch potato can be improved to make the potato protein fit for human consumption (food-grade). The food-grade potato protein can be used as an ingredient in the food products: plant-based meat, quiche, sauces, wine and smoothies. When using the potato protein in one of these food products seven protein sources could potentially be substituted: soybean protein, yellow pea protein, beef protein, pork protein, chicken protein, egg protein and milk protein. The results of the CLCA show that when using the potato protein as an ingredient in a food product instead of other protein sources environmental impact can potentially be reduced. Most environmental impact can be reduced by substituting animal proteins by the potato protein. Therefore, from an environmental point of view, the most interesting food products to use the potato protein in as an ingredient are the food products where currently animal products are used in as the main source of protein.

Har du någonsin åkt genom en tunnel och undrat hur det kommer sig att det tunga berget över dig inte kollapsar in i detta hålrum? Har du lagt märke till underliga metallpinnar som sticker ut ur väggar och tak? Dessa metallpinnar är bultar, och de är en del av säkerhetsåtgärderna som ser till att tunnlar över hela Sverige är säkra att färdas i. När en tunnel byggs är det viktigt att ta reda på vilka egenskaper som berget har för att kunna avgöra hur stora säkerhetsåtgärder som bör implementeras. Dessa egenskaper kan vara sådant som sprickors utbredning och orientering, hur mycket vatten som finns i sprickorna, vad berget består av och krafter som påverkar berget. Säkerhetsarbetet kring tunnlar kan göra skillnaden mellan liv och död, men hur ska man forska kring detta? I ett labb kan man med hjälp av en modell undersöka vad som fungerar bäst, men även det minsta möjliga för att förhindra kollaps. I detta arbete har en modell som representerar ett tunneltak använts. Den används till undervisning för förståelse av bultar. Modellen var en upphöjd stålram med avtagbar botten, stålramen var kvadratisk med 82 cm sidolängd. I denna ram placerades skruvar och järnvägsmakadam för att simulera ett tunneltak med bultar i mindre skala. Järnvägsmakadam är krossat berg med en kornstorlek på ca 32 till 64 mm. Skruvarna trycker ihop makadamen med hjälp av brickor för att tryck ska uppstå och trycket mäts med tryckgivare som är placerade i modellen. Arbetet som har utförts med hjälp av modellen syftar till att utveckla metoder för hur sådana försök bör utföras i framtiden. Tidigare försök har gjorts och då har det observerats att denna modell har varit stabil när skruvarna spänts till 7 Nm (Newtonmeter) vridmoment och att den kollapsade av minimal påverkan när skruvarna spändes till 5 Nm. Därför gick vi in i detta arbete med hypotesen att modellens lägre gräns för stabilitet fanns strax under 5 Nm. Vid de tidigare försöken mättes inte trycket i modellen och vi hade därför ingen hypotes om detta. Försöken utfördes på olika vis. Skruvarna spändes i olika mönster och med olika vridmoment, makadamen placerades också på olika sätt när modellen byggdes upp. Som resultat ställdes vridmoment och tryck upp i tabeller och diagram. Det skulle visa sig att hypotesen om att den lägre gränsen var nära 5 Nm vridmoment inte stämde. Modellen hölls uppe även när skruvarna endast spändes till 2 Nm. Både när modellens bottenlager var fördelaktigt och ofördelaktigt uppbyggt ur ett stabilitetsperspektiv så höll modellen vid 2 Nm. Lägre vridmoment än 2 Nm kunde inte testas i brist på känsligare verktyg. / Have you ever traveled through a tunnel and wondered why the heavy rock above you doesn’t collapse on top of you? Have you noticed the odd metal rods that sticks out from the walls and ceiling? These metal rods are bolts, a part of the security measures that make sure that tunnels all over Sweden are safe to travel through. When a tunnel is built, it is important to know the properties of the rock to be able to assess what type of security measures that need to be applied. These properties can be fractures and their orientation, the composition of the rock and the forces that are present. The security work regarding tunnels can be the difference between life and death, but how can research in this field be carried out? Model experiments in a laboratory can be of great use to investigate the most efficient way to stabilize the rock, but also the minimal effort required to prevent collapse. For this report a model that represents the roof of a tunnel has been used. The model is used for learning about rock bolts and consisted of an elevated 82 cm square steel frame with a detachable floor. Bolts and crushed rock were placed within the frame to simulate a tunnel roof in a smaller scale. The crushed rock had a grain size of 32 to 64 mm. The bolts in combination with small metal discs compress the rock to produce pressure, and the induced pressure is measured with pressure indicators placed within the model. The experiments conducted with this model aims to develop potential new methods for future uses and experiments. Previous experiments with this type of model have shown that the model is stable when the bolts have been tightened to 7 Nm (Newton Meters) torque, and subsequently collapsed with minimal influence when the bolts were tightened to 5 Nm. Therefore, the hypothesis of this report was based on previous experiments, where the lower limit of the model seemed to be close to 5 Nm. The previous experiments didn’t measure the pressure throughout the strained rock mass, and therefore there is no hypothesis regarding this. The experiments were conducted in different ways. The bolts were tightened both in different patterns and with different torques, and the crushed rock were placed differently throughout the experiments as the model was being built. The following result of torque and pressure were presented in tables and graphs. The result showed that the hypothesis regarding the lower boundary being close to 5 Nm was not correct. The model stayed in place even when the bolts were tightened as low as 2 Nm. The model was stable at 2 Nm both with a favorable and unfavorable bottom layer of rock. Therefore, it is required to tension the bolt with torque lower than 2 Nm to determine the lower limit of stability, but that could not be tested due to the lack of proper tools.

