Sverker Jagers new Zennström Professor of Climate Change Leadership
Sverker C Jagers, Professor of Political Science and Director of the Centre for Collective Action Research at the University of Gothenburg, will hold Uppsala University's fifth Zennström Visiting Professorship in Climate Change Leadership.
The ten-year visiting professorship, through which a new professor is invited every year or every other year, is funded by an earlier donation to Uppsala University from the entrepreneur Niklas Zennström.
Jagers has extensive experience of studying environmental policy and environmental political governance. This field is studied in several different disciplines, for example psychology, sociology, economics and political science. Sverker is both interested in and very used to working in an interdisciplinary manner. Issues of particular interest to him are how environmental and climate policy instruments can be designed so that they are effective and can be accepted by those who are affected by the decisions. For example, how could a carbon tax be designed that reduces CO2 emissions without upsetting people?
“I have worked extensively with natural scientists, social scientists and humanists. I have also done a lot of research into how successfully the environment is managed in countries with different political systems. What role does it play, for example, if a country is democratic or not, or if a country has major problems with corruption. As a visiting professor, I would like to come into contact and collaborate with research teams that are solution-oriented,” notes Jagers, who would welcome being contacted by researchers engaged in various aspects of environmental research.
Focus on climate leadership and policy instruments
Jagers will participate in research, teaching and external collaboration and will belong to the Climate Leadership research team, CCL.
“The fact that climate policy is increasingly called into question increases the risk that climate targets will not be reached, resulting in enormous costs to society. Therefore, Jager's visiting professorship, with a focus on effective and accepted climate leadership and policy instruments, is both an urgent and gratifying reinforcement of our research,” explains Mikael Karlsson, Senior Lecturer in Climate Leadership at Uppsala University and responsible for recruiting Jager.
The visiting professorship will run from September 2022 to December 2023.
Malin Eivergård
Åsa Malmberg