This report presents the third evaluation of the Nordic Swan ecolabelling scheme. The evaluation is conducted from the perspective of the public administration, and it examines the role of the Nordic Swan in a policy context. Recommendations are presented for authorities in the Nordic countries and for the bodies operating the schemes on a Nordic and national level. The evaluation focuses on current opportunities and challenges in the operating environment of the scheme. It examines the relations between the Nordic Swan and the EU Eco-label in the Nordic countries, including their governance procedures, popularity and reception in the market. Other current topics addressed include the progress achieved by the Nordic marketing strategy for the Swan and some current governance issues in the scheme, including the grounds for public funding for the Nordic Swan. The report also analyses the relations between the Swan and other environmental information systems. In particular, the report investigates the opportunities and challenges ensuing from the current attention to climate issues for the Nordic Swan.

The report is from a project on the identification and assessment of minimum requirements for exposure scenarios (ESs) as required in Article 14-3 of Regulation (EC) 1907/2006 on REACH. A list of minimum requirements is proposed in the report. The list of minimum requirements together with two practical ES examples was used as a basis for a survey sent to small and medium-sized enterprises (SMEs) and others. Responses from 70 companies were received, approximately half of which were identified as SMEs. The survey responses show that ESs vary to a great extent, and that harmonisation/standardisation of ESs is desired. The responses also show that there is a significant need for increased understanding and knowledge on ESs, particularly among SMEs. Recommendations are made on harmonisation of legal requirements for ES content, with some concrete recommendations for compilers of ESs, downstream users, industry/industry organisations and national enforcement authorities.

Endringer i klimaforhold og forsvarlig nivå for beskatning av naturressurser møtes av en sterk påpeking av sammenhengen mellom holdbar arbeidslivsutvikling og mulighetene for å møte de ytre bærekraftstruslene. Gjennom arbeidslivets sammensatte prosesser formes oppfatninger av legitimt eierskap, muligheter til gjennom samarbeid å realisere gruppers og enkeltmenneskers potensial og bidra til å løse fellesskapets utfordringer økonomisk, sosialt og miljømessig. Norden representerer en samfunnsmodell der arbeidslivet bidrar til en høy markedsmessig økonomisk effektivitet samtidig som det vedlikeholder og fornyer en stabil velferdsstat. Gjør den nordiske modellen oss bedre rustet til å møte holdbarhetsutfordringene? Denne gjennomgangen av nordisk arbeidslivspraksis viser at en allerede må forholde seg til tydelige tegn på likeartede holdbarhetsproblemer. Det paradoksale bildet er: Samtidig som vi aldri har hatt det så bra, har vi et økende utenforskap i arbeidslivet i form av sykefravær og frafall. Boken tematiserer hvordan handlingspress har utløst programmer, avtaler og (forsknings-)prosjekter som adresserer utfordringene både ad hoc og i et lengre perspektiv. Individuelle stemmer som bidrar med sine livserfaringer om hva holdbarhet representerer kommer også til orde. Boken tar ikke sikte på å gi svar på dagens utfordringer, men er en invitasjon til dialog mellom forskning, arbeidstaker/arbeidsgiver og myndigheter om de praktiske bærekraftsvalgene som arbeidslivet i Norden kan ta.

This TEMA-Nord report is a result of a one-year project with all of the Nordic countries participating. The primary goal of the project has been to collect, develop and mediate a series of good examples of how nature interpretation, aimed at children and young people, can encourage children's understanding of nature, and inspire them to involve themselves with questions on humans nature and thus help contribute to sustainable development. Several issues should be considered when planning nature interpretation activities if nature interpretation aims to lead to sustainable development. These points of view are concerned especially with how nature interpreters can encourage children and young people to take ownership, to be involved with their body and mind, and to reflect and put the experience and the activities in nature into a wider context.

This report gives an overview of the technical and political work of the Nordic Council of Ministers since 1993 to create a Joint Implementation set-up that mitigates greenhouse gas emissions at least costs with mutual benefits for both the Nordic countries and the countries in the Baltic Sea Region.

