Imagine Lake Zurich Filled With Diamonds

The annual increase in CO₂ in the atmosphere amounts to 3.6 gigatons of carbon, which is an abstract figure. Such a large quantity can only be grasped with the help of images. UZH President Michael Schaepman illustrated this point in his opening remarks last Wednesday: if this annual carbon increase were compressed into diamonds, they would total 18 quadrillion carats – that’s 18 followed by 15 zeros. Pouring this amount into Lake Zurich would fill the entire lake with diamonds in only four years.

The UZH Sustainable event took place last Wednesday in the main lecture hall of the university. It showcased UZH’s current sustainability efforts and attracted an interested audience. Students and representatives from politics and business engaged in lively discussions and asked many questions.

With its Sustainability Policy adopted in 2019, UZH committed to promoting sustainable development. The accompanying implementation strategy sets out concrete goals for the areas of operations, research, teaching and societal exchange, explained Vice President Education and Student Affairs Gabriele Siegert.

Sustainability is also visible in everyday life: vegetarian and vegan meals are particularly popular in the university’s cafeterias and cafés, as they’re19 percent cheaper than meat dishes. By 2024, greenhouse gas emissions from catering had already fallen by 18 percent, according to Siegert.

UZH also focuses on sustainability in its teaching: degree programs such as the minor in sustainable finance, the Bachelor’s degree in sustainability, and the biodiversity study program provide students with the relevant skills in this area. Students can use the Green VVZ function to search UZH’s course catalogue and find modules that have a focus on sustainability. In addition, the School for Transdisciplinary Studies promotes formats such as Sustainability Now!, which empower students to actively shape social and technological challenges.

UZH also systematically bundles its research activities: one university research priority program, five centers of excellence and 17 other research networks bring together expertise from a wide range of disciplines.

In the evening, two researchers gave presentations on their work. The first was Christian Huggel, professor of environment and climate, who highlighted the environmental impact of glacier melt, permafrost decline and increasing heat waves in cities, and what can be done to counteract these effects.

After this, Zacharias Sautner, professor of sustainable finance, explained that environmental changes pose direct financial risks, for example through regulation or changes in investor behavior. According to Sautner, sustainable investing can mitigate these risks and is also economically attractive. Both presentations were representative of the considerable number of projects that conduct interdisciplinary, implementation-oriented research on sustainability at UZH.

Research is international by default – and that includes air travel. In 2022, UZH stipulated that CO₂ emissions from air travel should not exceed 60 percent of the 2018/19 level. With an annual reduction of at least three percent, the aim is to achieve a total reduction of at least 53 percent by 2030.

To reach this goal, the faculties at UZH are developing their own strategies. Among other measures, the Faculty of Arts and Social Sciences introduced a steering levy of CHF 130 per ton of CO₂ and a fund to promote climate-friendly travel, Dean Katharina Michaelowa explained. The first effects are already visible: within Europe, people are opting for trains or buses much more frequently – even for destinations like Greece or Norway.

The event opened up perspectives on the global dimension of sustainability that went beyond university measures. Hosted by UZH professor Owen Petchey, the discussion featured David Schimel, a climate researcher from the NASA Jet Propulsion Laboratory, ETH professor Sonia I. Seneviratne from the Institute for Atmospheric and Climate Science, and Marco Lambertini, the head of the Nature Positive Initiative.

Lambertini called for a fundamental change in the system stating that, despite clear facts, the world continues to adhere to an economic model that destroys nature. However, prosperity is inconceivable without intact nature. Seneviratne pointed out that around 90 percent of CO₂ emissions come from fossil fuels. The switch to renewable energies is ecologically necessary and increasingly economically advantageous. Schimel added self-critically that science had underestimated both the dynamics of technological progress and the costs of climate damage. Today, it is clear that climate protection is an economically rational choice.