Kosovo is a disputed territory, in conflict with Serbia, the country it declared independence from in 1999. The two states share water resource, in the form of the Ibër river. Kosovo is facing issues of water scarcity and the water it has access to is heavily polluted with untreated wastewater metallurgy waste.Kosovo does not only have poor relations with Serbia, there are also conflict within Kosovo with communities of both Kosovo Albanian majority and Serb majority. These communities have shown different willingness to cooperate over the water management of the Ibër river basin. Cooperating over shared water resources have in other cases been used as a way to improve on relations in conflict affected societies, through environmental peacemaking. In this case study, the environmental and socio-political conditions for environmental peacemaking is investigated through interviews of municipal and regional stakeholders, involved in the management of the Ibër river basin. Interviews were conducted with two municipal employees and one representative from the regional river basin authority in Kosovo. These interviews were complemented with a comprehensive literature review. The findings were analysed, using a conceptual framework developed to analyse and compare different cases of environmental peacemaking. The conceptual framework consists of six elements: resource scarcity, interdependence, lack of environmental sustainability, mutual interests, shared values, and power (a)symmetries. External actions and interests was also included as an element to reveal in what way external actors can intervene and assist in improving relations through environmental peacemaking initiatives. The analysis concluded that the Ibër river basin is in a need of transboundary management to improve on the water quality in a more effective and efficient way. The resource scarcity that is currently facing the stakeholders could be used as a cooperative trigger between the different actors. And while there is a lot of complexity to within the socio-political conditions, the interviewees express the need and interest for increased cooperation. This indicates that increased collaboration could be possible, but most likely there would be a need for external interventions to create an ongoing dialogue, that in turn can build trust between the conflicting parties. / <p>Remote presentation on Teams</p>

To fight climate change, people need to change their behaviours towards emitting fewer greenhouse gases and build a system that is resilient towards the future shocks that climate change will create. Education can be seen as a key factor in behaviour change. Climate change education, in particular, provides people with the knowledge they need to transition towards a more sustainable state. Education does not only involve giving people information on natural and social systems, though: Since climate change can potentially threaten life on earth, it evokes strong emotional responses, such as depression and helplessness. When students feel that they cannot do anything about climate change, when they feel hopeless and pessimistic, they are less likely to engage in pro-environmental behaviour. Even if they have adequate knowledge of what to do. This constitutes the gap between cognitive and emotional learning where I enter with my study. With an online survey addressed to German grammar school pupils and university students (N = 438), I examine how the design of content on climate change can influence the perception of content. I used techniques of presenting content from Constructive Journalism to write five short texts on climate change for half of the participants. The other half represented a control group that read texts using the opposite of these constructive techniques of presenting. The participants answered questions regarding the two dimensions of learning: cognitive, and emotional. Within the emotional dimension, I asked students about their feelings of engagement, hope, depression, self-efficacy, and collective efficacy toward climate change. Constructive techniques of presenting content influence mainly the emotional dimension of learning, not the cognitive dimension and not the feeling of cognitive engagement either. The study showed, however, that if students understand the challenges of climate change well, they showed to be more prone toward feelings of depression. Teachers can engage with these negative feelings by including such framings as solutions-orientation, community-orientation, or long-term trends. While keeping cognitive learning and engagement at the same level, teachers can increase the positive emotions students have towards the content by designing it constructively. This study provides a way to encourage behavioural change in young people that is easier than transforming the entire global educational system. The insights can also be used for the broader public. Empowering people through information can inspire them to take action for mitigation and adaptation.

