9th Partner Presentation (SCC)

We would like to introduce the partners involved in the LostToClimate Research Project. The 9th partner to be presented is the Syddansk Universitet - University of Southern Denmark (SDU).

🎓 The SDU is a major Danish research institution with campuses across the region and a strong international profile. SDU’s broad disciplinary landscape—spanning natural sciences, engineering, social sciences, humanities, and health—makes it uniquely equipped to address complex societal challenges such as climate change. Across the university, sustainability and climate action are strategic priorities, reflected in major investments in interdisciplinary research and in strong partnerships with public authorities, industry, and civil society.

At the heart of SDU’s climate efforts stands the SDU Climate Cluster (SCC), the university’s cross-faculty initiative dedicated to climate research, innovation, and societal engagement. SCC's mission is to strengthen SDU’s climate research ecosystem by connecting researchers across disciplines, supporting collaborative projects, and fostering dialogue with external stakeholders. SCC operates through a combination of interdisciplinary research environments, pilot funding instruments, and collaborative networks.

🎯SCC strengthens LostToClimate by bridging climate science with societal insight, enabling integrated assessments of both environmental and human dimensions of climate-related loss. Through its interdisciplinary structure, research leadership, and commitment to societal engagement, SDU is a strong and strategic partner for delivering impactful, holistic climate knowledge. 

SDU contributes expertise from two SCC-affiliated researchers whose combined profiles embody SCC’s interdisciplinary character. 

👤Sebastian H. Mernild – Researcher Profile

Mernild, head of the SCC, is an internationally recognised climate scientist specialising in glaciology, hydrology, and climate change impacts. He has been a lead author on IPCC AR5 and AR6. His research on glacier mass balance, sea-level rise, and climate modelling provides a robust scientific foundation for analysing physical climate-driven losses. His leadership within SCC ensures strong integration between SDU’s scientific capacities and the project’s broader goals.

👤Anna Kirstine Schirrer – Researcher Profile

Schirrer brings a socio-legal and anthropological perspective, focusing on climate justice, governance, human rights, and the lived consequences of climate change. Her work highlights how climate impacts translate into social, cultural, and legal forms of loss—key dimensions for understanding what is “lost to climate” beyond material change.