NABO is a pan-Nordic project about the social inclusion of young persons in their respective societies. The project was launched under the Swedish presidency in the Nordic Council of Ministers 2018 and runs over the period 2018–2021. The project focuses on how youths talk about themselves and others in relation to five aspects of social inclusion – experiences of belonging, opportunities to influence, opportunities to participate, access to society’s resources and services and support from family and social networks. The Nabo-project have produced reports which shed light on how youth describe various aspects of social inclusion in all the Nordic countries and in Greenland, the Faroe Island and Åland. This is the comparison study of these eight reports.

De nordiske utdannings- og forskningsministre ønsker å fremme kreativitet, innovasjon og entreprenørskap i utdannelsene. Dette var bakgrunnen for at ministrene i april 2009 besluttet at Nordisk ministerråd skulle gjennomføre en nordisk komparativ studie av hvordan kreativitet, innovasjon og entreprenørskap er integrert i de nordiske utdanningssystemene. Som tilleggsoppdrag til denne studien, ble det i 2010 under det danske formannskapet i Nordisk ministerråd, tatt initiativ til ytterligere to studier om henholdsvis de praktisk musiske fag og de nordiske lands arbeid med talentutvikling og kreativitet i relasjon til naturvitenskap. Studiene er en del av Nordisk ministerråds globaliseringsprosjekt "En god opplæring til ungdom og voksne" som har som ett av fire delmål å fremme kreativitet, innovasjon og entreprenørskap i utdanningen. Studiene er gjennomført under ledelse av Universitet i Nordland, Norge, på oppdrag fra Nordisk ministerråd.

The proposed new chemicals policy of the European Community, REACH, is an important new development in environmental protection. Rather than waiting for government or independent researchers to determine that chemicals are hazardous, it will make manufacturers, importers, and professional users of chemicals responsible for the safe use. There is little doubt that REACH will give health and environmental benefits, but there has been little agreement about the resulting costs: -Will European manufacturers be crushed by the economic burden of chemicals regulation, as some industry sources have suggested? -Or, as projected in some public sector studies, will there be a minor cost impact, well within the ability of industry and worth the price? This report offers a new look at these costs. Frank Ackerman and Rachel Massey compare the current EC legislation on chemicals, the European Commission’s proposal and an alternative proposal addressing previous versions of REACH. The authors make a bottom-up calculation of the expected registration and testing costs under REACH and provide a new analysis of the indirect economic impacts. Ultimately they evaluate some prominent arguments about the costs of REACH and discuss the expected benefits. In the appendices there is the derivation of their economic impacts analysis and a critique of the best-known industry-oriented study.

The aim of the project presented in this report has been to compare the fisheries polices in Denmark, Iceland and Norway with respect to economic performance and degree of sustainability. This has been done by comparing the actual stock and harvest development in the three countries to the optimal stock and harvest development suggested by a dynamic optimization model developed in the project. Thus we have defined indicators for stock and harvest performance. Emphasis in this project compared to earlier has been put on uncertainty and especially on multi-species interaction and modelling. The result of the project is that although there are clear signs of both harvest and stock overexploitation in all three countries, there were also significant differences. In particular, some of the results from the single-species model were turned around when species interaction was taken into account.

The environmental impacts of several scenarios for wood waste’s treatment were studied via life cycle assessment (LCA). The scenarios were modelled via both attributional and consequential approaches to LCA. The ALCA results indicate that producing insulation from wood waste appears to be a good alternative to incineration, whereas incineration outperforms the production of all the other recycled products studied (particle board, composite, bioethanol, biochar, and textile fibre). When the substituting products and marginal energy are considered in the CLCA, other recycled products too seem to show good environmental performance relative to incineration. Textile fibre from wood waste is a solid alternative to producing viscose and cotton, and if marginal energy with even smaller environmental impacts than biomass were used, other products could well become compelling alternatives.

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.

Sustainable Consumption is a focus theme in the Environmental Action Plan 2009-2012 of the Nordic Council of Ministers. As stressed in the Plan, the Nordic countries form a joint market with the same product range and similar patterns of consumption. Hence, the countries can together contribute to developing environmentally adapted production meth-ods and stimulating the interaction between environmentally conscious consumptionand an environment oriented product range. This report presents 22 different projects, realized recently in the Nordic countries, that have promoted sustainable life styles.

