Photo: vvvita
Norway’s carbon uptake under climate change
Norwegian forests and land areas absorb large amounts of carbon dioxide every year, but this carbon uptake has unexpectedly declined about 40% in the last decade. This jeopardises climate targets and means more carbon dioxide stays in the atmosphere, leading to additional global warming. Norway is not alone, with many European countries seeing the same trends.
About
14.05.2025, 06:30 - 14.05.2025, 08:00
Kulturhuset in Oslo, Youngs gate 6, meeting room Boksen and online
Cicero
There are several factors at play, such as aging forests and increased harvest, but there is growing evidence that climate change is starting to impact forests. Many countries are losing forests from severe drought and bark beetle attacks. Norway is one of them.
Most of the carbon stock sits in soils, and it is uncertain if that will be released in a warmer climate or if it will be lost to rivers and lakes as land cover changes. Norway has a long coast and is responsible for large areas of oceans. The coastal and ocean zone is currently not considerd in Norway’s carbon accounting.
How is carbon uptake changing in Norway and how may it be effected by climate change?
NorSink, a new CICERO led project, will in the coming years provide the most comprehensive assessment of Norway's carbon budget to date, both to understand drivers of recent change and to model the potential future impact of climate change.
At this event, leading scientists will provide insights on the challenges and how the project will aim to fill the knowledge gaps.
The event will be held in English.
Programme:
- Welcome by Kårstein Måseide, CICERO
- From global to regional to national carbon budgets (Glen Peters, CICERO)
- Carbon uptake in Norway, current trends and future prognoses (Christian Mohr, NIBIO)
- Are drought and bark beetles an increasing threat to carbon uptake in Norwegian forests? (Ryan Bright, NIBIO)
- How can we better monitor carbon fluxes in real time (Norbert Pirk, UiO)
- How can we model soil carbon in a warmer climate? (Terje Berntsen, UiO)
- Will more carbon be lost from rivers and lakes? (Heleen de Wit, NIVA)
- Can carbon uptake in the ocean play a role? (Helene Muri, NILU)
- The use of models to better understand the future (Rosie Fisher, CICERO)
- Questions and discussion
The event will be moderated by Kjetil S. Aas, CICERO