NOAK and NEFCO organised a side event on NAMAs and MRV requirements during the UN climate conference at COP18 in Doha, Qatar on 3.12.2012. There are different opinions on what the minimum requirements on MRV systems for NAMAs should be and what the role of the UNFCCC would be in this regard. Issues have also been raised on whether there should be a differentiation in the MRV system between the different types of NAMAs. The aim of the side event was to explore practical experience on the issue, both from on-going initiatives and from the donors. This report first presents briefly the key concepts NAMA and MRV, then discusses each presentation and finally draws a summary on the observations and lessons emerging from the side event.

The Nordic Dialogue on Voluntary Compensation aims to inform Nordic and international stakeholders on using voluntary compensation of greenhouse gas emissions as part of their broader efforts towards and beyond carbon neutrality. Specifically, the Dialogue’s goal is to promote the high integrity, transparency and harmonisation of voluntary compensation, and alignment with the principles and long-term goals of the Paris Agreement and the United Nations Sustainable Development Goals. This brochure provides an overview of the goals and activities under the Nordic Dialogue on Voluntary Compensation.

An increasing number of non-state actors are taking steps towards and beyond carbon neutrality and making claims about their contribution to global climate action. The voluntary use of carbon credits is one way to support more, earlier and faster climate action than what would be possible with own emission reductions alone, if high environmental and social integrity is ensured. The Nordic Dialogue on Voluntary Compensation brought together Nordic stakeholders to co-create guidance for the robust voluntary use of carbon credits in line with the long-term goals of the Paris Agreement and the UN Sustainable Development Agenda. This report summarises Nordic perspectives on best practice for the voluntary use of carbon credits and related claims, and recommendations for further Nordic cooperation in this field.

An increasing number of non-state actors are taking steps towards and beyond carbon neutrality and making claims about their climate impact and contribution to mitigation, so as to contribute to the Paris Agreement’s long-term goal to limit global warming to 1.5 degrees Celsius. Voluntary compensation of greenhouse gas emissions enables actors to take responsibility for their remaining emissions by supporting additional mitigation outcomes that occur outside the actors’ boundaries. This report maps key international guidance and initiatives relevant to voluntary compensation. It aims to foster a common knowledge base on high-integrity use of voluntary compensation as part of actors’ broader mitigation efforts towards and beyond carbon neutrality. It was prepared under the Nordic Dialogue on Voluntary Compensation.

This protocol was developed and subsequently tested in 2012-2015 by Nordic test and research institutes, with Danish Technological Institute (DTI) as project manager. This protocol describes a potential standardized procedure for measurements of BC (Black Carbon) in terms of both EC (Elemental Carbon) and OC (Organic Carbon) from residential wood burning stoves. Such a standardized test can then be used for voluntary eco-labeling of wood stoves, and by manufacturers interested in testing and developing extremely low-emission, low-black carbon, “climate-friendly” stoves. This testing protocol is part of a project supported by the Nordic Council of Ministers and the Climate and Clean Air Coalition (CCAC), and implemented by the International Cryosphere Climate Initiative (ICCI).

This policy brief highlights key takeaways from a Nordic stakeholder dialogue, during 2023, with more than 60 business leaders, researchers, policy-makers, public servants, entrepreneurs and representatives from interest groups. They shared solutions, challenges, suggestions for policy development, opportunities, and best practices, on the topic “Accelerating a just Energy Transition” in Transport and Energy Systems. Three overall observations were; a) Defining “a just energy transition” from a Nordic perspective, setting targets and sharing a positive vision of the society when the transition is made, would help prioritize actions; b) Knowledge gaps in authorities and society needs to be filled; c) Social resistance and reluctance to change behaviour might block transition, so besides technological progress and economic incentives, a more human centered approach is needed.

How can REDD credits be included in a future global carbon market, and what are the impacts of inclusion? We analyze ten different scenarios through 2020, varying the global emission caps and the REDD rules. An inclusion of REDD credits without any adjustments in the global cap will lower carbon prices significantly and cause crowding out. The cap must move towards the 2 degrees climate target if REDD inclusion is to maintain high carbon prices and strong incentives for emissions reductions in other sectors. At the same time, reaching the 2 degree target without full REDD inclusion will increase global mitigation costs by more than 50%.