Kestävä kulutus on keskiössä Pohjoismaiden ministerineuvoston Ympäris-töyhteistyön toimintasuunnitelmassa vuosille 2009–2012. Ohjelmassa tode-taan, että Pohjoismaat muodostavat yhteiset markkinat ja niitä yhdistävät samanlaiset tuotevalikoimat ja kulutustottumukset. Siten maat voivat yhdessä edistää ympäristön kannalta kestävien tuotantomenetelmien kehittymistä sekä sitä kautta lisätä kestäviä kulutusmahdollisuuksia. Tässä raportissa esitellään 22 Pohjoismaissa toteutettua hanketta, jotka ovat edistäneet kestävää elämäntapaa.

The European Commission launched on 29 October 2003 its proposal for a new chemical legislation concerning the Registration, Evaluation, Authorization and Restriction of Chemicals (REACH). In 2006 the Nordic Chemicals Group granted funds to the Nordic Product Register Group to start a joint Nordic project on "The Nordic Product Registers and the future REACH substance database. Comparison of the registration systems and options for future developments". The objective of the project was to clarify the extent of overlap between REACH substance database and the Product Registers and characterize the added value of the Nordic Product Registers. The REACH substance database and the Product Registers are different systems. These differences are compared and discussed in this report with proposals for use of Product Register information in the implementation of REACH.

This report presents an overview of the ecosystem services and associated benefits provided by the Baltic Sea, including information on the approaches of assessing and valuing ecosystem services being applied in the Baltic Sea region. It also identifies the main challenges in ecosystem service assessments in the Baltic Sea, and outlines the way forward in applying assessment tools in regional and national policies.Valuation of the benefits provided by ecosystem services can aid in designing more efficient policies for the protection of the Baltic Sea. The existing studies on the value of improved marine environment are useful in assessing the importance and value of some marine ecosystem services, but further work is still needed on describing ecosystem services and their interactions, and evaluating how policy changes affect these services and human well-being.

The Nordic NanoNet Workshop and EDC discussion was organised in October 2011 in Espoo, Finland as part of the 2011 Finnish chairmanship of the Nordic Council of Ministers (NMR). The workshop focused on the safety assessment and management of nanomaterials (NMs) while reflecting on experiences in regulating endocrine disrupting chemicals (EDCs).  This report describes the presentations, break-out group discussions and conclusions of the meeting. The regulatory frameworks and links between NMs and EDCs as well as the applicability of test guidelines and risk assessment tools for nanomaterials were addressed in presentations and break-out group work.  Regulatory possibilities were further considered in a panel-led discussion. The Nordic dimension was of special interest: strengthening of Nordic regulatory cooperation in the field of nanosafety gained support, while commencing a TG/GD project in the OECD test guideline programme was seen a concrete idea for future cooperation.

The report analyses the policy statements on Arctic issues released from 2010 by the EU institutions and the EU’s role-building in the Arctic political framework, notably the Arctic Council. It describes how the EU’s role in the Arctic is seen in strategies and policy papers of Member States, and reports on the EU’s relations with other Arctic actors, particularly indigenous peoples. It gives an overall view of the status of the main EU policies with relevance for the Arctic and identifies the main challenges the EU has to face for progressing to an integrated and coherent Arctic policy.

A report commissioned by the Finnish presidency in the Nordic Council of Ministers, written by Nea Alasaari and Sara Sundell, maps the legislation and national curriculums steering early childhood education and care (ECEC), studies made related to gender equality and ECEC during 2010–2021 and practises and tools to promote gender equality in preschools in the Nordic region.

Det finska ordförandeskapet i Nordiska ministerrådet för jämställdhet och LGBTI (MR-JÄM) önskar sätta fokus på jämställd småbarnspedagogik. Den här rapporten är resultatet av en kartläggning av hurdan kunskap det finns i Norden och de självstyrande områdena om jämställdhet och kön i förskolan. Den beskriver lagstiftningen och styrdokumenten, studier, praktiska exempel från förskolor, organisationer och kommuner och presenterar verktyg som utvecklats för att främja jämställdhet i förskolan i de olika länderna. 

