Open for the Climate

This open online course offers you useful insights as to how cities can speed up the change. It looks at how something as simple as the physical layout of cities can impact their ecological footprint. It shows the city’s crucial role in support of renewable energy and energy efficiency, as well as how urban planning and transport planning can provide benefits that go well beyond just the environment. The course has a focus on the science, methods and tools needed to reach the 1.5°C goal and it taps into WWF’s expertise from over a decade of supporting urban climate action through the One Planet City Challenge. The course exposes you to examples of ambitious urban climate action and helps highlight which actions can be relevant in your city. This course is produced by WWF in partnership with Lund University. Learning materials include best cases which come from the cities across the globe that partake in WWF’s global initiative the One Planet City Challenge, a written assignment, quizzes and a course compendium. The course content is structured as follows: Module 1: Cities & Climate Change / 1.5°C alignment in citiesModule 2: Urban Planning & Policy: Getting this right for climate & people            Module 3: Renewable Energy in cities - Renewable Energy Solutions are crucial for cities to meet the 1.5°C targetModule 4: Energy Efficiency in cities  

How can we work with nature to design and build our cities? This course explores urban nature and nature-based solutions in cities in Europe and around the world. We connect together the key themes of cities, nature, sustainability and innovation. We discuss how to assess what nature-based solutions can achieve in cities. We examine how innovation is taking place in cities in relation to nature. And we analyse the potential of nature-based solutions to help respond to climate change and sustainability challenges. This course was launched in January 2020, and it was updated in September 2021 with new podcasts, films and publications. The course is produced by Lund University in cooperation with partners from Naturvation – a collaborative project on finding synergies between cities, nature, sustainability and innovation. The course features researchers, practitioners and entrepreneurs from a range organisations.   

Kursperiod: sept - nov 2025 I den pågående gröna omställningen spelar vätgas en allt viktigare roll som en hållbar energibärare. För att producera grön vätgas är vindkraft en avgörande faktor. Genom att integrera vätgasproduktion direkt i vindparker kan man på ett kostnadseffektivt sätt dra nytta av volatila elpriser, samtidigt som man bidrar till att balansera det alltmer förnybara elsystemet. Detta möjliggör både flexibel produktion av vätgas och energilagring i form av vätgas, vilket skapar ett robust, långsiktigt hållbart och konkurrenskraftigt energisystem. Kursen behandlar konceptet med ett integrerat vind/vätgas-system, där tekniska, ekonomiska och systemmässiga aspekter av att kombinera vindkraft och vätgasproduktion utforskas. Innehåll Introduktion till utveckling av vindenergi Vindkraftsteknik, vindenergi och anslutning till elnätet Introduktion till vätgas: egenskaper och användningsområden Metoder för vätgasproduktion Lagring av vätgas Vindkraft onshore/offshore – system för vätgasproduktion Tekniska, ekonomiska och regulatoriska möjligheter och utmaningar för integrerade vind-/vätgassystem Kursens upplägg Denna helt digitala kurs inkluderar förinspelade föreläsningar, interaktiva webbinarier, diskussionsforum och uppgifter. Deltagarna kan ta del av materialet i sin egen takt, vilket möjliggör flexibel inlärning. Specifika moment som live-frågestunder eller seminarier kommer att schemaläggas för att främja interaktion och fördjupad förståelse. Du kommer få kunskap om Efter kursen kommer deltagarna att förstå hur vindkraft och vätgas kan integreras i ett sammanhängande energisystem. De får insikt i hur tekniska, ekonomiska och regulatoriska faktorer påverkar möjligheterna att kombinera vindkraft med vätgasproduktion. Deltagarna utvecklar även en ökad förståelse för energilagring, elsystemets flexibilitet samt hur dessa faktorer bidrar till den gröna omställningen. Vem vänder sig kursen till Kursen riktar sig till yrkesverksamma inom energi- och miljösektorn, såsom beslutsfattare, projektledare, ingenjörer och tekniska konsulter med intresse för förnybar energi, vätgas och hållbara energisystem. Även politiker, tjänstemän och strateger som ansvarar för hållbarhetsfrågor och energiplanering har nytta av kursens innehåll. Dessutom kan kursen vara värdefull för forskare, utvecklare av digitala verktyg och mjukvaruingenjörer med fokus på gröna lösningar. Ingen fördjupad teknisk förkunskap krävs, men en grundläggande förståelse för energisystem och hållbarhet är fördelaktig. Detta är en introducerande kurs som visar en väg mot livslångt lärande. Deltagarna kan efter avslutad kurs fördjupa sig i specifika områden för att ytterligare öka sin expertis inom vindkraft, vätgas och integrerade energisystem.

