Artificial turf in the Nordic climate – a question of sustainability

Linköping University

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Mikael Säberg, PhD student at Linköping University.

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Credit: Ebba Nordqvist

Artificial turf football pitches are better than natural turf from a sustainability perspective – at least as long as the artificial turf material is recycled and the natural turf is cut using fossil fuel-powered lawn mowers. This is demonstrated by researchers at Linköping University in a new study comparing the environmental impact of the different pitches with the help of life cycle analyses.

“The Nordic climate is tough on football pitches and there isn’t much research on the subject. But there is a great deal of interest from the municipalities as regards sustainability and weighing artificial turf against natural turf, says Mikael Säberg, PhD student at Linköping University (LiU), and first author of the study, published in the scientific journal Cleaner Environmental Systems.

Using life cycle analyses, Mikael Säberg and his colleagues at the Department of Management and Engineering (IEI), at LiU, investigated the environmental impact of production, maintenance and decommissioning of artificial turf pitches compared to natural turf pitches over a 10-, 20- and 30-year period. The researchers showed that artificial turf pitches are a more environmentally sustainable option – with some reservations.

Their results can provide guidance for municipalities i northern climates investing in new football pitches. But at the same time, there are many aspects to consider, says Emma Lindkvist, assistant professor at LiU’s Department of Management and Engineering:

“First of all, you need to look at the purpose. In other words, how the pitch will be used. Only for actual games or for lots of training? If we’re talking about many hours of play with a lot of training, then artificial turf is better because it lasts longer.”

In addition to better durability, artificial turf can be played on all year round, which increases accessibility for sports clubs. Natural grass pitches can be played on only in the summer months.

An artificial turf pitch has a lifespan of about ten years. It then needs to be replaced, due to the plastic in the turf and the damping material being worn out. Natural grass pitches, on the other hand, are laid once and maintained continuously. Maintenance of the different pitch types differs and plays a major role in their environmental impact.

“In the production phase, artificial turf has the greatest impact. But natural turf has the greatest emission factors linked to maintenance. It is about dressing, fertilising, you have to mow the grass several times a week and it should be aerated at regular intervals. So there are many processes involved compared to artificial turf,” says Mikael Säberg.

Maintenance of an artificial turf is much more modest and involves brushing once or twice a week, possibly harrowing once or twice a month and an annual deep cleaning of the granule between the straws.

But what about the reservations? Well, an artificial turf pitch is more environmentally sustainable only if the rubber granule between the straws is collected and reused, and the old turf is sent for heat recovery. The maintenance of a natural lawn is often done using petrol- or diesel-powered machines. But with electrified machinery it’s a whole new ball game, as natural turf then becomes the more environmentally friendly option.

“What we can see is that artificial turf production as well as natural turf maintenance can and needs to be improved in order to reduce emissions,” says Mikael Säberg.

Emma Lindkvist, assistant professor at Linköping University.

Credit

Charlotte Perhammar

Mikael Säberg, PhD student at Linköping University.

Credit

Ebba Nordqvist

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Journal

Cleaner Environmental Systems

DOI

10.1016/j.cesys.2025.100369 

Article Title

Life cycle assessment of football fields in Nordic climates: Comparing artificial and natural turf systems

 

Energy and regional factors drive carbon price volatility in China’s emissions trading markets

Shanghai Jiao Tong University Journal Center

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Background and Motivation

China’s national carbon market has grown rapidly in recent years, emerging as one of the world’s largest Emissions Trading Systems (ETS). Carbon price volatility not only affects market stability and pricing credibility but also influences corporate investment and emissions strategies. While prior research has identified various factors affecting carbon price fluctuations, most studies focus on a narrow set of variables and rarely compare broader potential drivers across regions. This leaves a gap in understanding which factors are truly critical in explaining volatility dynamics in China’s ETS markets, especially given the frequency mismatch between daily carbon prices and monthly or quarterly macroeconomic indicators.

 

Methodology and Scope

To address these challenges, researchers from the University of Science and Technology of China and Southwest University of Science and Technology developed an integrated GARCH-MIDAS-Adaptive-Lasso (GM-AL) model. This framework combines the ability to handle mixed-frequency data with advanced variable selection techniques, enabling the identification of the most influential predictors from a large set of macroeconomic, financial, energy, and environmental variables. The study focuses on three major regional ETS pilots in China: Hubei, Guangdong, and Shenzhen, using daily carbon price data from 2014 to 2023. A structured pool of low-frequency variables—including energy prices, financial indices, policy uncertainty indicators, and environmental factors—was analysed to uncover region-specific drivers of carbon price volatility.

 

Key Findings and Contributions

The study reveals clear regional differences in what drives carbon price volatility:

• In Hubei, the electricity and energy sectors (measured by the CSI 300 Electricity and Energy Indices) are the primary drivers.
• In Guangdong and Shenzhen, crude oil prices and the energy index play a more dominant role.
• Overall, energy-related factors exert the strongest influence on China’s carbon market volatility, while policy and environmental variables show limited impact.

The proposed GM-AL model significantly outperforms benchmark models in both forecast accuracy and economic value. It also demonstrates robustness across different weighting schemes and alternative dimensionality reduction methods. The research contributes to the literature by systematically integrating multidimensional factors into volatility modelling and providing a scalable framework for other developing countries seeking to establish or enhance their own ETS mechanisms.

