When the Agenda 2030 Graduate School at Lund University had to choose this year's winner of the Agenda 2030 Award, the steering board was faced with a difficult choice between many qualified entries. This year's award goes to Jesica López, a researcher at the Centre for Environmental and Climate Science, who defended her PhD thesis in October 2024 on how expanding cattle ranching is threatening the rainforest in the Colombian part of the Amazon.
The study is set against the backdrop of rainforests being burned and turned into pasture - destroying fragile ecosystems with particularly rich biodiversity. It also reduces the forests’ ability to sequester carbon and protect against global climate change. In her field studies, Jesica López brought together farmers, policymakers and indigenous peoples to discuss the problems and find new solutions.
"I am so happy that our important ecosystems are getting this attention. The research is a joint effort, so this award also shows the importance of collaboration," says Jesica López.
Two honourable mentions
Two more research projects receive honourable mentions. These go to Jamie Woodworth at the Faculty of Medicine and Lina Lefstad at Lund University Centre for Sustainability Studies (LUCSUS). As a master's student in Lund, Jamie Woodworth started so-called death cafés as a response to her own climate anxiety. The death cafés became a place to discuss life and death. As a PhD student, she has studied end-of-life care and how welfare cuts lead to increased burdens on carers, especially women.
Lina Lefstad is studying the much-publicised CCS method of capturing and storing carbon dioxide, for example under the seabed. She is researching justice issues linked to such technology and also shows that, paradoxically, it may be the fossil fuel industry that holds the key to the technological solution.
Read the article, in full, on Agenda 2030 Graduate School's web: Research on rainforests, death cafes and seafloor carbon storage wins sustainability award.
Presenting research at Sustainability Week
Jesica López, Jamie Woodworth and Lina Lefstad will present their research in connection with the award ceremony on 7 May 2025 during Sustainability Week in Lund. The prize is awarded by the Agenda 2030 Graduate School in cooperation with the company Duni Group, which sponsors a winning scholarship of SEK 25,000.
"For the fourth time, the Agenda 2030 Award is presented. The winner was selected from a large number of highly qualified nominations and the focus of the winning research shows once again that our university is a truly global player in the field of sustainable development," says Markus Gunneflo, coordinator of the Agenda 2030 Graduate School.
Read the article: Jesica López honoured for her fight for the future of the Amazonon her research
Read the article: When care becomes a luxury - Jamie Woodworth on end-of-life care in the Swedish welfare state
Read the article: Can the oil industry's know-how help solve the climate crisis?