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Rare insights into the methane balance of Arctic lakes The recent increase in atmospheric methane is attributed to an imbalance between microbial production and degradation. Methane emissions from warming Arctic lakes are an important climatic feedback loop. Alongside warming, the aquatic organic carbon and the supply of rare earth elements, including lanthanides from glacial dust, are also changing. The discovery of lanthanum-dependent enzymes in methane-consuming bacteria implicates its potential role in methane cycling. This team will map the impact of organic carbon and lanthanides on the Arctic methane cycle, from the genes involved to the impact on Greenlands lakes.

Extreme hydroclimatic events coupled with salinisation of water resources threaten freshwater availability in delta regions. A robust freshwater system is needed for sectors such as agriculture, industry, nature and tourism, while contributing to a viable delta region. Technical solutions for fresh water have already been successfully tested at pilot level, but practical barriers to implementation remain, like the lack of policy instruments, a regulatory policy framework, financial and economic incentives and collaborative governance for freshwater supply and demand management. STURDI-Water aims for integrated governance of fresh water in a centralised, regional water bank, to balance demand, supply, storage and treatment.

Wastewater from human and livestock sources can harm health, ecosystems, and the economy. Current wastewater management (WWM) uses energy and chemicals inefficiently, is insufficiently flexible to adjust to uncertain climate change impacts, and can be too expensive for less affluent places. Furthermore, existing models used to assess WWM options tend to focus on specific areas and regulations, making it hard to unlock WWM’s full environmental and social benefits. The FOREWARD project will co-create with various stakeholders new models and technologies that are better for the water environment and climate, are more cost-effective, and work well in different places.

The healthcare sector is one of the most carbon-intensive sectors. In response, the Dutch government has called for more environmentally sustainable healthcare. The project ESCH-R addresses this challenge with its mission to accelerate the adoption of circular interventions in hospitals and thereby lower the ecological footprint of the healthcare sector. Our research question is: How can hospitals move away from single use medical consumables and make the transition towards circularity? Together with societal partners, our interdisciplinary team will develop circular, safe and scalable strategies for circularity. In the long-run, the ESCH-R project contributes to a sustainable and resilient health system.