New working time arrangement are becoming still more abundant partly due to globalization (the 24-hours global economy with around-the-clock communication and transport of gods and services) and increasing demands for productivity and quality both in private and public sectors. The new working time arrangements are associated both with company -based flexibility, referring to the needs of employers to modify, extend or reduce work hours according to production needs, and with individual flexibility that provides more influence over own work schedule for the employees but also contains the risk of over-commitment. I all Nordic countries an increasing public debate on stress, mental health problems and conflicts between work and private life have emerged during the last decade. To some extent the public debate seems to be governed more by beliefs than by knowledge and scientific evidence. The knowledge in this field is far from complete, but in some areas research has provided good knowledge, and several ongoing research projects will provide new and important knowledge the coming years. The present report - being the result of a Nordic expert group - provides an excellent review of the current international scientific knowledge with regard to direct social consequences (mental well-being, stress and work-life balance) of long and irregular working hours and employee influence on working hours. Furthermore, the labour market development in the Nordic countries is presented in relation to new working time arrangements. The report provides a well-structured insight in the social consequences of new working time arrangements. I am convinced that decision makers, working environment professionals, and researchers will gain a lot by reading the report.   Monday, 24 September 2007     Otto Melchior Poulsen Research Director National Research Centre for the Working Environment

The Nordic welfare model has received a lot of positive attention around the world.  High standard of living, small income disparities and substantial social mobility looks like a very attractive package. Moreover, sound public finances and strong emphasis on environmental sustainability suggest that today’s success has not been accomplished at the expense of future generations. But is there really a unique “Nordic Supermodel”, unshaken by the global economic crisis and capable of producing continuous high growth and world class welfare services when many developed economies struggle with the impacts of global competition and population ageing? This book shows that Nordic performance has not been quite as unique or uniform as often claimed. The recent global and European crisis and country specific shocks have affected also the Nordic countries, some of them very strongly. And there are as many variants of the Nordic model as there are Nordic countries. Going forward, also the Nordic countries will be challenged by ageing, globalisation and technological change, some more than the others. On the other hand many fundamentals remain strong in the Nordic countries, and, what is perhaps most important, the Nordics have proved themselves capable of adjusting.  Labour market practices, pension policies, and production of public services have been reformed to match new circumstances. Public policies have been aimed at creating new jobs and helping people in transition, not at protecting uncompetitive businesses. There is a strong, rational tradition of consensual policy making. Further reforms are needed, and some widening of income disparities may be inevitable. The message of the book is, however, that refocused and recalibrated in a realistic scale the Nordic model has good chances of thriving well into the future.

Young people follow highly different trajectories from age 16 up to age 20, a time period which is often argued to be the most critical in terms of their future labour market outcomes. The focus of this report is on investigating the look of these early pathways, as well as on exploring their link to labour market outcomes in adulthood. Results are reported and compared for four Nordic countries: Denmark, Finland, Norway and Sweden.

This report provides a framework for circular procurement and discusses its possibilities to promote circular economy. Several best practice examples in Denmark, Finland, Sweden and Norway illustrate how and in which sectors and product groups circular procurement could be applicable. Different approaches to circular procurement and tendering criteria supporting circular aspects are also illustrated.The study was carried out in Nordic co-operation by Finnish Environment Institute, IVL Swedish Environmental Research Institute and Copenhagen Resource Institute. The project was financed by the Nordic Council of Ministers (NCM), administrated by the NCM Sustainable Consumption and Production Working Group and guided by a steering group consisting representatives from Denmark, Finland, Iceland, Norway and Sweden.

In-house control and the documentation of it is the basis for the assurance of compliance with legislation, in the food area and in the area of food contact materials (FCM). Safe use of FCM is a complicated area, in general, and specifically the use of printing inks and the critical points in the printing process. One of the goals for this check list is to contribute to the development of more uniform control and requirements for in-house control. Printing inks used in FCM are regulated by these general requirements and some uses are addressed more specifically , and as there is no specific legislation in the area in EU yet. In-house documentation is based on the assumption, that each link in the supply chain ensures compliance. The check lists set a frame with minimum requirements to all relevant links in the supply chain from producers to food industry and trade. The check lists are guidance to industry and trade in order to ensure compliance with the requirements in the FCM.

Major changes in technology, economic contexts, workforces and the institutions of work have ebbed and flowed since well before the first industrial revolution in the 18th century. However, many argue that the changes we are currently facing are different, and that the rise of digitalized production will entirely transform our ways and views of working. In this collaborative project, funded by the Nordic Council of Ministers, researchers from the five Nordic countries have studied how the ongoing transformations of production and labour markets associated with digitalization, demographic change and new forms of employment will influence the future of work in the Nordic countries. 

