April 14 marked the inauguration of the International Project Office of the Earth System Governance Project at Lund University. The opening has been celebrated with guest lectures on earth system governance research and a dinner. The day has been opened with words of welcome by Per Eriksson, Vice-Chancellor of Lund University, and Frank Biermann, chair of the Earth System Governance Project followed by two guest lectures. Joyeeta Gupta, VU University Amsterdam and member of the Earth System Governance Scientific Steering Committee, talked about the impact of changing governance patterns on developing countries, and the lecture by Peter Newell from the University of East Anglia, an Earth System Governance Research Centre, has been about transitioning to a low carbon economy: what role for global environmental governance. Ruben Zondervan, Executive Director of the Earth System Governance Project then briefly introduced the implementation strategy of the project and the role of the International Project Office. Since January 2011, the International Project Office of the Earth System Governance Project is hosted by Lund University. Lund University is the highest ranked comprehensive research university in Scandinavia with a strong background in transdisciplinary environmental and global change research. The Lund University Centre for Sustainability Studies (LUCSUS) and the Faculty of Social Sciences, represented by its Department of Political Science, lend vital support to the International Project Office and facilitate university-wide research collaboration. This overall excellent arrangement will provide the Earth System Governance Project with an effective and stable International Project Office in an inspiring, dynamic and high quality academic environment. For more information and the new contact coordinates please visit the website