Strategic Area Climate and Environmental Sustainability – from research to practice

Abstract

The major strategic priorities foreseen to be addressed in this Strategic Area in 2029-2035 are (i) Preparing for Climate Change and Extremes; (ii) Developing One Health Solutions; (iii) Creating resilient communities and environments; and (iv) Managing resources through sustainable and circular solutions. These priorities reflect some of the most urgent and interconnected challenges of our time. Solutions developed by the ETH Domain draw on knowledge produced with scientific rigour and epistemological reflection in fundamental discovery science and applied research. A substantial emphasis is put on embedding fundamental research into the wider effort to make the science in this Strategic Area socially impactful. Equally important is the role of education, partnerships, and capacity building. In our presentation, we will introduce the strategic priorities and lay the foundation for the other speakers in this session focusing on the transfer from research to practice.

Joint between:

• Claudia Zingerli, ETH Zurich
• Max Maurer, Eawag

About

Claudia Zingerli is the Head of the ETH Office of Sustainability and a lecturer at ETH Zurich, where she oversees and shapes the sustainability portfolio. She holds a PhD degree in development studies from the University of East Anglia, UK. In her academic work she has been focusing on the political nature of natural resource management as well as the politics of knowledge production in sustainable development and transformation.

Strategic Area Climate and Environmental Sustainability – from research to practice

Abstract

The major strategic priorities foreseen to be addressed in this Strategic Area in 2029-2035 are (i) Preparing for Climate Change and Extremes; (ii) Developing One Health Solutions; (iii) Creating resilient communities and environments; and (iv) Managing resources through sustainable and circular solutions. These priorities reflect some of the most urgent and interconnected challenges of our time. Solutions developed by the ETH Domain draw on knowledge produced with scientific rigour and epistemological reflection in fundamental discovery science and applied research. A substantial emphasis is put on embedding fundamental research into the wider effort to make the science in this Strategic Area socially impactful. Equally important is the role of education, partnerships, and capacity building. In our presentation, we will introduce the strategic priorities and lay the foundation for the other speakers in this session focusing on the transfer from research to practice.

Joint between:

• Claudia Zingerli, ETH Zurich
• Max Maurer, Eawag

About

Max Maurer is a scientist with a research focus on infrastructure transition management, smart urban water management and modular urban water management. As professor for Urban Water Systems at the Swiss Federal Institute of Technology Zurich (ETH; www.ethz.ch) he is the director of the institute for Environmental Engineering and is running the water Infrastructure Transition Group at the Swiss Federal Institute of Aquatic Science & Technology.

Rumbling and tumbling: Mountain hazards, risks and early warning in a changing climate

Abstract

How is climate change impacting rockfall, rock avalanches and ice avalanches? After the dramatic collapse of the Kleines Nesthorn and the Birchgletscher, which buried the town of Blatten on the 28^th of May, 2025, this became one of the most frequently asked questions – by friends, family, journalists, and researchers alike. The tragic event highlighted – once again – the immediate importance of understanding the impact of climate change on mass movements in mountain regions. In this talk, I will summarize our current understanding of the complex interactions between climate and mountain hazards and highlight ongoing research investigating both these interactions and our capabilities for early warning and emergency preparedness.

About

Dr Mylène Jacquemart received a BSc and MSc from the Department of Geography at the University of Zurich and a PhD from the Department of Geological Sciences at the University of Colorado at Boulder, United States. She is currently a senior researcher at the Laboratory of Hydraulics, Hydrology, and Glaciology at ETH Zurich and WSL in Sion, where she investigates the impact of climate change on glacier and alpine hazards and has previously worked in operational hazard management at Geopraevent AG.

The environmental impacts of stratospheric aerosol injection as a solar radiation management techniqued

Abstract

Stratospheric aerosol injection (SAI) has been suggested as a solar radiation modification (SRM) technique to counteract global warming by increasing Earth’s albedo, in analogy to large volcanic eruptions. SAI has raised concerns of damaging the ozone layer, heating the stratosphere and changing weather patterns. Within an international effort we investigate SAI options based on solid particles with promising optical properties. These activities range from experiments on molecular level surface chemistry to particle optical properties and to large scale modelling to provide improved constraints on the environmental impacts of SAI. This contributes to the scientific basis needed to inform the societal debate and the political decision about SRM.

About

Markus Ammann has obtained his PhD from ETH in 1992 in the field of aerosol chemistry. Since 1997 he has been group leader at Paul Scherrer Institute, and since 2014 he has been an adjunct professor in atmospheric chemistry at ETH in the Department of Environmental Systems Science. His research focuses on kinetics and mechanisms of multiphase chemistry in the atmosphere, using a range of experimental physico-chemical and spectroscopic tools.

Built environment: Modus Operandi of EPFL Fribourg

Abstract

The built environment shapes our lives and the planet, supporting wellbeing while also driving emissions, energy use, resource extraction, and health risks. Improving its design, operation, and maintenance is crucial to achieving sustainability and a circular economy. Ten years ago, a joint research venture was established in Fribourg among EPFL, the University of Applied Sciences and Architecture Fribourg, and the University of Fribourg. Spanning disciplines from urban planning to building engineering, the campus combines fundamental and applied research, innovation, and hands-on education.

