Environmental and climate change

The way we humans affect the global climate is mostly bad news, according to the Intergovernmental Panel on Climate Change: The oceans are getting warmer and more acidic, and the sea level continues to rise. The ice cover is steadily shrinking, and in the Arctic the warming is two to three times faster than the average global warming. Extreme weather events occur more frequently and more severely, and we are likely to experience several coinciding extreme events. Like heat waves and droughts happening at the same time, or storm surges and heavy rainfall causing flooding. 

If we are to limit these changes and prevent global warming from exceeding 1.5–2 degrees, we must not only reduce to net zero CO2 emissions. Emissions must be negative. Net zero emissions mean that we remove at least as much CO2 as we emit, while negative emissions mean that we remove more than we emit. To achieve this, we must both have an overview of where emissions occur and put in place technology to capture and store CO2. 

No matter how hard we work to slow climate change, it will affect us. Therefore, we must also develop knowledge and solutions to adapt to an ever-changing world. 

This is how NIVA contributes 

NIVA monitors the condition and changes in the aquatic environment. This work extends over a long period of time because we need long time series of data to document the effect of climate change on physical, chemical and biological conditions in water. 

We are responsible for a number of large national monitoring programmes and several smaller, local programmes. We continuously develop the monitoring methods we use. 

Here is what we do in the area of environmental and climate change: 

• Assess the impacts of climate change and recommends measures 

• Monitor changes in the aquatic environment due to climate variability and change 

• Carry out experiments in ecosystems to obtain more knowledge about the climate effects of increased CO2, increased temperature, changes in precipitation and extreme weather 

• Simulate future climate effects using models 

• Develop new technology to monitor the consequences of increased CO2 in the oceans 

Why does NIVA work with environmental and climate change? 

Ever since NIVA was established in 1958, we have worked to develop a knowledge base to solve environmental challenges. Today's environmental challenges are often complex and solutions more complex than before, and changes in climate and nature are closely linked. 

We aim to strengthen the knowledge base that society and business need to understand the effects of climate change on nature and society, and to find good measures. 

Contact us if you would like to hear more about our efforts in this field.