Local climate and environmental policy
Western Norway Research Institute has conducted research on local and regional environmental policy for some 30 years. The sustainability goal has continued to play an integral part in this research.
At the local level of governance, climate policy has, in later years, become a central policy area. Our research pertains both to greenhouse gas (GHG) cuts and to climate change adaptation. In both cases, effective planning and strengthened institutional capacity are perceived as key factors in the effort to achieve policy objectives. In later years, our research has shifted towards the concept of societal transformation, based on a perception that solving the climate problem will require large-scale societal change rather than mere adjustments of the way society works.
Key partners in this field of research include Nord University Nord University’s research group for environment, resource management and climate change, Cicero Center for International Climate Research, and the Department of Sociology and Human Geography at the University of Oslo.