This report constitutes the main outputs of the project “Pathways to a Nordic food system that contributes to reduced emissions of greenhouse gases and air pollutants”. The overall goals are to present the baseline data regarding the Nordic agricultural sector, its greenhouse gas and ammonia emissions, the regulatory framework and support systems, and conflicts of interest. The report aims to describe pathways to a Nordic food system that contributes to achieving the climate target of below 2 (or 1.5) degrees of warming and the air pollution target of zero exceedance of critical loads and critical levels regarding ammonia emissions.

The Nordic region has diverse geological and climatic conditions that make certain types of agricultural production more vulnerable than others.

The policy recommendations aim to serve as input to different policies at EU, Nordic and national level.

Since 2009, the Nordic countries have increased their efforts to support developing economies in the mobilization of private finance. It is now time to take stock of the success stories. Regardless of the progress, several barriers limit the Nordic ability to scale up private climate finance even more. This brief presents ideas for addressing some of these the barriers and increasing the ambition in mobilizing private finance, including considerations on de-risking solutions and the applicability of Article 6 under the Paris Agreement. The brief was produced as part of the Nordic Public-Private Platform on Mobilization of Climate Finance Mobilization, and ahead of the global climate conference in Katowice, December 2018. It builds on previous studies funded by the Nordic Council of Ministers, such as “Mobilizing climate finance flows – Nordic approaches and opportunities”.

In 2013, Parties to the UNFCCC were invited to prepare and communicate their Intended Nationally Determined Contributions (INDCs) under a 2015 agreement. Assessment and review of INDCs can help to ensure that these contributions are in line with internationally agreed objectives and principles, help establish and enhance transparency, trust and accountability between Parties, and raise ambition over time.

 This report analyses the existing review processes both under and outside the UNFCCC. It suggests that some form of ex ante assessment and review process of INDCs could help ensure that they are ambitious and fair. Such process can be complemented by assessments by observer organizations and informal discussions among Parties. In addition, a periodic review of collective ambition is desirable from the perspective of environmental effectiveness, and can build on existing review processes.

In 2013, Parties to the UNFCCC were invited to prepare and communicate their Intended Nationally Determined Contributions (INDCs) under a 2015 agreement. Assessment and review of INDCs can help to ensure that these contributions are in line with internationally agreed objectives and principles, help establish and enhance transparency, trust and accountability between Parties, and raise ambition over time.

 This report analyses the existing review processes both under and outside the UNFCCC. It suggests that some form of ex ante assessment and review process of INDCs could help ensure that they are ambitious and fair. Such process can be complemented by assessments by observer organizations and informal discussions among Parties. In addition, a periodic review of collective ambition is desirable from the perspective of environmental effectiveness, and can build on existing review processes.

A crucial question in the development of a new climate change agreement centres on the “intended nationally determined contributions” (INDCs) that parties have agreed to communicate before the COP 21 in Paris in December 2015. This paper explores options for the design, organization and timing of the ex ante assessment process of the INDCs. It identifies key choices to be made in Lima, and the implications of these choices for the road to Paris. Finally, it discusses the implications of the design, organization and timing of the assessment for future review processes under a Paris agreement.

Increasing food production in the face of a growing population, while adapting to and mitigating climate change constitutes a main challenge for the global agricultural sector. This study identifies, analyses and contextualizes regional initiatives related to agriculture and climate change in developing countries. In order to identify needs for improvements and possibilities for replication or scale-up, a review of recently launched initiatives is combined with a SWOT analysis. Moreover, the study places initiatives in the context of INDCs of Sub-Saharan African countries submitted under the UNFCCC. As a result, recommendations on how to develop and implement best practice agriculture climate change initiatives are presented.

