US Secretary of State Hillary Clinton visited Norway in 2012. In this photo: CICERO Director Cecilie Mauritzen, Hillary Clinton, Director Helge Lund, Statoil, Lead Country Manager Meg O'Neill, ExxonMobil Norway and Foreign Minister Jonas Gahr Støre (Photo:
Ministry of Foreign Affairs)
Emissions of CO2 and other greenhouse gases are contributing to climate change.
Research shows that the average
temperature can increase between 1.1 and 6.4 ºC over the
next hundred years if we do not reduce our emissions. One
consequence of this warming is that the weather is likely to
become more extreme.
The consequences could be serious: hurricanes, heat waves, floods,
avalanches, drought, heavier snowfall, and sea level rise can cost lives and
damage ecosystems, human health, man-made assets and production systems –
threatening human welfare and security.
As a major exporter of fossil fuels, Norway bears a special responsibility in
the international cooperation on climate and the environment.
Who are we?
The Norwegian government established CICERO (the Center
for International Climate and Environmental Research –
Oslo) by royal decree in 1990. CICERO is an independent
research center associated with the University of Oslo.
CICERO conducts research on and provides information and expert advice about
national and international issues related to climate change and climate policy.
CICERO's mission
CICERO’s mission is to conduct research and provide
reports, information and expert advice about issues related
to global climate change and international climate policy
with the aim of acquiring knowledge that can help mitigate
the climate problem and enhance international climate
cooperation.
Research
The climate issue is extensive. We need to learn more
about how to curb man-made climate change and adapt to the
impacts. In order to effectively reduce man-made climate
change we need to understand how climate policies can be
made deeper with respect to emissions cuts, broader with
respect to participation, and longer with a view to the
future?
Cooperation must take place across scientific disciplines and national
borders. CICERO conducts interdisciplinary research on a wide range of
relevant questions.
The climate problem is complex. CICERO has a national
mandate to make information about climate research and
climate policy accessible to various target groups:
students, teachers, politicians, government, industry and
business, media and the general public. Our most important
information channels are our website and our
popular-scientific climate magazine
Klima. The magazine is published six times a year and is
distributed free of charge to subscribers.
CICERO also offers free subscriptions to
Klimanytt – a press clip service that sends an overview of national and
international climate news to subscribers by e-mail. And our
Climate Forum creates a meeting place where researchers and representatives
from government and business and industry can exchange information and
viewpoints.
The mass media is a prioritized target group. CICERO’s researchers
participate actively in the climate debate through feature articles, opinion
pieces, interviews, and expert commentary.
Cooperation
CICERO participates in a broad network of research
communities both nationally and internationally. Several of
our researchers also hold positions at the University of
Oslo, and CICERO houses several PhD students.
CICERO is located in the Oslo
Centre for Interdisciplinary Environmental and Social Research (CIENS). We
cooperate actively with many of the other CIENS institutes. We also work closely
with other Norwegian research institutes in the fields of political science and
economics.
CICERO cooperates with a number of research communities throughout Europe and
North America. We have also established an active network in several developing
countries, including China and India.
CICERO participates actively in the assessment work of the
IPCC (Intergovernmental Panel on Climate Change). We are also represented in
several boards of directors and commissions, as well as in international and
national committees. CICERO contributes regularly to governmental reports and
hearings.
Who uses CICERO’s services?
CICERO is primarily a research
institute and carries out projects funded by, for example,
the Research Council of Norway and the EU Framework
Programs. CICERO also undertakes consultancy work, in both
its research and its information capacity, for government
ministries and agencies, business, and national and
international organizations such as the World Bank.
Our staff
CICERO has a staff of nearly 80 in total. The
researchers
at CICERO represents a wide range of disciplines
including anthropology, atmospheric chemistry,
meteorology, geophysics, human geography, sociology,
biology, chemistry, political science, and economics.
About two-thirds of our research staff hold a doctorate,
and half are women. CICERO has a small
administrative staff, and a separate
information
department.