The Royal Swedish Academy of Sciences to host new Anthropocene Biosphere Laboratory

The Royal Swedish Academy of Sciences has received 60 million SEK for five years to set up a new initiative - The Anthropocene Biosphere Laboratory.

The laboratory will create space for new forms of interdisciplinary collaboration that moves beyond superficial interactions into truly devoted and committed work across disciplines.

Two Wallenberg Foundations are behind the initiative: Marianne and Marcus Wallenberg Foundation (social sciences), and Marcus and Amalia Wallenberg Foundation (scientific research mainly within the humanities and learning).

Think tank and meeting place

The focus of the lab will be on transformations into stewardship of human actions as part of, and dependent on a resilient living planet.

The laboratory will act as both a think tank and a meeting place for collaborations, virtual and in real life, gathering key researchers internationally on key topics of high relevance and always involving younger scientists.

“The initiative recognizes that the interconnected globalized world has become truly intertwined with the dynamics of the unique life-supporting blue planet. The Anthropocene biosphere is not only a changing game for humanity, but a changing playing field for the game and this is a time when science is needed more than ever," says Carl Folke, chair of the SRC board and one of the initiators of the lab.

Photo: B. Belloni/Heineken Prize

Close centre connections

The Royal Swedish Academy of Sciences of Sciences has through its Beijer Institute of Ecological Economics been engaged in the Stockholm Resilience Centre since its launch in 2007.

Furthermore, the Academy also operates the interdisciplinary Global Economic Dynamics and the Biosphere Academy Program (GEDB).

These three institutions, all with long experience in performing international frontier scientific work in science for sustainability, along with other leading research groups and centres, will serve a critical asset for the Anthropocene Biosphere Laboratory.

“The urgency of the situation and the tremendous challenges of the Anthropocene require deep understanding and skilful navigation. The new Anthropocene Biosphere Laboratory of the Academy is of the greatest significance in this context and will play an important role in accelerating knowledge, understanding and action towards just and sustainable futures,” adds Line Gordon, director of the SRC.