This talk highlights the unique DNA of the Fribourg campus. It also introduces the Smart Living Lab, a building currently under construction that has been, is, and will be an extraordinary object of experimentation.

About

Corentin Fivet is Associate Professor of Architecture & Structural Design at EPFL, leading the Structural Xploration Lab based in Fribourg. Since 2024, he has served as the academic director of the Smart Living Lab. Together with his research team, he develops computational design methods and processes to increase circularity in building structures.

Climate Solutions Hub – Make green technologies scale faster

Joint between:

• Dr Peter Richner, Empa, Co-Lead Climate Solutions Hub
• Dr Christian Binz, Eawag, Co-Lead Climate Solutions Hub

Abstract

The Climate Solution Hub’s vision is to accelerate the diffusion and mainstreaming of transformative climate solutions. This new competence center jointly established by Empa and Eawag aims at assessing how potentially transformative green technologies developed in the ETH Domain can be more strategically scaled up. The CSH tackles this question by combining competencies from three pillars: Technology development; demonstrators and living labs; and social sciences. The Hub combines scholars from these three competence fields from across the ETH Domain with relevant stakeholders and makes them jointly develop ‘scaling templates’ for sustainability solutions. By combining these competencies in integrated projects and working in Living Lab setting, the solution’s technology, policy and market readiness levels can be strategically increased. Initially, the CSH is focusing on climate positive infrastructures like NetZero concrete, decentralized water reuse, or multifunctional blue-green infrastructues. This focus shall be extended in a next development phase of the Hub in close interaction with other ETH Domain institutes.

About

Dr Peter Richner studied chemistry at the Swiss Federal Institute of Technology (ETH) in Zurich and subsequently received his doctorate. After a postdoctoral period in the USA, he established a new research group at Empa in the field of ultratrace analysis, later headed the Corrosion and Surface Protection Laboratory and has been Head of the Engineering Sciences Department since 2002 and Deputy Director until 2025. He headed the Swiss Competence Center in Energy Research "Future Energy Efficient Buildings & Districts" and is the initiator of the NEST project. His research interests focus on energy-efficient construction and the promotion of technology transfer.

Climate Solutions Hub – Make green technologies scale faster

Joint between:

• Dr Peter Richner, Empa, Co-Lead Climate Solutions Hub
• Dr Christian Binz, Eawag, Co-Lead Climate Solutions Hub

Abstract

The Climate Solution Hub’s vision is to accelerate the diffusion and mainstreaming of transformative climate solutions. This new competence center jointly established by Empa and Eawag aims at assessing how potentially transformative green technologies developed in the ETH Domain can be more strategically scaled up. The CSH tackles this question by combining competencies from three pillars: Technology development; demonstrators and living labs; and social sciences. The Hub combines scholars from these three competence fields from across the ETH Domain with relevant stakeholders and makes them jointly develop ‘scaling templates’ for sustainability solutions. By combining these competencies in integrated projects and working in Living Lab setting, the solution’s technology, policy and market readiness levels can be strategically increased. Initially, the CSH is focusing on climate positive infrastructures like NetZero concrete, decentralized water reuse, or multifunctional blue-green infrastructues. This focus shall be extended in a next development phase of the Hub in close interaction with other ETH Domain institutes.

About

Dr Christian Binz is a research group leader at the Department of Environmental Social Sciences at Eawag, an Associate Researcher at CIRCLE, Lund University, Sweden, and a guest lecturer at the University of Zurich. He received his PhD in Geography from the University of Bern in 2012 and has worked as a PostDoc at Harvard University (US), Lund University (Sweden), UC Berkeley (USA), and Tsinghua University (China). His research explores how transformative innovation develops and diffuses in the water, energy, transport and construction sectors. He has extensive experience in working in interdisciplinary research projects and has covered green innovation processes in both developed (EU, US, Switzerland) and emerging (China, India) economies.

Science anticipation as a key engine for effective multilateralism and science diplomacy

Abstract

We are living in an era of exponential scientific change, with breakthroughs in artificial intelligence, synthetic biology, and quantum computing accelerating faster than our governance structures can adapt.

The Geneva Science and Diplomacy Anticipator (GESDA) Foundation is a private Swiss foundation based in Geneva with global reach, where science meets diplomacy and ideas become action. From launching the Open Quantum Institute to training the next generation of leaders, GESDA’s mission is to anticipate emerging scientific discoveries at a time horizon of 5, 10, 25 years and translate them into concrete actions for the benefit of society. GESDA thereby contributes to strengthening multilateral collaboration and to reinforcing Switzerland’s role as a hub for diplomacy and innovation.

About

Trained as a physicist, Marilyne Andersen is Director General of the GESDA Foundation and Full Professor at EPFL. She has been conducting pioneering work at the interface between science and engineering, design, society and culture, and actively engaged in bridging the gap between art and science. Dean of the ENAC School at EPFL from 2013 and 2018, she has also been a Professor at MIT and a Visiting Professor at the Lawrence Berkeley Lab as well as at SUTD in Singapore.