Global Carbon Project

The growing realisation that anthropogenic climate change is a reality has focused the attention of the scientific community, policymakers and the general public on the rising concentration of greenhouse gases, especially carbon dioxide in the atmosphere, and on the carbon cycle in general. Initial attempts through the United Nations Framework Convention on Climate Change and its Kyoto Protocol are underway to slow the rate of increase of greenhouse gases in the atmosphere. These societal actions require a scientific understanding of the carbon cycle, and are placing increasing demands on the international science community to establish a common, mutually agreed knowledge base that supports policy debate and action.

A key contribution of the GCP is the annual publication of the Global Carbon Budget, and more recently, the Carbon Atlas. The Budget has become recognised and respected, providing credible scientific information to researchers, policymakers and civil society.

As expectations rise, more support is needed to continue the GCP’s activities, particularly in light of potential changes with the transition to Future Earth. From 2012 to 2017, CICERO is represented on the Scientific Steering Committee (SSC) of the GCP, and so far has played a key role in annual updates of the Budget. The objective of this project is to solidify CICERO’s key role in updating, communicating, and disseminating the Global Carbon Budget and the Carbon Atlas, and to strengthen international networking within this area. This will ensure that Norway occupies a crucial position in the global change community.

International project partners include the International Institute for Applied Systems Analysis, Stanford University, the Oceans and Atmosphere Flagship (CSIRO), the University of Versailles, the Mercator Research Institute on Global Commons and Climate Change, the Met Office Hadley Centre, the PBL Netherlands Environmental Assessment Agency, Fudan University, the National Institute for Environmental Studies, Centre d’Etudes de Orme des Merisiers, the University of East Anglia, and the University of Exeter.

The project is ongoing, and CICERO is currently receiving funding from the Research Council of Norway through 2015.