About NESS 2026

NESS conference format

NESS conferences feature a distinctive format centred on parallel workshops with clearly defined themes, designed to foster in-depth academic dialogue. Each workshop gathers around a dozen researchers who share and discuss draft papers submitted before the event. Through a series of interactive sessions, participants provide detailed feedback and engage in rich, cross-cutting discussions—an especially rewarding setup for early-career scholars.

The focused workshop structure encourages all participants to engage deeply with one another’s work, creating ideal conditions for meaningful academic exchange and long-term collaboration. Over the years, NESS has become known for inspiring joint publications, edited volumes, and collaborative research projects across institutions and countries. NESS 2026 will expand on this tradition with new features such as greater intergenerational collaboration and co-led workshops.

The sequence of thematic workshops in small groups will be framed by inspiring keynote lectures in the main University building (Aulan) to start off and conclude the conference. NESS 2026 will also offer an expanded programme with half a day of thematic sessions and panel discussions, including engagement of stakeholders from business, civil society, and policymaking ensuring space for vibrant discussions across local, national, and global perspectives on sustainability transformations.

About Uppsala and the 2026 conference host

Uppsala is Sweden’s fourth largest city with a rich history and a vibrant student life. The city is easily accessible by a 40 minute train ride from Stockholm central station or 20 minutes from Arlanda airport.

The city hosts the oldest university in Sweden, founded in 1477. Uppsala University is a strong, comprehensive research university ranked among the best in the world, with over 50,000 students and close to 6,000 researchers.

The 2026 NESS conference is hosted by the unit for Climate Change Leadership, Department of Earth Sciences, Uppsala University.

More about Uppsala and what to do during your stay:

Destination Uppsala

Atlas Obscura – 15 things to do in Uppsala

Heja Uppsala

Scientific Committee

Mikael Karlsson, Climate Change Leadership, Department of Earth Sciences
Anneli Ekblom, Department of Archaeology
Eva Friman, Centre for Health and Sustainability
Katrin Uba, Department of Government
Maria Forsberg, Department of Law
Mats Målqvist, Centre for Health and Sustainability
Malcolm Fairbrother, Department of Sociology
Judith Lundberg-Felten, Climate Change Leadership, Department of Earth Sciences (and lead of the Conference Organisation Committee)

The Scientific Committee is largely constituted of researchers affiliated to Uppsala University Conflicting Objectives Research Nexus (UUniCORN).

Organising Committee

The NESS conference is organised by Climate Change Leadership (CCL), Department of Earth Sciences, Uppsala University.

Mikael Karlsson

Judith Lundberg-Felten

Anna Berg Grimstad

Jayne Glass

Laila Mendy

Hang Nguyen

Karin Thalberg