NorACIA - the Norwegian follow-up to the Arctic Climate Impact Assessment | Umweltbundesamt

The Norwegian Meteorological Institute and the Institute for Maritime Research are responsible for developing NorACIA scenarios based on the regional (RegKlim) or IPCC 4AR scenarios.

Sectors and fields of action: Topic 4 in NorACIA deals with climate change in the context of population and society and has specified that the following economic sectors are particularly sensitive or vulnerable to climate change and therefore require a more detailed study:

• Fishing
• Tourism
• Energy generation
• Agriculture and reindeer breeding
• Infrastructure

Each of these sectors depends either directly or indirectly on natural resources and therefore all may be sensitive to climate changes that affect the corresponding resource. Communities and regions that are heavily dependent on these sectors in terms of income and employment are more exposed to the effects of climate change than communities and regions that are less reliant on natural resources.

Two potential indicators of urban vulnerability to climate change have been analysed and show how the same indicator provides different answers at different stages of the analysis, and that different indicators lead to different answers to the same questions. If we take account of the limitations of a top-down vulnerability assessment in accurately identifying local vulnerability and adaptation factors, there is a clear need in this area to intensity efforts to involve community representatives and decision makers in the vulnerability and adaptation research process. This will ensure that the issues analysed are useful for the community members and guarantee that the research is relevant and applicable for decision makers.

A major objective of the second phase of the NorACIA project is to document the characteristics and extent of vulnerability and adaptation requirements in Northern Norway.

There is a need to actively involve the local population and stakeholders in the vulnerability and adaptation assessments. Local vulnerability and adaptation indicators and factors will be identified and documented in conjunction with local stakeholders to improve the analysis and its applicability in the local decision making process.