This report analyses the impact of renewables, CO2 pricing and energy efficiency improvements on CO2 emissions from stationary energy use in the Nordic countries except Iceland. The analysis shows that CO2 emissions from 1990 to 2005 could have been as much as 30-50% higher without the penetration of renewables in the energy system and the improvement in the energy intensity of GDP. Looking ahead, both the EU ETS and renewables policies may have a significant impact on CO2 emissions. Both measures yield significant CO2 reductions when applied separately, and even in combination for moderate CO2 prices. This is because the measures to some extent apply to different sectors and uses. The effectiveness of energy efficiency improvements is also found to have a significant effect on emissions. Electricity saving measures are found to be more effective in terms of CO2 emission reductions than general heat saving measures.

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).

Projektets formål er at give outdooraktører, turismeorganisationer, myndigheder og nordiske beslutningstagere mere viden om mulighederne for udvikling af bæredygtig outdoorturisme. Projektet har taget udgangspunkt i (outdoor)turismen i Grønland, Island, Færøerne, Åland og Bornholm og har beskrevet virkemidler til at fremme bæredygtighed inden for outdoorturisme - fra Best practices og Standarder til Regulering og Certificering. Analyserne viser, at udfordringer, muligheder og styringsbehov mht. outdoorturisme i de fem områder er forskellige. Projektet anbefaler, at organisationer og myndigheder i de fem områder organiserer egne processer, der klargør, hvordan man skal arbejde med bæredygtighed i forhold til outdoorturisme. Det anbefales også, at Nordisk Ministerråd tager stilling til, om der under det nordiske Svanemærke kan oprettes en ny produktkategori for turismeservices.

This is a guideline for plastic sorting at recycling centres. The aim is to give assistance to the choices made by the management of recycling centres in order to collect plastic of better quality and in greater quantities. In the guideline, the potential plastic categories are listed and described, also with respect to potential content of hazardous substances. Issues to take into account when choosing how to organise the collection of plastic at the recycling centre are described. A separate chapter looks at how the public could be assisted with the sorting of plastics at the recycling centres.

The guideline is part of the Nordic Prime Ministers' overall green growth initiative: “The Nordic Region – leading in green growth” - read more in the web magazine “Green Growth the Nordic Way” at www.nordicway.org or at www.norden.org/greengrowth

This report is a background report for the "Guideline for plastic sorting at recycling centres". The background report describes the methodology used in preparing the guideline, including information from existing systems and the stakeholders that can be used by the recycling centres in their decision process. The report describes the importance of communicating with purchasers about the expected purity and traceability of the plastic further down the value chain.

The report is part of the Nordic Prime Ministers’ initiative: “The Nordic Region – leading in green growth” – read also more in the web magazine “Green Growth the Nordic Way” at www.nordicway.org

Waste electrical and electronic equipment (WEEE) has increased dramatically over recent years within the European Economic Area (EEA). Much of this waste is potentially damaging for humans and the environment if not collected and treated in a sound manner. EU-directive 2002/96, which was to be implemented by all EEA member states by August 13, 2005, places full financial responsibility of the management of WEEE on producers and importers, and aims to protect consumers from the risk that a producer exits on the market without fulfilling these financial obligations. The directive calls for a financial guarantee provided by producers at the time that electrical and electronic products are placed on the market.The Nordic Council of Ministers has asked ECON to develop a method for calculating producer contributions as a financial guarantee that would cover the collection and treatment of WEEE from private households, as provided for in article 8 in the EU directive. This report proposes a model for this purpose.

In some parts of the world mushrooms have had a central role in religious ritual ceremonies. Ethnomycological studies among the Indian tribes of Mexico - the Aztecs and the Chichimecas - revealed the mushrooms to be hallucinogenic. Chemists from a leading Pharmaceutical company took over, isolated and described the mushroom alkaloid psilocybin, that upon dephosphorylation after collection of the mushroom or in the human body, form psilocin that is the active hallucinogenic compound. For a long time psilocybin/psilocin was expected to become a constituent of psychedelic drugs useful for treatment of specific psychoses. As the effect of psilocybin/psilocin resembles that of LSD the isolated compound, as well as mushrooms containing the compound, became popular among recreational users of hallucinogenic drugs in Western America, and from there the habit of using these mushrooms have spread around the world. Psilocybin/psilocin is legally prohibited in many countries which usually treat the compound as a narcotic drug. Some countries also prohibit the use of some or all psilocybin-containing mushrooms. In this respect, the legal situation differs between Nordic countries. Although psilocybin-containing mushrooms are not what Nordic mushroom pickers are trying to find as food or food supplement, there is a risk, admittedly small, that these mushrooms accidentally will be collected. At the present situation, this may be a legal problem in some Nordic countries. This document aims at identifying when this might be the case without going into legal interpretations.

