Swedish Climate Symposium 2026

20 – 22 maj 2026  | Lund Sweden

On May 21st and 22nd, we presented two papers at the third Swedish Climate Symposium in Lund under the theme “Climate Research: Science, Society, Actions”. The symposium brought together researchers, policymakers, and stakeholders from across Sweden to deepen the understanding of climate change and explore pathways for action.   

In the session on “Societal and Health Impacts of Climate Extremes: Vulnerability, Adaptation, and Future Risks,”, Amanda Odoi, the postdoctoral researcher in the project, presented a paper on “Thermal Injustice and Heat Health in Ghana” drawing on the data collected during her fieldwork on the lived experiences of exposure and responses to the extreme heat across several neighborhoods in Accra. By arguing that there is an urgent need to adopt an intersectional approach to extreme heat, she highlighted how the analysis of health impacts and adaptation practices should be informed by gender, age, space, and access to and control of urban resources.

In another session on “Climate change risk analysis to support resilient development”, Maryam Nastar presented a paper, co-authored with Frederick Ato Armah, on “Avoid maladaptation to urban heat: an analysis of heat-related policies in Accra, Ghana” . In her presentation, Nastar highlighted main drivers of maladaptation, including: exclusive decision making processes when designing and implementing climate and urban policies; inadequate attention to the politics of land and urban greening; and institutional silos and temporal misalignments. Furthermore, she presented concrete action points to avoid maladaptation to extreme heat in Accra, Ghana.