Against the backdrop of population increase, changing dietary patterns, increased affluence and rising demands on land for the generation of biofuels, agricultural productivity is required to increase significantly in the coming years. This increase will take place in a context of constrained resources and a changing global climate requiring increased adaptive capacity and increased resilience of agricultural systems. At the same time, agricultural activities are contributing significantly to climate change, with agricultural production and the food supply chain being responsible for up to a third of total anthropogenic greenhouse gas (GHG) emissions.

Peatlands in the Nordic Baltic region and elsewhere in the world store large amounts of carbon and are at the same time important for conservation of biodiversity. Thus peatlands are space-effective carbon stocks, but when drained carbon and nitrogen are released as greenhouse gases to the atmosphere and as nitrate to the surface water, while methane will be released when rewetting.

New knowledge reveals that one of the most efficient means to mitigate emissions of greenhouse gases to the atmosphere are the restoration of drained peatlands by reestablish former high water tables on organic soils.

This project on synergies between climate change mitigation and the restoration of peatlands has been conducted under a regional Ramsar initiative covering the Nordic and Baltic countries (NorBalWet), with support from the Nordic Council of Ministers. The report contains chapters on peatlands and their role in climate change mitigation, individual country chapters and the role of the Ramsar Convention.

A significant share of the greenhouse gas emitting activities of China is operated by state owned enterprises (SOEs). This report, written by Fridtjof Nansen Institute for the Nordic Council of Ministers, discusses the role of SOEs on the electricity and steel sectors, for instance, in upgrading technologies, centralizing operations and developing alternative energy sources. Informal networks, guanxi and nomenklatura, and financial ties provide the state control over SOEs. This makes SOEs a preferable alternative to private companies. As policies limiting emission growth have been economically attractive to SOEs so far, they have shown little opposition but this may change should costly measures be introduced in the future. While China’s position in climate negotiations is determined by the political leadership, the SOEs deserve attention due to their impact on China’s emission trends.

Climate impacts hit us directly as e.g. floods and forest fires, but also cascade over borders. How can we address these transboundary climate risks (TCRs)? To answer this, the Nordic Council of Ministers commissioned a study.

As open economies, the Nordics can be exposed to TCRs. Some key trade partners have medium (e.g. China) or even high (e.g. India) risk.

The study dove deeper into six food commodities. For example, climate change affects sources of maize negatively, with risks outweighing opportunities by 28:1. This can mean higher prices or disturbances in supplies.

The Nordics are better prepared than most others, but not well enough. There are also important differences among them.

The report makes recommendations on how Nordics can better address TCRs together. These include a joint research programme, raising awareness and engaging with the private sector.

Climate impacts hit us directly as e.g. floods and forest fires, but also cascade over borders. How can we address these transboundary climate risks (TCRs)? To answer this, the Nordic Council of Ministers commissioned a study.

As open economies, the Nordics can be exposed to TCRs. Some key trade partners have medium (e.g. China) or even high (e.g. India) risk.

The study dove deeper into six food commodities. For example, climate change affects sources of maize negatively, with risks outweighing opportunities by 28:1. This can mean higher prices or disturbances in supplies.

The Nordics are better prepared than most others, but not well enough. There are also important differences among them.

The report makes recommendations on how Nordics can better address TCRs together. These include a joint research programme, raising awareness and engaging with the private sector.

The Nordic Partnership Initiative on Upscaled Mitigation Action (NPI) supported developing countries in designing and implementing mitigation action and attracting funding from international climate finance and carbon markets. In Peru, the initiative focused on building readiness for mitigating greenhouse gas emissions in the municipal solid waste sector. It generated comprehensive information on the sector’s status and trends in terms of waste and emissions, mitigation potential and costs, and barriers to action. Mitigation plans for landfills were prepared, a robust information system developed, and policy reforms introduced for recognising waste as a valuable raw material. The NPI results have been integrated into national and local development plans and serve as valuable building blocks in the design and implementation of Peru’s mitigation pledges under the Paris Agreement.

This booklet presents actions taken by the Nordic countries to speed the transition to a sustainable low-carbon society. It shows how sustainable development is possible, with strong climate policies contributing to economic growth and job creation as well as environmental improvements. The Nordic countries successfully demonstrate how ambitious climate change mitigation targets and policies can be combined with high levels of human development.

