Time: Thursday May 15 at 13.15-14.45 
Auditorium: TBD

This track will focus on renewable energy sources (e.g. wind, solar), energy storage (e.g., batteries, P2X), the transition to sustainable energy systems, and how these can be scaled to meet global energy demands while maintaining environmental integrity. The sessions will explore next and future generations of energy technologies through contributions from established industrial and academic experts, as well as from up-coming researchers and start-ups bringing new ideas to the table. 

Chair: Dorthe Ranvsbæk, Professor, Aarhus University and Peter Balling, Professor, Aarhus University

Speakers:

Morten Madsen, Professor, University of Southern Denmark

Marta Victoria, Associate Professor, Aarhus University
Photovoltaics everywhere

Time: Thursday May 15 at 13.15-14.45
Auditorium: To be determined

Chair: Jens-Christian Svenning, Professor, Aarhus University and Klaus Butterbach-Bahl, Professor, Aarhus University

Ecosystems play a dual role in achieving carbon neutrality through mitigation and adaptation. Forests are critical carbon sinks, but grasslands, wetlands, and other non-woody vegetation also contribute significantly, particularly through resilient soil carbon storage. Marine ecosystems, including seagrasses, whales, mollusks, and fish, are key players in "blue carbon" sequestration and sustainable food production. Large wild herbivores shape vegetation and nutrient cycles, influencing carbon dynamics, supporting semi-natural rangelands, and reducing fire risks. Wetlands, peat bogs, and coastal ecosystems also provide vital protection from rising flooding risks, by rivers and from sea-level rise, while storing vast amounts of carbon. Sustainable management of semi-natural forests and rangelands links carbon storage to biodiversity conservation, wood production, and resilience to pests and fires. By protecting and restoring ecosystems, we enhance biodiversity, resilience, and global climate goals, while mitigating increasing climate risks.

Speakers:

To be determined

Time: Thursday April 15 at 13.15-14.45
Auditorium: To be determined

Chair: John Thøgersen, Professor, Aarhus University

Is there a “social tipping point” in consumers’ adoption of a climate-friendly diet, and how do we get there?

How and what we eat is important for both health and sustainability. However, despite official advice recommending changes in the average Danish diet that would benefit both health and the climate, changes are very slow, even among the youngest age groups. Therefore, researchers in both Denmark and internationally have recently started to investigate the social dynamics characterizing the “normalization” of a more climate-friendly and sustainable diet and especially the possibility of “social tipping points” in the process.

A social tipping point is the point where a sufficient share of a population has accepted an emerging social norm for self-perpetuating mechanisms to be set in motion, releasing strong forces driving the wider uptake of the new norm in society, ultimately leading to a shift in dominating norms. Current research has tried to uncover and describe the involved social dynamics in the normalization of a climate-friendly diet as well as possible contingencies, disruptions, and need for policy support.

In this session, we will learn about cutting-edge research on the possible normalization of a climate-friendly diet and possible social tipping-points in this connection from leading researchers in the field.

The first speaker is Bente Halkier, professor of sociology at Copenhagen University and member of the Danish Climate Council, who will speak about her research on the normalization of a climate-friendly diet. Second speaker is Jessica Aschemann-Witzel, professor of marketing and leader of the MAPP-Centre – Research on Value Creation in the Food Sector for Consumers, Industry and Society at Aarhus University, who will speak about her research on social tipping points in the process towards a more climate-friendly and sustainable diet. The third speaker is Jan Michael Bauer, from the Consumer & Behavioural Insight Group at Copenhagen Business School, who will present ongoing research on social influence in sustainable food choices and discuss its implications for public policy.

Following the three presentations, there will be a panel debate with the audience about how we can reach a “social tipping point” in consumers’ adoption of a climate-friendly diet.

Speakers:

Bente Halkier, Professor of sociology, University of Copenhagen

Jessica Aschemann-Witzel, Professor, Aarhus University

Jan Michael Bauer, Associate Professor, Copenhagen Business School

Time: Thursday May 15 at 16.10-17.40
Auditorium: To be determined

Chair: Jens-Christian Svenning, Professor, Aarhus University and Klaus Butterbach-Bahl, Professor, Aarhus University

Ecosystems play a dual role in achieving carbon neutrality through mitigation and adaptation. Forests are critical carbon sinks, but grasslands, wetlands, and other non-woody vegetation also contribute significantly, particularly through resilient soil carbon storage. Marine ecosystems, including seagrasses, whales, mollusks, and fish, are key players in "blue carbon" sequestration and sustainable food production. Large wild herbivores shape vegetation and nutrient cycles, influencing carbon dynamics, supporting semi-natural rangelands, and reducing fire risks. Wetlands, peat bogs, and coastal ecosystems also provide vital protection from rising flooding risks, by rivers and from sea-level rise, while storing vast amounts of carbon. Sustainable management of semi-natural forests and rangelands links carbon storage to biodiversity conservation, wood production, and resilience to pests and fires. By protecting and restoring ecosystems, we enhance biodiversity, resilience, and global climate goals, while mitigating increasing climate risks.

Speakers:

To be determined