WARMER ARCTIC. American senators (from left) John McCain, Hillary Clinton, and Susan
Collins listen closely as CICERO director Pål Prestrud explains how levels of CO2
are increasing in the atmosphere above Ny Ålesund, Svalbard. (Photo: Jan-Morten
Bjørnbakk)
Emissions of CO2 and other greenhouse gases are changing the Earth’s
climate. Research shows that the average temperature can increase between 1.4 and
5.8 ºC over the next hundred years if we do not reduce our emissions. One consequence
of this warming is that the weather is likely to become more extreme.
The consequences could be serious: hurricanes, heat waves, floods, avalanches, drought,
heavier snowfall, and sea level rise can cost lives and damage ecosystems, human
health, man-made assets and production systems – threatening human welfare
and security.
As a major exporter of fossil fuels, Norway bears a special responsibility in the
international cooperation on climate and the environment.
Who are we?
For this reason, the Norwegian government established CICERO (the Center for International
Climate and Environmental Research – Oslo) by royal decree in 1990. CICERO
is an independent research center associated with the University of Oslo.
CICERO conducts research on and provides information and expert advice about national
and international issues related to climate change and climate policy.
Research
The climate issue is extensive. We need to learn more about how to curb man-made
climate change and adapt to the impacts. A central question is: How can climate
policy be made deeper with respect to emissions cuts, broader with
respect to participation, and longer with a view to the future?
Cooperation must take place across scientific disciplines and national borders.
The wide range of disciplines represented among CICERO staff members allows us to
approach these issues with fresh perspectives. Our research is divided into
three interdisciplinary programs.
The climate problem is complex. CICERO has a national mandate to make information
about climate research and climate policy accessible to various target groups: students,
teachers, politicians, government, industry and business, media and the general
public. Our most important information channels are our website and our popular-scientific
climate magazine Klima. The magazine
is published six times a year and is distributed free of charge to subscribers.
CICERO also offers free subscriptions to Klimanytt – a press clip service
that sends an overview of national and international climate news to subscribers
by e-mail. And our Climate Forum creates a meeting place where researchers and representatives
from government and business and industry can exchange information and viewpoints.
The mass media is a prioritized target group. CICERO’s researchers participate
actively in the climate debate through featurearticles, opinion pieces, interviews,
and expert commentary.
Cooperation
CICERO participates in a broad network of research communities both nationally and
internationally. Several of our researchers also hold positions at the University
of Oslo, and CICERO houses several PhD students.
CICERO works with other environmental research institutes through the umbrella organization
Envira and the environmental research center CIENS. We also work closely with other
Norwegian research institutes in the fi elds of political science and economics.
CICERO cooperates with a number of research communities throughout Europe and North
America. We have also established an active network in several developing countries,
including China, India, Brazil, Indonesia, and southern Africa.
CICERO has a cooperative agreement with TERI
(The Energy and Resources Institute) in India, and hosts interns each year from
IISD (the International Institute for Sustainable
Development) in Canada.
CICERO participates actively in the assessment work of the IPCC (Intergovernmental
Panel on Climate Change). We are also represented in several boards of directors
and commissions, as well as in international and national committees. CICERO contributes
regularly to governmental reports and hearings.
Who uses CICERO’s services?
CICERO is primarily a research institute and carries out projects funded by, for
example, the Research Council of Norway and the EU Framework Programs. CICERO also
undertakes consultancy work, in both its research and its information capacity,
for government ministries and agencies, business, and national and international
organizations such as the World Bank. CICERO’s income for 2004 totaled NOK
25 million.
Our staff
CICERO has a research staff of about 30, representing a wide range of disciplines
including anthropology, atmospheric chemistry, meteorology, geophysics, human geography,
sociology, biology, chemistry, political science, and economics. About twothirds
hold a doctorate, and half are women. CICERO has a small administrative staff, and
a separate information department. The Ministry of the Environment appoints the
board of directors, whose members have backgrounds from the university, central
government, and business.