NORKLIMA - Climate change and impacts in Norway
Background and Goals
The ten-year NORKLIMA programme (2003 - 2013), one of the larger programmes of the Research Council of Norway, concentrates on improving the knowledge on the cause and effect of the climate change from a comprehensive viewpoint.
The primary objective of the NORKLIMA programme is to generate vital new knowledge about the climate system, about climate trends in the past, present and future, and about the direct and indirect impacts of climate change on the natural environment and society, as a basis for ?adaptive responses by society.
Specific objectives
- To improve understanding of the climate system and its variability, and to quantify uncertainty.
- To improve knowledge of climate change and its impacts on buildings, infrastructure and other installations, both on land and offshore.
- To improve knowledge of climate change and its impacts on natural and cultivated ecosystems and natural-resource-based industries.
- To improve knowledge of the impacts of climate change on society and how adaptive capacity can be strengthened.
- To improve knowledge of the links between emission trends and the development of society, and of international cooperation to mitigate climate change.
Content time
toResearch area/region
Country
- Norway
Steps in the process of adaptation to climate change
Step 1: Understand and describe climate change
Approach and results
More research is also needed on feedback mechanisms in the?climate system and their importance for future climate trends. Furthermore, research is needed to strengthen model development, particularly to develop better regional climate scenarios. The priorities of the NORKLIMA programme with regard to climate scenarios are as follows:
Earth system modelling:
- Development of a global model including an interactive carbon cycle, in?which the CO2 content of the atmosphere is explicitly modelled as a response to climate change.
- Development of a regional climate model through a cooperation between the Nordic countries
Climate scenarios:
- Sector-based climate scenarios, including building up expertise for the further development of scenarios and downscaling products that target sectoral needs more directly
- Regional climate scenarios for use in research on adaptation to climate change in developing countries related to Norwegian development policy.
Step 2a: Identify and assess risks - climate effects and impact
Approach and results
The NORKLIMA programme is intended to increase knowledge of the impacts of climate change on the physical environment. In addition, the programme is intended to identify and quantify the direct and indirect impact of climate change on the ecology.
The NORKLIMA programme is intended to address research needs related to the impacts of climate change and society’s response to these impacts. This may, for example, include building up the capacity needed to cope with necessary adaptations, and how governance systems and the institutional framework can be adapted to make society more resilient to climate change.
Step 2b: Identify and assess risks - Vulnerability, risks and chances
Urgency and priorization of adaptation needs
Climate change may pose challenges in the context of societal security. In addition, sectors of particular importance for Norway, such as fisheries, energy, agriculture and forestry, have special knowledge needs.
Participants
Funding / Financing
The budget for the NORKLIMA programme was reduced from approx. NOK 100 million in 2004 to NOK 88 million in 2005, NOK 87 million in 2006, NOK 77 million in 2007 and NOK 74 million in 2008. Analysis of the need for research has shown that the programme requires an increased allocation of funding amounting to min. NOK 405 million for the period from 2009-2013 (averaging an additional NOK 77 million per year). The ministries and funds for research and innovation are seen as the main sourcing of finance here, although another possibility is industry by means of active participation in projects with user involvement.
Cooperation/Partners
no details
Contact
The Research Council of Norway
Stensberggata 26
P.O. Box 2700 St. Hanshaugen
NO-0131 Oslo