Underpricing of fossil fuels, caused by subsidies, drives carbon intensive consumption. Reforming fossil fuel subsidies and allocating some of the savings to sustainable energy could accelerate a transition to fairer, safer, cleaner and more sustainable energy systems. This report outlines the Nordic Council of Ministers’ work to promote these swaps through the development of a business model and description of the link between fossil fuel subsidies, reforms and carbon emissions. The report evaluates potential swaps to increase industrial energy efficiency in the mining sector, in the context of energy sector reforms in Zambia; and the replacement of butane subsidies with solar investments in Morocco. The report also presents an outline of how Nordic countries are supporting reforms and driving the swaps agenda as part of Nordic Solutions to Global Challenges.

The report use ozone measurement data retrieved in the Arctic with balloon borne ozone sondes for the last 20-30 years. Four stations with the best data series have been selected. Using a Monte Carlo method the yearly period is subtracted from the data and the remains, the anomalies, are correlated towards the area of the Polar Front, the temperature rise of the Nortern Hemisphere and the North Atlantic Oscillation (NAO) and towards one another. It was found that the NAO correlates negatively with ozone anomalies for all four stations albeit the correlations are weak. Besides, the polar front area correlates weakly positive with the ozone anomalies for three out of the four stations. These results, together with the observation that the ozone-anomalies have a brief decorrelation time, indicate that most of the variability in the anomalies should be found in local conditions.

Ozone soundings from 9 Nordic stations with rather different data coverage have been homogenized followed by an interpolation to standard tropospheric pressure levels. A Bayesian model was applied which included a low-frequency variability, an annual cycle with harmonics, the possibility for variability in seasonal amplitude and phasing, and noise. Regarding the low-frequency variability it was found that only Scoresbysund, Ny Aalesund and Sodankyla showed statistical significant changes with a maximum near 2007 followed by a decrease. We hypothesize that this decrease could be explained by an observed decrease in nitrogen oxide in Europe.

The Nordic countries continue to experience growth of urban areas, which provides benefits like economic growth, but also imposes economic costs in terms of reduced ecosystem services. This report focuses on urban nature recreation and highlights economic methods and data that can help capture the associated nonmarket welfare benefits. The study stresses the need to collect user data to better understand visitation patterns, which can be combined with valuation methods to provide evidence of economic benefits associated with e.g., hiking, cycling, skiing, paddling and other recreation activities. Once these benefits are visible, decision-makers will have a better basis to balance economic growth with the environmental costs it imposes on urban ecosystem services.

Airborne particulate matter (PM) is considered to be a significant health risk for humans. Yet, concentration levels in much of Europe still remain high. One of the major emission sources of primary PM2.5 (airborne particle matter with a diameter < 2.5  m) in Nordic countries is wood burning due to domestic heating. Unfortunately, emission inventories for wood burning are difficult to determine and there is a large uncertainty in the impact of these emissions on air quality. In SRIMPART we have applied independent methods to assess the contribution of wood burning to the total PM2.5 concentrations in three Nordic cities (Oslo, Lycksele and Helsinki).  These methods include receptor modelling, based on chemical analysis of filter samples, and inverse modelling using dispersion models. The results show that estimates of emissions based on wood consumption or based on the methods applied in SRIMPART have a similar level of uncertainty and so it is not possible to categorically state which is the most correct. However, both methods do agree within their respective uncertainties and this provides support that the long term average emissions from wood burning are correct to within a factor of two.

This report presents the results from a research project ”Long term impact of the Copenhagen accord regarding the 2 degree target”, done at VTT Technical Research Centre of Finland during autumn 2010 and winter 2011 for the Nordic Ad Hoc Group on Global Climate Negotiations (NOAK). The report portrays greenhouse gas emission pathways that would minimize the costs of reaching the 2oC target, while simultaneously taking into account the uncertainty of and future learning on climate sensitivity. Using these scenarios, we argue that the emission level resulting from the Copenhagen Accord would be at least 5 Gt CO2 eq higher than the cost-effective level in 2020. Therefore future climate negotiations should aim for more ambitious emission reductions, both in and after 2020.

