News about climate and sustainability

FOOD

2025.02.27

VAT adjustments could save 170,000 lives a year in Europe

170,000 deaths a year could be avoided if European countries were to increase value-added tax (VAT) rates on meat and dairy products, while reducing them on fruits and vegetables. Such changes would also reduce Europe’s…

Wetlands

2025.02.11

Twenty years on, biodiversity struggles to take root in restored wetlands

While the restoration of natural areas is high on political agendas, a comprehensive new study from the University of Copenhagen shows that – after more than two decades – biodiversity growth has stalled in restored…

Award

2025.01.23

Eske Willerslev found the past in two grams of soil. His finding gives us a window into the future

As a student, Professor Eske Willerslev had an idea: He wanted to extract DNA directly from the soil. This has led to major scientific breakthroughs and an entire new research field, eDNA, for which he now receives one…

archaeology

2025.01.16

Volcanic eruption caused Neolithic people to sacrifice unique "sun stones"

4,900 years ago, a Neolithic people on the Danish island Bornholm sacrificed hundreds of stones engraved with sun and field motifs. Archaeologists and climate scientists from the University of Copenhagen can now show…

Antarctica:

2025.01.09

Historic Drilling Campaign Reaches more than 1.2-Million-Year-Old Ice

It is expected that the 2,800 meter deep ice core drilling down to the bedrock under the Antarctic ice sheet for the first time will reveal crucial details about the earth's climate and the history of the atmosphere mor…

FOOD

2024.12.13

How chemical reactions deplete nutrients in plant-based drinks

A University of Copenhagen study of plant-based drinks reveals a common issue: they are lacking in proteins and essential amino acids compared to cow’s milk. The explanation lies in their extensive processing, causing…

Glacier flood

2024.12.11

One of world's largest glacier floods triggered in Greenland

For the first time, scientists have observed the release of a massive glacial lake outburst in East Greenland, where more than 3,000 billion liters of meltwater were unleashed in just weeks. This rare, natural flooding…

Biodiversity

2024.10.23

AI can now be our eyes and ears in the forest and beneath the waves

Animal sounds combined with artificial intelligence (AI) can revolutionize biodiversity monitoring both on land and in aquatic settings according to researchers from the University of Copenhagen. By analyzing wildlife…

Microbiome

2024.10.15

‘Vegetarian’ salmon might lead the way to better health for humans and fish

Plant-based salmon feed aims to make salmon production more sustainable. This can result in better fish for dinner, and knowledge about gut bacteria can also impact more sustainable feed for other farm animals.

Animals

2024.10.15

Seven New Frog Species Discovered in Madagascar: Sounds Like Something from Star Trek

An international team of researchers have discovered seven new species of tree frogs that make otherworldly calls in the rainforests of Madagascar. Their strange, high-pitched whistling calls sound more like sound…

2024.09.25

Do you feel eco-guilt or eco-shame? Emotions reveal how much we care about the environment

Green choices related to everyday climate, environment and sustainability decisions are influenced by shame and guilt according to a new study from the University of Copenhagen. And the way one feels hinges upon one’s…

Fossil

2024.08.30

Fungus gnat entombed in a 40-million-year-old piece of amber is a rare gem

A Danish amber collector’s find upon a wild North Sea shore in the 1960’s has proved to be of great and surprising significance. After having thoroughly examining the roughly 40-million-year-old piece of amber,…

nature

2024.07.02

Spotted apex predator being pressured by spotted pack hunters – and it's our fault

Leopards, who are already in decline, can’t keep up with hyenas when people are around. As we humans move into the their territories more and more, we are helping to disturb and unbalance ecosystems. This has been shown…

Plastic

2024.06.18

Researchers invent one hundred percent biodegradable "barley plastic"

A biofriendly new material made from barley starch blended with fibre from sugarbeet waste sees the light of day at the University of Copenhagen – a strong material that turns into compost should it end up in nature. In…

Artificial Intelligence

2024.06.12

AI method reveals millions of dead trees hidden among the living before California’s historic 2020 wildfires

University of Copenhagen scientists may have found a new explanation for the California wildfires of 2020. Applying AI to detailed aerial photos, they created a unique dataset detailing mortality down to single trees fo…

sustainability

2024.06.03

Avocados are 'bad' and vegans are ridiculous: How we justify eating too much meat

Those of us who find it difficult to eat less meat for the sake of climate tend to apologize or justify ourselves in social contexts. And… shaming vegans isn’t off limits. This, according to a new University of…

fødevarer

2024.06.03

Greenhouses cover more and more of Earth’s surface

Greenhouse cultivation is booming globally, especially in the Global South – and across one country in particular. This is revealed in a new study by researchers at the University of Copenhagen that deploys detailed…

Ice sheet

2024.05.30

Local bright spot among melting glaciers: 2000 km of Antarctic ice-covered coastline has been stable for 85 years

A whaler's forgotten aerial photos from 1937 have given researchers at the University of Copenhagen the most detailed picture of the ice evolution in East Antarctica to date. The results show that the ice has remained…

sustainability

2024.04.26

Fixin’ to be flexitarian: Scrap fish and invasive species can liven up vegetables

Greening the way we eat needn’t mean going vegetarian. A healthy, more realistic solution is to adopt a flexitarian diet where seafoods add umami to “boring” vegetables. University of Copenhagen gastrophysicist Ole G.…

CLIMATE

2024.04.18

Increased CO2 emissions from world’s tundra surprise researchers

As they warm, Arctic tundra environments will probably release 30% more CO2 than they do today – an increase that is nearly four times more than previously estimated. This is the conclusion of a large international stud…