Gunnel Göransson

Gunnel Göransson is a research director in climate adaptation at the Environmental Unit at VTI, where she leads interdisciplinary research that combines engineering, natural sciences, social sciences, economics and law. She holds an MSc in Earth Sciences from the University of Gothenburg and a PhD in technical water resources engineering from Lund University, where her research focused on multi-risk scenarios related to landslides and pollution dispersion in watercourses.

Gunnel’s research spans the fields of natural hazards, climate risks and climate adaptation, often with a combined natural and social science perspective. Her work primarily explores how society can adapt to a changing climate in ways that are long-term sustainable and promote both thriving ecosystems and resilient communities.

I am particularly interested in how climate adaptation can become an integrated part of urban and regional development, contributing to a deeper societal transformation where nature is given more space. That is why my projects are interdisciplinary and cross-sectoral, characterised by co-creative processes in close collaboration with end users.

Gunnel works with both quantitative and qualitative data sources and methods. Her research is conducted in close cooperation with stakeholders, through co-creation that enables rapid implementation, driven by the ambition to help society move away from reactive and short-term solutions towards a more sustainable future.

Her research seeks to answer key questions such as:

• How should society be adapted to meet the changing conditions brought about by climate change?
• How can this be done in a way that is long-term sustainable and supports vibrant environments for current and future generations?
• How climate adaptation become an integrated part of urban and regional development? How can climate change adaptation gain greater legitimacy?
• How can we achieve major societal transformations and think beyond current systems?