All the Nordic countries have high rates of female employment and are often ranked among the most gender-equal countries in the world. Nevertheless, there exists a gap between women’s and men’s pensions in all these countries. The size of the gender pension gap varies considerably between 28% in Sweden and 5% in Iceland. The report offers knowledge about how pension systems’ design impacts the gender pension gap and provides examples of how the gap can be reduced. Data describing the gender pension gap and the gap in contributions and pension wealth have been collected from state agencies and research institutes in the Nordic countries for 2019. The report is part of a collaboration between the Swedish Women’s Lobby (SWL), the Finnish women´s rights organization NYTKIS and The United Federation of Workers in Denmark 3F and is funded by the Nordic Gender Equality Fund.

The main background for this guideline is the Nordic e-Health Standardization group’s mandate topic which deals with contributing and communicating the initiative of “Reducing clinician burden” (RCB) - initiative. It has become increasingly important to ascertain how one might support healthcare professionals’ daily work and how to facilitate better data quality using e-Health standards. The Nordic work group has formulated some principles and recommendations all stakeholders involved in standardization work should follow. They are intended to apply to improving data quality, to support daily work and to contribute to reducing the overall burden of clinical work to healthcare professionals.

The purpose of this project is to dig deeper into the data material already generated in the Suspect screening in Nordic countries: Point sources in city areas (TemaNord: 2017:561) to further optimize the benefits of the major work that has already been done. Samples (effluent, sediment, and biota) from all of the Nordic countries were carefully selected, sampled and analysed by a consortium of some of the Nordic region’s most experienced scientific groups in analyses of emerging environmental contaminants. But where perhaps the full potential of the generated data is still to be realized. This project will try to further identify and describe the substances already detected, to be able to better understand what substances we in modern Nordic societies release into the sea via our wastewater. 

ÅF Ljud & Vibrationer har på uppdrag av Nordiska ministerrådets BAT-grupp, som är en undergrupp till arbetsgruppen för hållbar konsumtion och produktion, utfört en studie kring bästa tillgängliga teknik, s.k. BAT(Best Available Technique) avseende dämpning av externt industribuller från livsmedelsindustrier och hamnverksamheter. Rapporten är framtagen i syfte att identifiera de tekniker, som ska beaktas när BAT ska bestämmas, för att begränsa bulleralstrande mekanismer och arbetsmoment inom externt industribuller. Tio respektive elva stycken tekniker presenteras och de fokuserar på de ljudalstrande mekanismer som olika maskiner och verksamheter ger upphov till, samt vad som kan göras för att minimera buller till omgivningen, BAT. Resultatet visar att en tillämpning av BAT medför att respektive bullerkällas bullerbidrag till omgivningen kan reduceras avsevärt.

Denna rapport är en uppföljning av rapporten ID‐ og grænsekontroller i Norden. Effekter af ID‐ og grænsekontroller i et nordisk perspektiv som offentliggjordes den 4 juli 2016. Rapporten visar hur situationen har utvecklats under sommaren och hösten 2016 när det gäller de effekter kontrollerna har på mobiliteten, resenärer och ekonomin i de nordiska gränsregionerna. Rapporten fokuserar särskilt på situationen i Öresundsregionen där kontrollerna fortfarande har avsevärda negativa effekter för de resande. Detta gäller i synnerhet för de som arbetspendlar med tåg mellan Sverige och Danmark. Rapporten visar att antalet arbetstillfällen i Danmark som är tillgängliga för arbetspendling från Sverige med kollektivtrafik har reducerats avsevärt och undersökningar bland arbetstagare och arbetsgivare i regionen indikerar att arbetspendlingen kan komma att minska på längre sikt till följd av kontrollerna. Rapporten har utarbetats av Öresundsinstittutet på uppdrag av Nordiska ministerrådet.