FÖR VEM Vindkraftskurs.se riktar sig till handläggare i kommuner och länsstyrelser samt till alla som vill lära mer om vindkraft. VAD OCH VARFÖR Syftet med kursen är att öka kunskapen om vindkraft och specifikt om frågeställningar som är aktuella vid tillståndsärenden. NÄR OCH HUR Du väljer själv när samt i vilken takt du vill genomföra momenten. Samtliga delar av kursen är avgiftsfria.   Vindkraftskurs.se är uppbyggd av fyra moduler: 1. Vindkraftens förutsättningar 2. Miljöpåverkan 3. Prövning och tillsyn 4. Idébank & lokal nytta Inne i modulerna finns både sökfunktion och kursöversikt, så att du lätt kan orientera dig genom kursens innehåll. Att gå igenom hela kursen tar ca 3–5 dagar beroende på hur intensivt/extensivt du läser. Du kan även välja att läsa delar av kursen.

Opens in May 2025. The Swedish version of the course, namely ”Varför välja trä vid nästa byggprojekt?” is already open. For more iformation contact course coordinator dimitris.athanassiadis@slu.seCourse DescriptionDifferent types of biomaterials (e.g., wood) are crucial in the challenge of decarbonizing the built environment and reducing the carbon footprint of buildings and infrastructure by replacing materials like steel and cement, which have high carbon dioxide emissions. At the same time, we must not forget that it is important to preserve biodiversity and the social values of our forests. The 13 modules of the course cover many forestry related subjects, including harvesting methods, biodiversity, forest management, logistics, the role of forests in the climate transition, carbon storage, environmental benefits of multi-story buildings with wood, and more. The goal is that participants will gain a shared understanding of Swedish forestry so that they can make well-informed decisions about material choices for their next construction project. Course PeriodThe course will be active for 3 years. Content Forest history: The utilization of forests in Sweden throughout the past years Forestry methods and forest management Forest regeneration Wood properties Forest mensuration Forest tree breeding The forest's carbon balance Business models and market development: Focus on wood high rises Nature conservation and biodiversity in the forest Course StructureThe course is fully digital with pre-recorded lectures. You can participate in the course at your own pace. Modules conclude with quizzes where you can test how much you have learned. You will learn aboutUpon completion of the course, you will have learned more about various forest-related concepts, acquired knowledge of forest utilization in Sweden throughout the past years, increased your understanding of forest management and how different management methods affect biodiversity in the forest, and learned about the forestry cycle—from regeneration to final harvesting, etc. Who is this course for?This course is designed for professionals such as architects, municipal employees working with urban planning and construction, individuals in the construction and civil engineering sector, and those in other related fields. This is an introductory course and will contribute to upskilling of the entire construction sector, thereby increasing the industry's international competitiveness while also providing important prerequisites for the development of future sustainable, beautiful, and inclusive cities. Since the course is open to everyone, we hope that more groups, such as students, doctoral candidates, forest owners, and others with an interest in forestry, will take the course and engage with inspiring lectures where scientific knowledge primarily produced within SLU (Swedish University of Agricultural Sciences) is presented.

In this course, participants are introduced to key notions and concepts evolving in sustainability science that are relevant to all, independent to one's work or field of interest. After having completed the course, participants will have a better understanding of the vocabulary used today and should demonstrate the ability to reflect critically to integrate different perspectives of environmental, social, and economic sustainability to their specific area of interest or research. Throughout the course, links are made to the Agenda 2030 for Sustainable Development, as our current global road map towards sustainability, and how new approaches and solutions are emerging to describe, understand and address key sustainability challenges. Put simply, the overall aim is to give participants the knowledge and confidence needed to present and discuss ideas with others by applying methods, concepts and the vocabulary exemplified in the course with a more holistic view on the sustainability agenda across topics and disciplines. The course is designed as 5 modules: The first module presents essential concepts within sustainability science, and methods used to describe, frame, and communicate aspects of sustainability. We look at key questions such as what we mean with strong or weak sustainability, resilience, tipping points and the notion of planetary boundaries. We also look at some techniques used of envisioning alternative futures and transitions pathways. The second module is all about systems thinking and how systemic approaches are applied today to achieve long-term sustainability goals. Your will see what we mean with systems thinking and how systems thinking, and design is applied in practice to find new solutions. The third module touches upon drivers for a sustainable future, namely links to economy and business with an introduction to notions of a circular economy, and also policy and regulatory frameworks. We introduce the basics of transformative policy frames and how they are designed and applied through several real-case examples. The fourth module discusses the links between innovation and sustainability, highlighting approaches for technological, social, institutional, and financial innovations. Some examples (or cases) aim to show how different actors across society balance in practice the need for innovative approaches for social, environmental, and economic sustainability. The fifth and last module provides general insights on how we work with models to create various scenarios that help us identify solutions and pathways for a more sustainable world. Three main dimensions are addressed namely climate and climate change, nature and biodiversity, and the importance of data and geodata science to support spatial planning and sustainable land use.