The study supports the exchange of knowledge to further develop effective policy and management tools for nature-based solutions for the climate and the environment. The study compiles good examples which shed light on how the Nordic countries have been successful inimplementing measures to simultaneously address climate change, pollution and biodiversityobjectives in laws, policies and administrative practices, including highlighting potential barriers forimplementing integrated policy solutions. Moreover, it provides recommendations for screening methods of laws, policies and management practices to revealuntapped synergies between climate change, pollution and biodiversity measures. Finally, the report proposes joint Nordic initiatives that can maximise synergies between biodiversity, climateand pollution initiatives in the Nordic region and globally.

The world is under pressure. In recent times we have seen increased threats to nature, health and welfare, and society as a whole. With more than 7 million premature deaths annually and far more people suffering from poor air quality, air pollution is a global threat. The numbers are increasing and the earlier assumption that there are safe levels of air pollution is losing credibility. However, initiatives to reduce air pollution around the world are under way, and more initiatives can be added. 

To clarify needs for further initiatives, the Saltsjöbaden VII workshop held six main discussions with the overarching objective of clarifying if and how international science and policy cooperation can accelerate the transition to a world with less air pollution. Conclusions and recommendations from the discussions can be found in the report Air Pollution Management in a World under Pressure.

Seventeen pollutants (particles, heavy metals, inorganic gasses and organic compounds) are for the first time analyzed in a screening of the carcinogenic risk at very high resolution and large scale in ambient air in the Nordic countries. Modelled 2010 annual mean air concentrations show no exceedances of the EU air quality values. The only exceedance of US-EPA 1:100,000 cancer risk concentrations occurs for the PAH BaP in Denmark. However, the EU target value threshold for BaP is not exceeded. No emission data for BaP are available for the other countries and important uncertainties are still related to the Danish emissions. Long-range transport is significant except for BaP that originates mostly from residential wood combustion. It is recommended to monitor the influence from residential wood combustion more extensively, and to analyze longer time trends for long-term human exposure.

This project (KoL 12-08) was performed for the Climate and Air Quality Group (KlimaogLuftgruppen, KoL), Nordic Council of Ministers by atmospheric emission, exposureand epidemiology experts from Denmark, Finland, Norway and Sweden. Emission inventory methods and exposure models were presented. A list of carcinogenic andco-carcinogenic pollutants (particles, heavy metals and organic compounds) emittedfrom energy production, industrial activities, road transport, navigation, agriculture, residential heating and product use was compiled. Pollutant emissions levels for 2010and trends for 1990 to 2010 were compiled and discussed, and modelled andmeasured atmospheric concentrations for 2010 were compiled on regional, urbanand local scales. Nordic maps of emissions and air concentrations of PM2.5, PM10, NOx,NMVOC, benzene, BaP, dioxin, cadmium and nickel were compiled for allaggregated main sources, traffic and residential wood combustion. An overview of local studies on exposure for cities or communities with emphasis on wood combustion and traffic and a discussion of existing epidemiological studies on cancer and environment were given.

PCBs and dioxins are among the most toxic organic chemicals and where the latter is an unwanted bi-product primarily from residential wood burning, fires, municipal waste incineration and steel reclamation, PCBs have been widely used in a number of industrial and commercial products and activities. PAHs have carcinogeni/mutagenic properties and are produced when materials containing carbon and hydrogen are burned. The heavy metal mercury is also one of the most toxic chemicals that is being used today and although there are legally binding instruments in force within the EU and globally, which aim to limit the use and spreading of mercury in the environment it is still found in various consumer and commercial products. The use of these chemicals gives rise to emissions to air. This joint Nordic project contributes to improving the emission inventories for mercury, PAHs, dioxins and PCBs related to the sector Solvents and Other Product Use", which will help the Nordic countries to assess whether they reach the overall environmental objective of clean and healthy surroundings and several targets in the Nordic Environmental Action Programme 2009-2012 and the international air quality conventions such as Convention on Long-Range, Transboundary Air Pollution (CLRTAP). The report is mainly aimed at experts performing the national emission inventories but also policy-makers and the general public may find information on sources to emissions, working procedure of emission inventories and on measures implemented on an international and national level for reducing emissions."

