Today, LUCSUS Professor Lennart Olsson will give a lecture for the very poplar 350th University Jubilee Course. The aim the course, which features guest lectures from all the university faculties, is to give an insight into current research and to highlight scientific facts in an engaging way.
In this short interview, he explains why he chose this specific topic, and what he wants the audience to take home with them.
Your lecture is on climate change and security risks – why did you choose this subject?
It is a very topical subject, not least because of my upcoming assignment as coordinating lead author for the forthcoming special IPCC report. It will focus on on climate change, desertification, land degradation, sustainable land management, food security, and greenhouse gas fluxes in terrestrial ecosystems.
What do you want the audience to take home with them?
That climate change needs to be taken seriously, not least because of the political consequences.There is great uncertainty as to how societies are, and will be, impacted by climate change, and political policies and processes can both improve and worsen the situation.
Is your talk a typical for the type of research that is done at Lund University?
Absolutely – we work with the whole spectrum research at LUCSUS, from natural sciences to social and political processes.
If you could do another lecture for the Jubilee Course, what would the topic be?
Either I would do a lecture on problems and solution in the border land between natural and social sciences, or I would focus on how climate change impacts on health and well being in vulnerable areas, especially in Africa.
About the Jubilee Course (in Swedish)