Environment and Climate Research Hub

Our Research

Interdisciplinary research at the ECH explores the complex dynamics of environmental change – bridging humanities, natural and social sciences to generate impactful knowledge.

Overview | Focus Areas | Projects

Shaping Tomorrow: The Impact of Today’s Research

We are motivated to deliver scientific research that contributes to the protection of our climate and environment. We work jointly in excellent cross-disciplinary teams beyond the border of each discipline on research ideas and collaborations.

At the University of Vienna, one of the biggest and most renowned in Europe, we want to advance environmental research for society. We use the strength of networking excellent expertise of individual disciplines in our research hub.

We focus on training, education and excellent qualification of our members. We constantly develop our knowledge and competencies further to develop innovative concepts and approaches for solutions in the areas of environment and climate.

We want to shape society – as an education institution, a hub and a partner for dialogue. For this reason, we educate students and early career scientists and enter active dialogues with civil society and decision-makers in government and society.

Composition of 4 pictures showing different people discussing with each other and presenting

Our Focus Areas

Projects

Research projects are hosted at the specific Faculty of ECH members. The selection here reflects the diverse range of research excellence at the University of Vienna in the field of environment, climate change and sustainability. We list projects led by ECH members as a PI, or those in which they are part of a larger consortium such as in Horizon Europe projects.

The Industrial Politics of Carbon Dioxide Removal in the EU (IPOL-CDR)

19.12.2025 Climate Resilience

A chimney that releases exhaust gases into the atmosphere

Led by Etienne Schneider from the Department of Development Studies.

To limit global warming to 1.5° or 2°C, climate change mitigation scenarios indicate the need to deploy durable carbon dioxide removal (CDR) methods at large scale – most prominently bioenergy with carbon capture and storage (BECCS) and direct air carbon capture and storage (DACCS).

NEREIDES: Neutrally Buoyant Particles in the Deep Sea: Turnover, Origin and Global Impact on the Marine Carbon Cycle

22.05.2025 Biodiversity and Ecosystems

Epifluorescence image of a bathypelagic neutrally buoyant detrital particle from 3390 m depth

Gerhard Herndl of the Department of Evolutionary Biology is leading the Project NEREIDES.

Export of organic matter produced in the sunlit surface waters into the ocean’s interior removes about one third of the anthropogenically produced carbon dioxide. The amount of organic matter sinking into the deep ocean, however, is not sufficient to support the carbon demand of the heterotrophic food web in…

The Many Labs Megastudy to Promote Climate Action Across the Globe

22.05.2025 Changing Society

Kim Doell from the Faculty of Psychology was co-leading one of the largest experiments in the Psychology of Climate Change, together with Madalina Vlasceanu and Jay J. Van Bavel.

Talking to over 59 000 participants from 63 different countries, Kim and her co-investigators tried to develop a better understanding on what humans think about climate change and possible ways to combat it.