There is ample debate around the conceptualizations of rural development as well as its implementation and impacts. Contemporary understandings underline the importance of social movements in social change, which has become a fundamental part of development. The Rural Development Tuki Association (RDTA) is such a social movement from Dolakha district in Nepal that originated within a Swiss-funded development project in the 1970s. The organization was a prime actor in social change and influenced the development of the villages in their district. There is a lack of applied research focusing on the history, evolution and context of social movements.The junction between social movement studies and organizational theory originated the theory of ‘strategic action fields’ that is used to analyze and understand the dynamics that underlie the emergence, stabilization and contestation of movements and organizations. The findings that are to inform this framework were collected during a field visit to Dolakha district through six informal gatekeeper-selected interviews and the analysis of documents provided by the organization itself. All this data was analyzed through content analysis and complemented by an extensive literature review on rural development, rural advisory services and Nepal’s political history to better understand the wider context within which the actions retold by members or related individuals took place.The RDTA originated as a novel approach to delivery of rural development services to village communities aiming to increase their self-reliance and agency in development. The ‘Tuki’ were selected members of village communities that received training and were then to share the newly acquired expertise with their peers like an expert-farmer or farmer-to-farmer extension system would. At first the villages struggled to accept the new authority and governance at the time made it impossible for the Tuki to formally organize. There was considerable conflict between Panchayat officials and Tuki members. Towards the end of the Panchayat the Tuki became respected members of village communities and started to increase their influence on local politics as well as widen their network within the district. This enabled the organization to claim and maintain a dominant position within rural development in Dolakha from its official registration in 1991 until the end of the direct financial support from the Swiss Agency of Development and Cooperation (SDC) in 2004. The support from Switzerland had significantly influenced the Tuki’s focus, ideals and organizational structure and the work done by SDC was a progressive reflection of the rural development discourse that was predominant at the time. The organization was able to stabilize after its funding crisis around 2004 but was never able to return to previous stability and activity. The ability to identify community needs, create collective identities and mobilize individuals to engage in action frames that aim for the common good where the main forms of social skill that enabled the RDTA to reach the network and impact it did and maintain its activity throughout different political scenarios that threatened the organizations ability to continue its action. The RDTA is facing challenges of identity, funding and staff-turnover and will need to reengage in debates around its focus and organizational structure if it is to continue its legacy in Dolakha.Social movements and civil society actors played a crucial role in the development of Nepal’s rural areas and its evolution towards a democratic, egalitarian and inclusive society. More research is needed to better understand the impact the RDTA has had on village life and how national and international discourses on rural development have informed and influenced their activities and frameworks. The theory of ‘strategic action fields’ provided an excellent framework that was crucial at analyzing the dynamics that govern the emergence, stabilization and contestation of strategic action and its broader environment.

