N-CMAEP

The Nordic Climate Mitigation, Adaptation and Economic Policies (N-CMAEP) Network is a NordForsk TFI Network to be established under the program "Effect studies and adaptation to climate change".

Its purpose is establishing an interdisciplinary strategic approach for addressing solutions to the changing climate by concretely addressing adaptation to climate change mitigation policies through a core transdisciplinary Network of Nordic researchers assembled to address three main research questions:

• What are the core societal, economic and environmental features to be taken into consideration when developing a regional Nordic strategy for climate adaptation?
• How does this couple with the natural science and engineering state of the art, with respect to climate mitigation?
• Which specific indicators can be developed for assessing climate adaptation strategies at a broader regional level?

These research questions will be investigated through an improved exploitation of synergies among the partner Nordic research institutions, with the goal of defining a core Network for the development of a Nordic climate competence that can help address common challenges in an integrated and cost-effective way, thus addressing the need to identify impacts and overall costs for adaptation as it relates to climate mitigation policy at the local level.

The Network will also be focused on research training and mentoring of Nordic students and researchers as well as building a competent corps of the future generation of transdisciplinary researchers required to address climate adaptation issues.

N-CMAEP - Nordic Climate Mitigation, Adaptation and Economic Policies is funded by Nordforsk under the Top-level Research Initiative

Background

The network and infrastructure to develop an integrated climate change adaptation strategy does not yet exist at the Nordic level. Relevant adaptation research initiatives have been carried out by different research institutions in the Nordic region, but these efforts have mainly been limited to project-level activities focusing on joint case studies and/or domestic approaches for addressing the impacts of climate change at sector and/or national level. Nordic collaboration to address climate change is urgently needed.

The need for a more strategic Nordic approach for climate adaptation is already asserted in the 2006 Nordic Countries´ Ministerial Declaration on Adapting to Climate Change, which calls for improved collaboration across national borders and sectors and emphasizes the significance of collaboration on climate adaptation within the Nordic Council of Ministers and with other regional organizations (i.e.: the Baltic Council or the Arctic Council). In addition to this, the Nordic sustainable Development Strategy 2009-2012 has Climate and Renewable Energy as one of its main goals, which suggests the need of scaling climate mitigation and adaptation initiatives at a higher strategic level.

The N-CMAEP network (Nordic Climate Mitigation, Adaptation and Economic Policies: establishing an interdisciplinary strategic approach for addressing solutions to the changing climate) will initiate key elements for the foundation of a Nordic Adaptation Strategy, with relative Nordic benefits at research, society and business level. It will additionally contribute to an increased visibility at international level of the Nordic activities and policies in the field of climate mitigation and adaptation, via:

• A peer reviewed publication in English at a leading academic journal
• An enhanced Nordic and European debate on a regionalization of strategies for climate mitigation and adaptation

To effectively address climate change adaptation, as applied to climate change mitigation policies, smaller, focused networks rather than large networks of experts are preferable within the Nordic research community, due to the flexible and dynamic situation that represents modern climate adaptation research. The N-CMAEP network is a core, transdisciplinary group to address three main research questions:

• What are the core societal, economic and environmental features to be taken into consideration when developing a regional Nordic strategy for climate adaptation?
• How does this couple with the natural science and engineering state of the art, with respect to climate mitigation?
• Which specific indicators can be developed for assessing climate adaptation strategies at a broader regional level?

These research questions will be investigated through an improved exploitation of synergies among the partner Nordic research institutions, with the goal of defining a core Network for the development of a Nordic climate competence that can help address common adaptation challenges in an integrated and cost-effective way.

Network's members

The following members compose the N-CMAEP group:

Denmark

• Michael Evan Goodsite, Professor, Deputy Dept. Director, Atmospheric Environment, National Environmental Research Institute/NERI (N-CMAEP Project Leader)

• Mette Termansen, Professor of Ecological Economics, Department of Policy Analysis, NERI

• Berit Hasler, Senior Scientist/Head of Section, Environmental Economist, Department of Systems Analysis, NERI

• Lars Kjerulf Petersen, Senior Researcher, Department of Policy Analysis, NERI

• Anne Jensen, Researcher, Department of Policy Analysis, NERI

• Anders Brandth, Senior researcher, Department of Policy Analysis, NERI

• Helle Oersted, Researcher, Department of Policy Analysis, NERI

• Susanne Jensen, Controller, Department of Atmospheric Environment, NERI

• ProjektZero

Finland

• Lasse Peltonen, Head of Research, Centre for Urban and Regional Studies, Helsinki University of Technology/YTK

• Sirkku Juhola, Researcher, YTK

• Peter Ache, Professor, YTK

Iceland

• Brynhildur Davíðsdóttir, Associate Professor, Department of Economics and Department of Biology, University of Iceland

• Dadi Mar Kristofersson, Assistant Professor, Economics, University of Iceland

Norway

• Gunnar S. Eskeland, Professor of Climate Economics, Norwegian School of Economics and Business Administration/NHH

• Marianne Ryghaug, Professor, Centre for Energy and Society, Dept. of Interdisciplinary Studies of Culture, Norwegian University of Technology and Science, NTNU

• Knut H. Sørensen, Professor, Dept. of Interdisciplinary Studies of Culture, NTNU

• Robert Naess, Post Doc, Dept. of Interdisciplinary Studies of Culture, NTNU

• Jøran Solli, Research Scientist, Dept. of Interdisciplinary Studies of Culture, NTNU

• Jan Ketil Rød, Associate Professor, Dept. of Geography, NTNU

• Haakon Lein, Professor, Dept. of Geography, NTNU

• Ivar Berthling, Associate Professor, Dept. of Geography, NTNU

• Päivi Lujala, Post Doc, Dept. of Economics, NTNU

Sweden

• Björn-Ola Linnér, Professor, Centre for Climate Science and Policy Research Linköping (CSPR), Linköping University (LiU)

• Tina Neset, Assistant Professor, CSPR, LiU

• Sofie Storbjörk, Assistant Professor, CSPR, LiU

• Mattias Hjerpe, Assistant professor, CSPR, LiU

• Louise Simonsson Forsberg , Assistant Professor, CSPR, LiU

• Madelene Ostwald, Associate Professor, CSPR, LiU

• Lotta Andersson, Professor, SHMI and CSPR

• Richard J.T. Klein, Professor, Theme Leader, Stockholm Environment Institute

• Francis X. Johnson, Senior Research Fellow, Stockholm Environment Institute

• Kristian Lindgren, Professor, Chalmers University of Technology

International collaborators

• Mary Teagarden, Professor, Thunderbird School of Global Management, USA
• Andreas Schotter, Professor, Thunderbird School of Global Management, USA