This project considers the NMVOC emission inventories for solvent use that are used by the five Nordic countries for reporting to e.g. United Nations Framework Convention on Climate Change (UNFCCC), the European Commission and UNECE-Convention on Long-Range, Transboundary Air Pollution (CLRTAP). The project covers the entire solvent use sector, however, special attention has been given to domestic use. All the major codes associated with emission reporting and registration of chemical substances have been collected and compared. Emission factors have been presented for source categories and specific chemical substances, when possible. For the entire solvent sector 94 different combinations of SNAP/CORINAIR, CRF, NFR, RAINS/GAINS and NACE codes have been identified. UCN and emission factors are assigned for each combination on a country specific level. The purpose of this project has been to present existing data in the most transparent way in order to share, compare and improve data and methodologies. The results can be used for different purposes, e.g., facilitate assignment of specific emission factors to sources and substances, extrapolate activity data and/or emission factors between code systems, filling data gaps and identify key source categories.

If the Paris Agreement is to be implemented successfully, it is crucial that all actors step up their actions, including non-state actors such as businesses, cities, regions and investors. Transparency is crucial but still largely missing from the drive to report on current actions and scale them up. The Climate Initiatives Platform (CIP) is a vital transparency tool for international cooperative climate initiatives, so called ICIs, driven by non-state actors. The CIP provides open-source data on many aspects. It is also the data provider to the UNFCCC Global Climate Action portal NAZCA on ICIs. The aim of this project is to improve the CIP further. This document presents a strategy for tracking progress, including an impact-monitoring framework. In addition, analyses of progress with ICIs and of their coverage versus the potential emission reductions in certain sectors are provided.

There is strong evidence showing the urgent need for scaling-up climate finance to mitigate greenhouse gases in line with the 2°C target, and to support adaptation to safeguard the international community from the consequences of a changing climate. While public actors have a responsibility to deploy climate finance, it is clear that the contribution from the private sector needs to be significant. Consequently, a strong public commitment is needed to engage with the private sector and ensure climate finance is leveraged and deployed effectively. In this context, Public Private Partnerships (PPPs) are a promising avenue to contribute to climate finance delivery. PPPs provide frameworks to ensure public leadership and accountability in tackling climate change, while enabling the ownership of certain components of climate finance to be transferred to private hands.

The Paris Agreement is widely considered to be of historic significance sending a strong signal to non-state actors that countries stand behind curbing greenhouse gas emissions with the objective to keep temperature rise well below 2°C, with efforts to stay below 1.5°C. Still the Intended Nationally Determined Contributions by national governments will likely limit temperature rise to under 3°C but be insufficient to limit it to 2°C or lower. The multitude of international cooperative initiatives (ICIs) underway outside the formal negotiating process will be needed to support these government actions.

In response to the growing interest in the potential for ICIs the Climate Initiative Platform was developed. This report highlights the information currently present in the platform as well as the changes and outlook for this comprehensive data on cooperative initiatives post-2015.

Air pollution has been estimated to lead to ca. 10.000 premature deaths every year in the Nordic countries. The external costs related to the health effects of air pollution amounts to EUR 8-13 billion per year. Main drivers, such as changes in climate, anthropogenic emissions, building structure and demography have a vast impact on air quality-related effects on human health. The purpose of the FutureAirNordic project has been to investigate how potential future changes in main drivers will impact the assessment of air quality-related human health effects. Estimations of premature mortality due to exposure to air pollution as well as the external costs associated with the negative health effects have been analyzed. The results can contribute to improved assessments under future conditions and can be used to evaluate how policies and regulations impact the health effects of air pollution.