The transport sector is responsible for a significant and growing proportion of greenhouse gas emissions.  The urgent actions are required to take in the transport sector facing the challenge of growing global change. The major trends, including global urbanization, widespread application of digital technologies, and broad demand for sustainable development, have provided new opportunities for data-driven smart mobility in the future. This research aims to explore potentials of data-driven smart mobility in achieving Sustainable Development Goal 11.2, “provide access to safe, affordable, accessible and sustainable transport systems for all,” and Sustainable Development Goal 13.2, “take urgent action to combat climate change and its impacts” and “integrate climate change measures into national policies, strategies and planning” reducing greenhouse gas emissions every year. In order to meet this aim, this research explores the understandings and innovations of data-driven smart mobility in achieving decarbonization in urban, as well as barriers during the current practices. Hangzhou, as the capital city in Zhejiang Province in China, has been selected for the case study to examine data-driven smart mobility approaches. The research results show that the potentials of the data to tackle climate issues lie in the efficient transport operation and travel behaviors change. Data technologies have been widely applied to improve the integration of travel modes and the efficiency of transport management to reduce greenhouse gas emissions in road traffic. However, there are few drivers to mine data resources for travel behavior change. Moreover, data-driven smart mobility initiatives applied in urban areas involve multiple stakeholders but with limited access to data sharing and opening. Considering disruptive effects and potential promises brought by the big data technologies, the implementation of smart mobility requires for public data strategy with a holistic view of the complex urban challenges and global climate change.

Increasing prevalence of non-communicable diseases, aging, and population growth pose significant sustainability challenges to health systems. Especially the health systems of low- and middle-income countries are more vulnerable to the risks related to non-communicable diseases and demographic changes. As the Covid-19 pandemic demonstrates, the quality of health systems is vital to save lives, and even the most developed countries are not immune to the consequences of global health crises. The World Health Organization estimates that non-communicable diseases such as cardiovascular diseases, chronic respiratory diseases, cancers, and diabetes cause around 40 million deaths in a year, and 15 million people aged between 30 and 69 suffer from premature deaths mostly in low- and middle-income countries. The United Nations aim to address this problem through the Sustainable Development Goal 3.4 that stresses to reduce by one third premature mortality from non-communicable diseases through prevention and promote mental health and well-being until 2030. Poor quality health systems and inadequate access to healthcare services by the most vulnerable groups are some of the main reasons for premature deaths. Improving the quality of health systems through innovation and digitalisation is strategic to deliver essential healthcare services to the most vulnerable people. Digital health technologies such as mobile health applications for chronic disease self-management play a key role in improving the health status of individuals and the accessibility of healthcare services. Type 2 Diabetes Mellitus (‘T2DM’) is one of the most prevalent non-communicable diseases suffered by almost half a billion people, and current developments in digital health technologies offer innovative methods for its treatment. Hence, this study investigates the effectiveness of a T2DM self-management smartphone application called DiaWatch and its potential benefits for the Sustainable Development Goals in terms of addressing the challenges of health systems. Methodology: Using the Technology Acceptance Model as an overall conceptual framework, a comprehensive literature review was performed to clearly define the objectives and methods for the study. Based on these findings, two sets of semi-structured qualitative interview questions have been prepared for collecting empirical data. Ten healthcare professionals working at a university hospital in Istanbul, Turkey, and ten T2DM patients using a T2DM self-management app called DiaWatch have been interviewed from mid-February to early-March. A thematic analysis has been carried out to analyse the empirical data collected through the semi-structured interviews. Results: Firstly, the results of the interviews with T2DM patients using the DiaWatch app suggest that the health status and chronic condition self-management experience of the majority of the interviewees improved since using the app and they adopted behavioural changes, such as being more adherent to the treatment, increased physical activity, having a healthier diet and measuring blood glucose level more regularly. The interviewees reported less dependency on healthcare facilities and increased accessibility of healthcare services, as they are tele-monitored by their physicians. Secondly, the results of the interviews with healthcare professionals highlight the benefits of digital health technologies for the health systems in terms of facilitating the job of healthcare staff, reducing the costs, and saving time. The interviewees state that tele-monitoring helps to decrease the number of redundant hospital admissions and screenings; however, data privacy and irreplaceability of face-to-face medical examinations are the main concerns before the acceptance of these technologies.

