SMHI, the Strategic Research Areas MERGE and BECC, and the Bolin Centre for Climate Research held inaugural Swedish Climate Symposium on 16–18 May, 2022, in Norrköping, Sweden. The conference was opened on 16 May in the presence of HRH Crown Princess Victoria.

The Swedish Climate Symposium will be back 15-17 May 2024!

Climate change impacts human society, the physical environment and the ecosystems we depend on. The publication of the 6^th Assessment Report (AR6) of the IPCC in 2021 & 2022 represents the latest landmark summary of our understanding of the physical climate system and how it is changing in response to human activity, as well as the impacts of climate change, mitigation options, and adaptation needs.   

Plenary sessions in the inaugural Swedish Climate Symposium 2022 highlighted the main conclusions of the AR6 and its consequences for Sweden. A series of topical parallel sessions brought together climate scientists to present their contributions to fundamental climate research, providing the necessary foundation for climate assessments such as the AR6. With these sessions, world-leading expertise in climate-related modelling, experimental and field work, the role of paleoclimate science, observations, impact studies, mitigation strategies, climate change interactions with biological diversity and ecosystem services, and the economic and governance aspects of climate change was presented. Scheduled poster and mingle sessions gave scientists the opportunity to interact and forge new contacts.

Devoted sessions where the media, politicians and societal actors were able to meet and interact with scientists, with emphasis on the climate in a Swedish context, were a much appreciated part of the conference.

The Symposium was a unique opportunity for scientists to collectively reflect on and share their contributions to climate science. But perhaps most importantly, we were able to look into the future as a community, and seek to identify knowledge gaps and opportunities for the strengthened collaboration we need, nationally and internationally, to further deepen our understanding of climate change and its impacts, as well as the science-based, sustainable development needed to mitigate it.

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