The Crafoord Prize Symposium in Geosciences: Earth system impacts of climate pollutants

The Royal Swedish Academy of Sciences awarded the 2026 Crafoord Prize to Veerabhadran Ramanathan. He has laid the foundation for our understanding of how small particles and gases that accumulate in the atmosphere contribute to climate change. This knowledge is vitally important for combatting global warming.

To celebrate Prof. Veerabhadran Ramanathan, and the horizons his research has opened for atmospheric and climate science, the symposium will focus on how aerosol particles and other climate pollutants influence the atmospheric energy balance and the Earth system as a whole.

Programme

Morning Session
Chair: Anna Rutgersson, Member of the Crafoord Prize Committee in Geosciences

09:30
Opening address
Ellen Moons, Secretary General of The Royal Swedish Academy of Sciences

09:35
Presentation of the Crafoord Prize Laureate 2026
Henning Rodhe, Member of the Crafoord Prize Committee in Geosciences

09:45
Atmospheric Pollutants, Energy Balance & Climate Change – How instrumented satellites, aircraft, drones, ships, and field experiments, when integrated with models, helped unravel the link between changes in the energy balance and the climate.
Crafoord Prize Laureate Veerabhadran Ramanathan, Scripps Institution of Oceanography, University of California San Diego, USA and CALS Ashley School, Cornell University, USA.

10:35
Coffee break

11.05
Black Carbon Matters
Örjan Gustafsson, Stockholm University and Member of The Royal Swedish Academy of Sciences

11:45
On the role of clouds in climate: Advances and Challenges
Sandrine Bony, CNRS, Sorbonne University, France

12:25
Lunch (included for registered participants)

Afternoon Session
Chair: IIona Riipinen, Member of the Crafoord Prize Committee in Geosciences

13:30
The clouds they are a-changing: human influence on cloud properties and its impact on climate
Frida Bender, Stockholm University, Sweden

14:10
Using Earth Radiation Budget Observations to Constrain Climate Models
Gunnar Myhre, CICERO Center for International Climate Research, Norway

14:50
Coffee break

15:20
Impacts of Polluted Water on Aerosols, Climate, and Health
Kimberly Prather, Scripps Institution of Oceanography, University of California San Diego, USA.

16:00
Air quality, climate change, and Health
Jos Lelieveld, Max Planck Institute for Chemistry, Germany

16:40
Closing remarks
IIona Riipinen, Member of the Crafoord Prize Committee in Geosciences

16:45
End of the Crafoord Prize Symposium 2026

The event is free of charge and open to the public but registration is required. The symposium will also be broadcast live on this wepbage. Please note that registration is only required for participation in person.

The Crafoord Prize is awarded in partnership between the Royal Swedish Academy of Sciences and the Crafoord Foundation in Lund. The Academy is responsible for selecting the Crafoord Laureates.

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Kontakt: Peter Brandén
E-post: program@kva.se