Denna rapport beskriver effekterna av de tillfälliga gränskontroller och ID-kontroller som förekommer i Norden sedan drygt ett halvår tillbaka. Rapporten fokuserar på de effekter kontrollerna har på mobiliteten, resenärer och ekonomin i de nordiska gränsregionerna. Rapporten ger en översikt över de åtgärder som respektive land har vidtagit för att genomföra dessa kontroller och den innehåller också en närmare analys av situationen i ett antal utvalda gränsområden i Norden. Analysen visar att kontrollerna generellt fungerar relativt smidigt och att de inte stör trafiken med undantag för tågtrafiken över Öresundsbron där både tillgängligheten och restiden har försämrats väsentligt. Det är också i Öresundsområdet som tranportörernas kostnader för ID-kontrollerna är som störst. Rapporten har utarbetats av Öresundsinstittutet på uppdrag av Nordiska ministerrådet. 

This study looks into the issue: How the Nordic Research and Innovation Area (NORIA) could be strengthen in synergy with the European Research Area (ERA) and how NORIA could be used as a platform for wider European and international cooperation, in particular in relations to activities supported by the EU's Framework Programme for research (FP7). The study also elaborates on how NORIA could contribute to the implementation of the ERA. The study concludes:

• National and EU programmes become more and more integrated, thus ERA should have increased priority both on National and on Nordic level.
• A more strategic pro-active approach is needed in order to have a longer term impact on ERA policy and content
• Member States have to cooperate in "variable geometry" to have impact.
• Nordic cooperation could be used as a platform, if used selectively in areas of common interest.
• Nordic organisations should have a strong role as facilitator, catalysts and coordinator complementing agencies/councils on National level.
• The Nordic Top-level research initiative should be utilised to the maximum on EU-level.
• Lessons from the Nordic cooperation should be shared within ERA.
• The study gives 17 concrete proposals building on the existing structure on National and Nordic level.

The overall aim of DEFINE is to provide a methodology to define reference conditions for nutrient concentrations in the coastal zone of the Baltic Sea. This will aid the national authorities that surround the Baltic basin in implementing the EU's Water Framework Directive (WFD) by providing decision-makers with a methodology to assess reference conditions and the degree of past and present departure from this state, such that appropriate policy and management measures can be taken at national and European levels. DEFINE adopts a palaeoecological approach grounded on diatom-based transfer functions, which can then be applied to define background total nitrogen (TN) concentrations in estuaries and coastal areas over the entire Baltic Sea. All transfer functions and necessary supporting documentation will be publicly available as a coherent management tool and accessible via the MOLTEN/DEFINE web page (http://craticula.ncl.ac.uk/Molten/jsp/).

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.

As part of the stimulation and development of co-operation in the IT field, MR-U set up a group of eminent external experts to advise the Nordic Council of Ministers on IT issues. The group devised four future scenarios based on forces for change in the world a large. The scenarios are presented in this report, along with analyses and recommendations. The scenario method is a tried and tested tool in both public policy and in strategic business contexts. It is well suited to making forward-looking strategic observations in a changing world. Globalisation, climate change, the financial crisis, servicification and other external factors influence the nature of Nordic co-operation and help our countries to continue to develop as prosperous, knowledgeable and innovative societies in the face of fierce competition and specific framework conditions. The report focuses on identifying priorities that will underpin the development of ICT-based services. The report can be used as an inventory of potential areas, to identify and develop candidates for Nordic co-operation and, above all else, to stimulate discussion on potential areas for Nordic IT co-operation.

Som ett led i stimulering och utveckling av samarbete på IT-området har MR-U beslutat att etablera en grupp bestående av framstående externa experter som kan rådge Nordisk Ministerråd på IT-området. Expertgruppen har tagit fram fyra framtidsscenarier vilka är baserade i omvärldens förändringskrafter. Framtidsscenarierna är presenterade i denna rapport med analys och rekommendationer. Scenariemetodik är ett prövat verktyg såväl inom offentlig policy som i företagsstrategiska sammanhang. Metodiken är väl lämpad för framåtriktade strategiska betraktningar i en värld i förändring. Globalisering, klimatförändring, finanskrisen, tjänstefiering och andra drivkrafter från den yttre världen påverkar i stor omfattning hur det nordiska samarbetet kan gestaltas så att det bidrar till att våra samhällen fortsatt kan utvecklas som välmående, kunniga och innovativa i en verklighet präglad av hårdnande konkurrens och ramvillkor. Rapporten fokuserar på att identifiera satsningar med vilka man kan stödja en utveckling av IKT-stödda tjänster. Rapporten kan användas som en inventering av potentiella områden, till att identifiera och vidareutveckla kandidater till nordiskt samarbete och framförallt till att stimulera en diskussion om möjliga områden för nordiskt IT-samarbete.