 

Why It Matters

Understanding the drivers of carbon price volatility is crucial for policymakers, regulators, and market participants. The findings highlight the importance of energy market signals and regional industrial structures in shaping carbon price dynamics. By identifying key predictors, this research supports the development of early warning systems and more responsive regulatory frameworks. It also offers investors improved tools for risk management and decision-making in carbon markets.

 

Practical Applications

The GM-AL model can be used by:

• Regulators to design differentiated, region-specific policies and stabilise carbon markets through proactive monitoring.
• Investors and financial institutions need to enhance volatility forecasting, optimise portfolio strategies, and assess carbon market risks.
• Energy and industrial firms need to anticipate better compliance costs and adjust emissions strategies.
• International researchers and policymakers in other emerging economies can use it as a reference for building robust carbon pricing systems.

 

Discover high-quality academic insights in finance from this article published in China Finance Review International. Click the DOI below to read the full-text!

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Journal

China Finance Review International

DOI

10.1108/CFRI-03-2025-0088 

Method of Research

News article

Article Title

Which factors drive China's carbon price volatility? Evidence from GARCH-MIDAS-Adaptive-Lasso model

 

Flaring black hole whips up ultra-fast winds

European Space Agency

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An international team of researchers used the European Space Agency's XMM-Newton and XRISM, a JAXA-led mission with ESA participation, to uncover and study a never-seen-before blast from a supermassive black hole. The gravitational monster whipped up powerful winds, flinging material out into space at eye-watering speeds of 60 000 km per second.

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Credit: European Space Agency (ESA)

Leading X-ray space telescopes XMM-Newton and XRISM have spotted a never-seen-before blast from a supermassive black hole. In a matter of hours, the gravitational monster whipped up powerful winds, flinging material out into space at eye-watering speeds of
60 000 km per second.

The gigantic black hole lurks within NGC 3783, a beautiful spiral galaxy imaged recently by the NASA/ESA Hubble Space Telescope. Astronomers spotted a bright X-ray flare erupt from the black hole before swiftly fading away. As it faded, fast winds emerged, raging at one-fifth of the speed of light.

“We’ve not watched a black hole create winds this speedily before,” says lead researcher Liyi Gu at Space Research Organisation Netherlands (SRON). “For the first time, we’ve seen how a rapid burst of X-ray light from a black hole immediately triggers ultra-fast winds, with these winds forming in just a single day.”

Devouring material

To study NGC 3783 and its black hole, Gu and colleagues simultaneously used the European Space Agency’s XMM-Newton and the X-Ray Imaging and Spectroscopy Mission (XRISM), a JAXA-led mission with ESA and NASA participation.

The black hole in question is as massive as 30 million Suns. As it feasts on nearby material, it powers an extremely bright and active region at the heart of the spiral galaxy. This region, known as an Active Galactic Nucleus (AGN), blazes in all kinds of light, and throws powerful jets and winds out into the cosmos.

“AGNs are really fascinating and intense regions, and key targets for both XMM-Newton and XRISM,” adds Matteo Guainazzi, ESA XRISM Project Scientist and co-author of the discovery.

“The winds around this black hole seem to have been created as the AGN’s tangled magnetic field suddenly ‘untwisted’ – similar to the flares that erupt from the Sun, but on a scale almost too big to imagine.”

A little less alien

The winds from the black hole resemble large solar eruptions of material known as coronal mass ejections, which form as the Sun hurls streams of superheated material into space. In this way, the study shows that supermassive black holes sometimes act like our own star, making these mysterious objects seem a little less alien.

In fact, a coronal mass ejection following an intense flare was spotted at the Sun as recently as 11 November, with the winds associated with this event thrown out at initial speeds of 1500 km per second.

“Windy AGNs also play a big role in how their host galaxies evolve over time, and how they form new stars,” adds Camille Diez, a team member and ESA Research Fellow.

“Because they’re so influential, knowing more about the magnetism of AGNs, and how they whip up winds such as these, is key to understanding the history of galaxies throughout the Universe.”

A joint discovery

XMM-Newton has been a pioneering explorer of the hot and extreme Universe for over 25 years, while XRISM has been working to answer key open questions about how matter and energy move through the cosmos since it launched in September 2023.

The two X-ray space telescopes worked together to uncover this unique event and understand the black hole’s flare and winds. XMM-Newton tracked the evolution of the initial flare with its Optical Monitor, and assessed the extent of the winds using its European Photon Imaging Camera (EPIC). XRISM spotted the flare and winds using its Resolve instrument, also studying the winds’ speed, structure, and figuring out how they were launched into space.

“Their discovery stems from successful collaboration, something that’s a core part of all ESA missions,” says ESA XMM-Newton Project Scientist Erik Kuulkers.

“By zeroing in on an active supermassive black hole, the two telescopes have found something we’ve not seen before: rapid, ultra-fast, flare-triggered winds reminiscent of those that form at the Sun. Excitingly, this suggests that solar and high-energy physics may work in surprisingly familiar ways throughout the Universe.”

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Journal

Astronomy and Astrophysics

DOI

10.1051/0004-6361/202557189 

Method of Research

Observational study

Subject of Research

Not applicable

Article Title

Delving into the depths of NGC 3783 with XRISM III. Birth of an ultrafast outflow during a soft flare

Article Publication Date

9-Dec-2025