From July 1 to 4, 2025, the 12th International Conference on Industrial Ecology was held at the National University of Singapore, bringing together researchers, engineers, and policymakers from around the world to share knowledge in the field of industrial ecology. Juan David Arosemena and Guido Evangelista participated by presenting the results of their respective studies through two scientific posters.
Title: Adapting urban areas to rising temperatures: strategies to reduce heat and vulnerability in a warming world / The need for cities to prepare for the increasing frequency, persistence, and intensity of heat waves (HWs) makes modeling these events essential for evaluating the effectiveness of heat adaptation strategies in the near future.
On 4th June, Qing Luo presented her work at the Urban Greenhouse Gas (GHG) Seminar, focusing on the role of greenery in reducing CO2 emissions. The monthly seminar series, hosted by Penn State's Earth-Atmosphere Interactions Lab(USA), aims to foster knowledge exchange and promote international collaboration on the GHG monitoring and estimation.
Title: Effect of land use changes on air quality: Impacts of urbanization, urban vegetation, and agriculture / Urbanization transforms natural landscapes into impervious surfaces, altering local climate and air quality. Greening strategies are increasingly adopted to mitigate these effects, yet their efficacy depends on complex interactions among land use, urban form, geography, and climate.
Title: Bridging local and global vulnerabilities for an integrated assessment of nature-based solutions/ Nature-based solutions (NBSs) can address socio-ecological challenges in urban environments, such as climate change adaptation and biodiversity conservation, but their local and global impacts are often not fully assessed. Stakeholder workshops serve to weigh the relative importance of impacts on vulnerabilities.
On May 15, 2025, Professor Gara Villalba, Full Professor at the Autonomous University of Barcelona (UAB) and PI of the URBAG project, participated in the Cities on the Frontline speaker series organized by the Resilient Cities Network. This globally attended event, now in its 2025 edition, brought together experts and urban practitioners to explore the theme: “Renaturing Cities: Restoring Ecosystems and Building Urban Resilience.”
La publicació de l'investigador Ricard Segura-Barrero està tenint un gran impacte als mitjans. Les onades de calor i les sequeres cada vegada més freqüents estan reduint de manera preocupant la capacitat dels ecosistemes per actuar com a embornals de carboni.
URBAG took part in the EGU General Assembly 2025 in Vienna, where researchers presented their latest work on urban air quality, greenhouse gas fluxes, and nature-based solutions for climate adaptation. Three contributions by Qing Luo, Ricard Segura-Barrero and Svetlana Khromova showcased URBAG’s interdisciplinary approach to tackling climate challenges in urban environments.
Title: Assessing the Short-Term Air Quality Health Impact from Land-Use Changes During Heatwaves: A Health Impact Assessment in Barcelona Metropolitan Area / Heatwaves amplify air pollution, increasing public health risks, particularly in urban areas where land use influences the distribution of pollutants. This study examines the short-term health effects of air pollution during a two-week heatwave in the Barcelona Metropolitan Area under different land use scenarios
As part of the poster session, Qing Luo presented her research titled “High-Resolution Accounting for the Urban Biogenic CO₂ Emissions: Insights from the Metropolitan Area of Barcelona.” The study addresses a critical challenge in tackling the climate crisis: accurately quantifying biogenic CO₂ fluxes in urban areas.