KTH researcher Zahra Kalantari Frontiers Planet Prize 2025 national champion
Zahra Kalantari, professor in environmental science and engineering for sustainability in the Anthropocene at KTH, has today on Earth Day 2025 been named Frontiers Planet Prize 2025 national champion. The competition recognizes research that contributes to keeping Earth within planetary boundaries. On 17 June, three international winners will be selected, each receiving one million US dollars for their research.
The winning Swedish entry, the article “Contribution of prioritized urban nature-based solutions allocation to carbon neutrality,” published in Nature Climate Change, focuses on how so-called nature-based solutions in cities can not only capture carbon dioxide but also contribute to reducing human carbon dioxide emissions. The article is a collaboration between researchers in Sweden, the USA, and China. It shows that nature-based solutions could reduce emissions from housing, transportation, and the industrial sector in cities by up to 25 percent.
“Our research offers actionable insights for policymakers and urban planners aiming to integrate nature-based solutions into climate action plans. While many cities include nature-based solutions in their policies, guidance on effective deployment remains limited,” says Zahra Kalantari. “The findings support urban policy frameworks by providing practical tools to achieve climate neutrality, enhance resilience, and align with planetary boundaries. These insights can inform incentives for green building, land-use regulations promoting compact development and habitat preservation, and emission reductions across sectors.”
The Frontiers Planet Prize focuses on technical solutions that can be scaled up and contribute to keeping us within planetary boundaries. All winners will have the opportunity to disseminate their research findings during national and international conferences with support from Frontiers Planet Prize's strategic partners, including Future Earth, Potsdam Institute of Climate Research Impact, and the International Science Council.
All competition entries have been evaluated by an international jury consisting of 100 international researchers led by Professor Johan Rockström. Today, 19 national champions have been announced, and on June 17, three of them will be named international winners at a ceremony during the Villars Symposium in Villars-sur-Ollon, Switzerland.
Read more on the Frontier Planet Prize website
“Meet the Frontiers Planet Prize 2025 National Champions Driving Planetary Solutions”
“Urban Green Solutions Drive Carbon Reduction”
Read more on KTH's website
Zahra Kalantari's profile page
“Study: Making cities greener doesn’t just capture carbon – it reduces it”