This report presents the findings from a comparative study of climate change adaptation policy in Denmark, Finland, Iceland, Norway, and Sweden. Based on a comparative analysis of the policy landscape, including legislative frameworks, policy instruments, and financing mechanisms, the report identifies best practices and main challenges as well as key factors influencing the progress of national adaptation. Despite considerable progress in several of the Nordic countries, the report identifies multiple challenges, including lack of systems for monitoring, reporting and evaluation, lack of sufficient funding and economic incentives and lack of appropriate tools and knowledge for aligning adaptation with other societal goals, such as mitigation and sustainable development. The report ends by suggesting ways to enhance adaptation in the Nordic countries.

This policy brief presents the findings from the report "Comparison and analysis of national adaptation policies in the Nordic region", along with a set of policy recommendations directed at public authorities in the Nordic countries. After summarizing key progress factors and best practices and main challenges, the policy brief presents five main recommendations: 1) reframe adaptation as transformation; 2) establish mechanisms for systematic knowledge generation and develop appropriate indicators; 3) break down silo-structure between sectors and develop a clearly articulated policy cycle; 4) enhance adaptation financing and economic incentive mechanisms and translate knowledge on risks and vulnerabilities to local adaptation measures; 5) enhance the political mandate for adaptation and strengthen international commitments, including through Nordic collaboration.

24-26 June 2013, 130 leading international policy makers, scientists, experts and others met at an international workshop in Gothenburg, Sweden, in order to discuss and outline future directions in air pollution science and policy. The workshop, which was organised in close collaboration with the Convention on Long-range Transboundary Air Pollution and the European Commission, involved several themes such as linkages to climate change including SLCP, nitrogen, global governance and effects to health and environment. The output is a series of recommendations for further actions with respect to effects to health, ecosystems and near-term climate actions. Recommendations were also given with respect to heavy metals and POPs. The recommendations are directed towards several international organisations and initiatives such as CLRTAP, European Commission, Climate and Clean Air Coalition and the Arctic Council.

The Nordic Working Group for Climate and Air (NKL) organised 19-20 November 2019 a workshop with the objective to outline its future directions and priorities within the field of air pollution. The new Programme for Nordic co-operation on the Environment and Climate 2019-2024 formed the basis for the discussions at the workshop. A conclusion from the workshop is that Nordic collaboration still is important for the development of common air pollution strategies both for direct collaboration between the countries and for taking common initiatives within international fora such as the Air Convention and the EU. The workshop report includes a list of project ideas to be considered by NKL. Health effects and role of air pollution in fulfilling the SDGs were given priority.

Soil carbon sequestration and preservation of present stocks reduces net global greenhouse gas emission and can contribute significantly to both Nordic and international goals of limiting serious climate change. In order to achieve this, sustainable use of soil resources, better soil and water management practices, and restoration of degraded soils is needed. Protection and restoration of soil organic carbon are also key solutions to many of the most pressing global challenges facing mankind today. Highlighting the importance of the soil and the multiple benefits of soil organic carbon sequestration has never been more needed than now.

If the Agreement’s goal - limit the global temperature increase below 2°C - is to be met, all financial flows need to shift dramatically and rapidly from current investment patterns to 2°C compatible pathways. This study analyses the roles Nordic actors might play in mobilizing finance flows internationally and outlines a roadmap that can guide joint Nordic action during the next five to ten years. While the roadmap covers components of “climate related ODA” and climate compatible contributions from the private sector, the focus of the roadmap lies on the crucial bridging and dialogue that is required between key actors. Building on identified Nordic strengths and areas needing accelerated international support, the report concludes with a set of immediate next steps to operationalize the roadmap in 2017-2018.

In recent years, Nordic actors have illustrate leadership in mobilizing private finance for climate compatible investments with, for example, Nordic joint finance institutions and development finance institutions (DFIs) as key contributors.  Greening the financial system - Nordic experiences and ways forward highlights some lessons learned by the Nordics. It also reviews Nordic experiences in light of the recent global agreements and commitments, with a particular view on how the recommendations of the Task Force on Climate-related Financial Disclosures (TCFD) and the on-going EU work on sustainable finance can help accelerate action. The brief was produced as part of the Nordic Public-Private Platform on Mobilization of Climate Finance that brought together leading Nordic actors through four thematic issues groups.

