Prioritetsområder og prosjekter

Building upon the extensive research on climate gas emission from natural sciences. CET generates knowledge on social and political mitigation pathways for a rapid decline in emissions without compromising other development goals, particularly maintaining biodiversity and ecosystems. This research will address the choices we make as individuals and institutions.

Research that advances critical assessment of today’s policies and governance mechanisms. Social scientists have observed that these suffer from multiple goal conflicts and incoherence, as well as trade-offs and unintended consequences that are poorly understood. To meet climate targets, there is a need for policies that builds upon climate science, and are coherent and inclusive. Conducting research that contributes to understanding societal issues, including public perceptions, governance structures, law and complexity. AS well as studying innovative ways of doing politics and policy-making. 

• GOVLAND: Legal governance in land use planning
  • PI Ingunn Myklebust. Research Council of Norway, 2016-2020. (SpaceLab has one work package)

Research to better understand complex societal systems, including institutions, technologies and individual actors. These create path dependencies, barriers and drivers that shape our opportunities to transform society. Also addressing questions related to climate risks, and how to address practices and behaviours. 

• DemoClim: Cities confronted by protests: Democratic governance for efficient and socially just climate transformation. 
  • PI: Hege Hofstad, OSLOMET-NIBR. Research Council of Norway. CET: Håvard Haarstad. 
• CLIMLIFE: Living with climate change: motivation and action for lifestyle change. 
  • PI: Kjersti Fløttum, UiB. Research Council of Norway. CET: Endre Tvinnereim.

Transitioning to renewable energy is critical to meeting the climate challenge. We will continue strengthening our research on the phase-out of fossil energy sources, and the transition to renewables, both at national and global levels. We will explore opportunities for more collaborative research on legal, policy and social dimensions of introduction of renewable energy sources, in particular linked to the Bergen Offshore Wind Centre. We will also explore possibilities for collaborating on interdisciplinary education on energy transitions. 

• CINTRAN: Building a low-carbon, climate resilient future: Secure, clean and efficient energy.
  • PI: Wuppertal Institut for Klima. Horizon2020. CET: Jessica Jewell & Endre Tvinnereim. 2020 - 
• Contractions
  • PI: Jessica Jewell. Research Council of Norway, 2017-2021.
• Pathways to Energy Transition.
  • PI: Endre Tvinnereim. Academiaavtalen, Equinor/UiB
• ENTRANS: Energy transition from above or below? Structures, governance and strategies in Norway and Europe
  • PI: Håvard Haarstad. Akademiaavtalen, Equinor/UiB, 2014-2018.

The way cities are developed and planned has a significant impact on GHG emissions. This includes emissions from buildings and other infrastructure, transport, consumption and more. We will support the SpaceLab group in ensuring continuation of its work on transformative politics and local governance of relevance to climate and energy transformation. 

• VARCITIES: Visionary nature based actions for health, wellbeing & resilience in cities. 
  • PI: Dionysia Kolokotsa, . Horizon 2020. CET: Håvard Haarstad
• New Water Ways: Towards water-sensitive and climate adapted Nordic cities
  • Research Council of Norway. CET: Brooke Wilkerson 
• SPACELAB: European cities as actors in Climate and Energy Transformations
  • PI: Håvard Haarstad. Trond Mohn Foundation, 2016-2020.

The transport sector is a significant source of GHG emissions and one where it has been difficult to achieve emission reductions. CET’s research competence on urban governance, perceptions and energy systems can address how to achieve rapid change towards more sustainable forms of mobility and transport. We will also continue exploring future research collaborations with economists and logistics experts at NHH, as well as public and private sector stakeholders. 

• CityFreight: Freight logistics in sustainable cities
  • PI: Stein W.Wallace, NHH Norwegian School of Economics. Research Council of Norway, 2020 - 2024.
• Tr²ail: Tracking, Reflecting and Reducing Air Travel: A pathway to more sustainable travel behaviour.
  • PI: Georgia Savvidou, SEI Stockholm Environment Institute. Vinnova, 2019-2020. CET: Kårstein Måseide
• MUST: Mobility laboratory for the development of smart transport solutions. 
  • PI: Hanne Alver Krum, HKF. SD - Ministry of Transport and communications. CET: Håvard Haarstad.

Climate change is already affecting people and societies, and will increasingly do so with rising temperatures. CET will engage in collaborations with the Bjerknes Centre and NORCE where social sciences can contribute to understanding processes of human induced climate change and mitigation pathways. We will also engage in research collaborations through Noradapt in particular on the linkages between climate mitigation and adaptation. Finally, we will engage with scientists who have relevant expertise on various societal challenges that increasingly will be linked to climate change, such as food insecurity, migration, and health impacts.  

• COGENT: Co-producing Gender-responsive Climate Services for enhanced food and nutrition security and health in Ethiopia and Tanzania
  • PI: Arne Tostensen, CMI. Research Council of Norway. CET: Erik Kolstad

Competing interests from renewable energy production, urbanization, infrastructure development, food production and more may create conflicts and trade-offs over land use – both ecological and social. CET will engage researchers from across several social science disciplines in collaborations with natural scientists on how these conflicts can be avoided and resolved.