Current emissions are likely to produce substantial impacts for the agricultural sector and the salience for adapting to these changes in the agricultural sector is increasing. While Nordic agriculture is faced with both opportunities and challenges from climate change, a still developing political and institutional structure in combination with an extreme drought during the summer of 2018 is exacerbating existing long-term trends of financial pressure in the sector, particularly for meat and dairy farmers. Previous research has highlighted that there is a relative lack of studies attempting to understand the decision-making process of climate change adaptation and there is a currently a growing field of research focusing on the barriers to adaptation faced by farmers. This study primarily used Grothmann and Patt’s MCCAPP model in order to determine what factors influenced farmers decision-making when deciding to adapt to climate change. The results of this study found that the predominant barrier to adaptation among farmers were uncertainty regarding future climatic impacts, which resulted in a lower confidence in adaptation strategy efficacy to produce financial stability and returns. Climate mitigation was also identified as a potential trade-off when pursuing adaptation strategies. To a lesser degree, farmers also attested to farm-level differences, such as the availability of water resources as impacting the strategies that they were able to pursue. Opportunities to facilitate adaptation through institutional support was identified, as farmers both require better information regarding adaptation strategies and subsequent trade-offs and synergies it might create in relation to farmers priority issues such as financial viability and climate mitigation. More effective means of financial assistance to counteract the effects of extreme climatic conditions was also identified. Lastly, social capital was an important facilitator of adaptation implementation, but one that is threatened due to the continuingly deteriorating socio-economic conditions that farmers experience in their sector.

In times that reveal the consequences of climate change, cities are using urban greening as a potential measure in their climate change adaptation and mitigation strategies. Greenery in the city regulates the climate and balances temperature extremes through evapotranspiration and air humidification, spending shade and increased air circulation. Many cities in Germany, such as the City of Cologne, have established funding programmes for private stakeholders to support the greening of buildings. Greened buildings contribute to a reduction of the urban heat island effect by decreasing temperatures through increased evapotranspiration, increased air circulation and air humidification and a higher reflective power (albedo). The greening of buildings also cools down the building itself forming a natural insulation layer, shading and the reflection of sun energy. However, in most cities the potential for houses that could be greened is barely utilized. This study explores variables that influence the residents’ attitudinal and behavioural acceptance towards greening their building in Cologne Deutz. Survey research was conducted based on a theoretical framework that explains how external variables form beliefs that lead to attitudinal acceptance (positive attitude) and eventually behavioural acceptance (actual behaviour). The survey was designed to examine attitudinal acceptance and behavioural intention to act, as behavioural acceptance is difficult to measure. The main variables found to influence the residents’ attitudinal acceptance and behavioural intention towards the greening of buildings were ecological aspects, such as an increase of nature in the urban environment, an improvement of the urban climate, air quality and street cooling, and climate change. Visual-aesthetic aspects also played a major role, while finances and funding possibilities had a special influence on the perceived ease of use of greening one’s building. Amongst the sample of this study attitudinal acceptance and behavioural intention were categorized as high. Reasons that could explain the low amount of greening measure implementation were a possible lack of knowledge (of funding possibilities), a low number of private property owners, and an imbalance in the distribution of tangible advantages and disadvantages amongst tenants and landlords.

The idea of the human as a rational man is deeply engrained into the thinking and the construction of the human culture within industrialized societies. It enables the domination and commodification of nonhuman species and the natural world (the Other). This has led to the creation of a highly technologized, industrialized and environmentally destructive food system. Such system centers around the production and consumption of meat whereas meat symbolizes the dominant culture. It stands for hegemonic masculinity, rationalism and the subordination of the Other. In the 1970s, the ethical vegetarian movement arose, tackling the environmental destruction from a non-anthropocentric angle. Although the movement has not achieved the value shift it asks for, it identified the commodification of the Other as majorly problematic.Today, human induced climate change puts increasing pressure on humanity. Without inherent social change and restructuring, global warming may cause the extinction of the human and many other species.That is why, a new generation of activists has arisen. They use the environmental vegetarian argument to abolish commodification. It is an anthropocentric argumentation that aims to replace the exploitative, violent rationalist and industrialized society with the creation of a compassionate society that lives temperate lives. Environmental vegetarianism becomes powerful because it threatens the dominant culture daily. It challenges hegemonic masculinity because it embraces feminine virtues which build the basis for an ethics of care that centers around compassion. The argument’s power is reinforced by the natural scientific argument the confirms the reduction of meat consumption as important for the counteraction of climate change.