The goal of reaching an ambitious globally binding climate agreement by 2015 is one of the key challenges that the international community needs to address. Issues on how private finance can be linked to public funding structures to ensure sufficient funding for mitigation and adaptation activities, and how technology transfer could work as part of climate finance continue to be key topics in the upcoming climate negotiations.This report focuses on the current Nordic climate finance landscape, and uses the Nordic Climate Facility (NCF) as a case study, to offer examples of and lessons learned from practical Nordic climate actions that can be used in on-going and future climate negotiations. The report concludes with eight targeted recommendations that highlight key points and lessons learned that can be used for replication and scaling up of future climate actions.

This policy brief presents recommendations on how to align future COVID-19 fiscal response measures with the Paris Agreement’s long-term temperature goal globally, in the EU and, where data are available, also for selected Nordic countries. This brief is based on the findings of a research project supported by the Nordic Council of Ministers Working Group for Climate and Air (NKL), entitled: “The impact of COVID-19 and recovery packages on emission pathways to 2030”. This research project has been prepared as a specific contribution to the 2021 edition of the UNEP Emissions Gap Report.

The three-day workshop organized by the three Nordic research projects, ECOCLIM, LAGGE and SnowCarbo brought together scientists and other actors from Nordic countries to communicate and discuss research on carbon budget estimations in the Nordic region. Through presentations of most recent research in the field and following scientific discussions, the workshop contributed to strengthen the scientific basis of the identification and quantification of major natural carbon sinks in the Nordic region on which integrated climate change abatement and management strategies and policy decisions is formed from. This report summarizes presentations and discussions from the four thematic sessions, Observations of carbon sinks and sources, Modeling the carbon budget, Remote sensing data for carbon modeling, and Impacts of future climate and land use scenarios and gives an overview of the current status and knowledge on research on assessments of national carbon budgets as well as on projections and sensitivity to future changes in e.g. management and climate change in the Nordic Region.

The aim of the Nor-FORCeS project “Integrating Nordic air quality and climate policies using FORCEeS” was to investigate to what extent aerosol particles and greenhouse gases contribute to climate warming in the context of the Nordic emission picture. This knowledge is necessary to meet the Paris Agreement while simultaneously addressing harmful air pollution. 

The project has been executed by a Nordic research team from @Stockholm University, @Finnish MeteorologicaI Institute, @CICERO and @Aarhus University and supported by grants from the Nordic Council of Ministers’ working group for Climate and Air (NKL).

It is widely acknowledged that the greenhouse gas emissions reduction pledges made by national governments are insufficient to achieve what is required by science to avoid dangerous levels of global warming. In parallel to the formal climate negotiations, a multitude of international cooperative initiatives (ICIs) are now engaging in efforts to address the growing emissions gap.

A database and web platform have been developed that presents the most current and comprehensive publically available collection of information on ICIs in operation. The web platform includes details of more than 180 mitigation-focused initiatives that have the potential for impact at the global scale. The project also makes recommendations for continuing support for the database and additional activities to support an increasing use of the database to inform negotiators and other stakeholders.

International Cooperative Initiatives (ICIs) could hold significant promise for closing the global emissions gap between a pathway to a 2°C warming limit and current national emission reduction pledges. This report examines a selection of these ICIs to explore their potential for delivering additional greenhouse gas mitigation and for raising ambition at national and international levels. It concludes that there are a range of ICIs already making an important contribution. Many have potential to scale-up their activities and could offer promising new channels for public climate finance.

A description of good examples of technical measures to reduce anthropogenic emissions of methane and their economic aspects. Relevant methane emitting sectors identified are ruminant livestock, manure management, landfill, waste water treatment, waste management and oil and gas systems. The consultancy firm Ramböll is responsible for the production of the catalogue, initiated by the Nordic Climate and Air Pollution Group (KOL) under the auspices of the Nordic Council of Ministers.