Technological changes and new low-carbon lifestyles, key to mitigating climate change impacts

In order to mitigate climate change impacts and achieve a more sustainable society, it is necessary to transform the current energy system based on fossil fuels into a model based on renewable energies.

Exploring climate change impacts through popular proverbs

Members of an irrigation community doing maintenance work in an acequia de careo (irrigation canal built at the top of the mountain) to improve the circulation of water for irrigation and human consumption.

Neolithic vessels reveal dairy consumption in Europe 7,000 years ago

Pottery from the site located in Verson (Francia) analysed during the research (Picture by Annabelle Cocollos, Conseil départemental du Calvados ou CD14 publicada en Germain-Vallée et al.

Mapping out the impacts of pollution upon Indigenous Peoples worldwide

Sulphur mine in Ijen, Java, Indonesia. Picture by Joan de la Malla.

Economic growth is incompatible with biodiversity conservation

A study involving more than 20 specialists in conservation ecology and ecological economics highlights the contradiction between economic growth and biodiversity conservation.

Encuesta: El rol del verde residencial durante el confinamiento por el brote de COVID-19 en España

El grupo de investigación BCNUEJ (www.bcnuej.org) del ICTA-UAB (https://ictaweb.uab.cat/) y del IMIM (www.imim.es) está realizando un estudio sobre el papel del verde residencial (vegetación interior, en balcones, en terrazas, cubiertas verdes, jardines particulares, etc.

ICTA-UAB shares protective material with hospitals

ICTA-UAB is since last Monday 16 March 2020, an Institute with Restricted Access. Most of the laboratories are empty, the Scientific and Technical Services are closed, only the basic services are working and most of the people is working and staying at home.

Higher and earlier pollen concentrations expected for this spring

Spring and summer pollination will begin a few days earlier than usual and in important numbers, reaching higher than average levels (from the 1994-2019 period).

Power struggles hinder urban adaptation policies to climate change

Transformative actions implemented by cities to address and mitigate the impacts of climate change may be hindered by political struggles for municipal power.

Analysis of tropical fire soot deposited in the ocean will help predict future global climate changes

The ICTA-UAB begins a scientific expedition in the Atlantic Ocean to collect dust and smoke samples from the fires of tropical Africa deposited in marine sediments.

What elements and characteristics should forests have to influence human health?

Despite the increasing interest of the scientific community and society towards the potential of forests as a source of human health, the existing scientific literature does not allow for a coherent relationship between the type of forest and different health variables.

Red coral effectively recovers in Mediterranean protected areas after decades of overexploitation

Protection measures of the Marine Protected Areas have enable red coral colonies (Corallium rubrum) to recover partially in the Mediterranean Sea, reaching health levels similar to those of the 1980s in Catalonia and of the 1960s in the Ligurian Sea (Northwestern Italy).

Sub-national “climate clubs” could offer key to combating climate change

‘Climate clubs’ offering membership for sub-national states, in addition to just countries, could speed up progress towards a globally-harmonised climate change policy, which in turn offers a way to achieve stronger climate policies in all countries.

El ICTA-UAB estrena su programa “Locos por la Tierra” de la Fundació Catalunya La Pedrera

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Victoria Reyes-García receives an ERC Proof of Concept grant linked to the LICCI project

Victoria Reyes-García ICREA Research Professor at the Institute of Environmental Science and Technology of the Universitat Autònoma de Barcelona (ICTA-UAB) is one of the 76 top researchers that will receive ERC Proof of Concept grants.

Moving towards low-carbon lifestyles: a question of collective action

Originally published on the CUSP blog .

ICTA-UAB demands the UAB to reduce number of flights

Given our current climate emergency, recently acknowledged by the UAB, the Institute of Environmental Science and Technology of the Universitat Autònoma de Barcelona (ICTA-UAB) has drawn up a proposal urging the University to put into action a new travel policy to tackle one of its most polluting activities: Flying.

New assessment finds EU electricity decarbonization discourse in need of overhaul

It’s well known that the EU is focusing its efforts on decarbonizing its economy.

Mining waste dumped into Portmán Bay continues to release metals into the sea 25 years later

The waters of the Mediterranean Sea continue to receive dissolved metals from the mining waste deposited in Portmán Bay (Murcia) 25 years after the cessation of mining activity.

A new ICTA-UAB project to assess the impacts of micro- and nano-plastics in the tropical and temperate oceans

A new project led by ICTA-UAB researcher Patrizia Ziveri is one of five projects selected for funding by the Joint Programming Initiative Healthy and Productive Seas and Oceans (JPI Oceans).

Big data reveals extraordinary unity underlying life’s diversity

Limits to growth lie at the heart of how all living things function, according to a new study carried out by ICTA-UAB researchers  .
Services

ICTA-UAB offers the expertise of its researchers and technicians for the purposes of formation, research, information provision, and technical aid to anyone interested, whether inividuals, enterprises, governments, International organizations, NGOs, or society at large.

ICTA-UAB hosts advanced laboratory installations, used for not only its own research but also as scientific support services to external parties. They are part of the Scientific and Technical services of the UAB and can be contacted through the respective websites.

 

Laboratori d'Anàlisi d'Isòtops Estables (IRMS)

Responsable: Pau Comes
Email: l.aie@uab.cat; pau.comes@uab.cat
Tel.: +34 93 586 8656
Web: http://sct.uab.cat/irms/

Laboratori d'Anàlisis Palinològiques (LAP)

Responsable: Jordina Belmonte
Email: jordina.belmonte@uab.cat
Tel.: +34 93 581 2040
Web: http://lap.uab.cat/aerobiologia

Servei de Geoquímica Inorgànica per a la Paleoclimatologia i Paleontologia (SIGPO)

Responsable: Graham Mortyn, Patrizia Ziveri
Email: graham.mortyn@uab.cat, patrizia.ziveri@uab.cat
Tel.: +34 93 586 8780
Web: http://sct.uab.cat/sigpo/
 

Servei Forènsic Ambiental (ENVIFORENSIC)

Responsable: Antoni Rosell
Email: antoni.rosell@uab.cat, nuria.moraleda@uab.cat
Tel.: +34 93 586 8662 / +34 93 586 8661
Web: http://sct.uab.cat/enviforensic/

The UAB Observatory of Science Dissemination (http://www.odc.cat) conducts research and activities on science communication and environmental education through coordinating participatory activities, designing and evaluating action-research projects addressed to general audiences and specifically to young people in formal and no formal education context. The ODC, often in collaboration with municipalities, government and social entities, also aims to involve civil society in research and decision-making through mutual learning, dialog and reflection on their interests and needs.

The ODC is a Scientific Culture Structure recognized and supported at National level, by the Fundación Española de Ciencia y Tecnología. Ministerio de Economía y Competitividad.

ICTA-UAB staff often partners with public administrations, private businesses and NGOs. Some examples are:

  • Supporting environmental activist organizations with data and insights.
  • Comunicating scientific progress to the general public through conferences, networks and exhibitions, and collaborating with schools, museums and civil organizations.
  • Offering insights and tools to private companies in various sectors to enhance their environmental management, services and performance.

 

For more information:

Sílvia Martínez Sinibaldi
Phone: +34 93 586 8631
Email: Silvia.Martinez.Sinibaldi@uab.cat

ICTA's Activities