In early May Environment Minister Bård Vegar Solhjell presented the Government's climate adaptation strategy. The aim is to initiate adaptation measures to climate change. The Government plans to enhance the knowledge base through more active monitoring of climate change, an acceleration of climate research and the development of the Norwegian Centre for Climate Services.
Eystein Jansen, Director of the Bjerknes Centre, welcomes the news.
“I think it's good that this document accepts the fact that climate change is already visible. In considering suitable measures, they base their strategy on the most serious projections in a preventative perspective. That makes sense,” he says.
The Norwegian Centre for Climate Services was established in 2012 as a collaborative effort between the Norwegian Meteorological Institute, The Norwegian Water Resources and Energy Directorate and Uni Research. The climate adaptation document states that it is important to provide the new centre with the necessary conditions to lend practical support to climate initiatives and make it easier for local authorities and other interested parties to perform the necessary analyses of relevant impacts and possible adaptation measures.