Dette er den islandske delrapporten fra en nordisk studie om bruken av undervisning i relasjon til integrering på arbeidsmarkedet. Raporten er resultat av et initiativ fra Nordisk ministerråd høsten 2008. Innvandringens historie på Island er annerledes enn i de andre nordiske land. Innvandringen dreier seg hovedsakelig omarbeidsinnvandring og i året 2009 var over 95% av alle innvandrere aktive på arbeidsmarkedet.  Integreringspolitikken på Island har derfor i mindre grad enn de øvrige nordiske land  konsentrert seg om å aktivisere innvandrere på arbeidsmarkedet men mere på undervisning i islandsk for utlendinger. Denne undervisningen foregikk  inntil 2009 hovedsakelig på kveldstid parallelt med beskjeftigelse på arbeidsmarkedet. Det er ingen plikt å lære islandsk men for å få ubegrenset arbeidstillatelse er det en plikt å ha gjennomgått 150 timer i islandsk som andrespråk. De som vil søke statsborgerskap må gjennomføre en test. Anbefalingene fra den nordiske studien er blant annet at: -  Det på nordisk plan arbeides videre med mer systematiske vurderinger av sammenhengen mellom effekt og ressurser.-  Det blir arbeidet med differensierte undervisningstilbud for voksne innvandrere i forhold til kompetanse, mål og behov.-  Det blir arbeidet ytterligere med å skape klare sammenhenger mellom utdanning og utdanningens mål med hensyn til videre utdanning eller på arbeid.-  Det blir fokusert på anvendelsen av IT og online-undervisning med henblikk på å öke tilgjengeligheten.-  Det blir arbeidet  mer systematisk med validering av innvandreres realkompetanse..

Research and innovation are the primary corner stones in efforts to strengthen economic competitiveness in an ever more globalised economy. This study states that the small Nordic nations face fierce challenges within research and innovation, and recommends that Nordic research cooperation be strengthened. The study points out that NORIA (Nordic Research and Innovation Area) could be strengthened at little cost by selective mutual opening of national R&D programs. Finally it is analysed what could happen to Nordic states' interests under a number of different circumstances, specifically a strong/weak ERA (European Research Area) in combination with a strong/weak NORIA. The study concludes that a strong implementation of NORIA would in all cases produce the best position for Nordic actors. The study is compiled for the Nordic Council of Ministers by Technopolis, which has been aided by a reference group with representatives from the Nordic Research Board (NordForsk), Nordic Innovation Centre, Nordic Energy Research and the Nordic Council of Ministers. This study is part of a series of four studies, bearing the common title "The Nordic Region as a Winner in the Global Innovation Economy", singling out policy areas, which are relevant for the Nordic countries in the light of globalisation and increased pressures on national economic competitiveness.

Northern fulmars are seabirds which feed exclusively at sea, and as such, they are useful indicators of ocean health. Marine plastic pollution is an ever-increasing and global issue that affects the northern fulmar as they are frequently found to have ingested plastic. In this report we investigate whether the amount of ingested plastic affects the concentration of certain plastic-adsorbed toxicants in their tissues. Marine plastic pollution is a field of utmost importance. It is our hope that this continues to be an area which receives increased attention in order to elucidate the potential harmful effects plastics have on the northern fulmar and ocean health, in general.

Northern fulmars are pelagic seabirds known to ingest plastic, but so far most of the knowledge is on the physical characteristics of the plastic. However, plastic is a catch-all for many different types of polymers and we wanted to investigate what kinds of polymers the northern fulmars are ingesting. We did this by Fourier-transform infrared spectroscopy and found that both northern fulmars from the Faroe Islands and north-east Greenland had ingested mostly plastic made of polyethylene, followed by polypropylene and polystyrene. There were differences in the physical type of plastic ingested; fulmars from the Faroe Islands had ingested significantly more pellets compared to fulmars from NE Greenland. Thus, the physical, not polymer, composition of plastics appears to be most relevant in assessing regional differences of ingested plastic by fulmars.

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.