SLU news

SLU researchers in a debate article on the climate crisis: Enough is enough!

Published: 29 August 2022

A debate article by some SLU employees has created ripples across the Swedish research world. Signatures have poured in from scientists and employees at 45 different universities and research institutes throughout the country. Over 20% of the signatories are professors and the representation of subject areas span the natural and social sciences, humanities, medicine and technology.

It was frustration over the lack of political action and discussion on the ongoing climate crisis that drove a group of researchers from the Swedish University of Agricultural Sciences and Uppsala University to start writing a debate article in June.

When the text was completed in August and the researchers began to spread it in their networks to see if more people wanted to sign it, it became clear that their frustration was shared by many researchers and teachers at universities and research institutes all over Sweden.

- The signatures literally poured in, says Flora Hajdu, Professor of Rural Development. When we reached 500, we began to realize that we had to ask for help from colleagues to check that all signatures really came from people who were employed at the institutions.

The authors of the article have received an extremely positive response to the initiative.

- Many people have contacted us and expressed their appreciation, says Karin Gerhardt. By the time of publication 1,944 people had signed, most of them researchers and professors from universities and research institutes.

The debate article was published digitally in Aftonbladet on Thursday morning, August 25, including the long list of all the signatures.

Read the article in Swedish here: https://www.aftonbladet.se/debatt/a/KzQgly/nog-nu-politiker-ta-klimatkrisen-pa-allvar

Read a translation into English here: https://www.kth.se/philhist/historia/omoss/nyheter/enough-is-enough-politicians-take-the-climate-crisis-seriously-1.1186574


Contact

Karin Gerhardt, Researcher
Department of Urban and Rural Development, Division of Political Science and Natural Resource Governance
karin.gerhardt@slu.se, +4618-671344, +46709429055

Flora Hajdu
Researcher at the Department of Urban and Rural Development; Division of Rural Development

Telephone: +4618672162
E-mail: flora.hajdu@slu.se

Photo depicting Jeannette Eggers by Johan Samuelson

  

Jeannette Eggers, Researcher / Program Manager SHa
Department of Forest Resource Management / SHa, SLU
jeannette.eggers@slu.se, +46(0)90-786 8305, +46 (0)72-203 5026