Project

AETHER is a collaborative European research and innovation project funded by the European Space Agency (ESA) under the EXPRO+ programme, in response to the ITT: “Opening the Black Box: Self-Explainable AI for Earth Observation“.

The AETHER project is rooted in ESA’s FutureEO programme and Φ-lab strategy, which aim to push the frontiers of AI for Earth Observation.

Building on decades of EO data, scientific excellence, and open innovation principles, AETHER aligns with European efforts to ensure trustworthy, transparent, and inclusive AI systems for sustainable development and climate action.

Project

Pesticides

Pesticides (plant protection products) are used to control damage to agricultural and forestry crops caused by fungi, pests and weeds.

Since the 1960s, concerns have been raised about the harmful effects that pesticides may have on the environment and human health, and the formerly used organochlorine pesticides (DDT, HCH og HCB) were therefore banned. As a consequence, more biodegradable replacement substances, so called CUPs (Currently Used Pesticides), have been developed.

Pesticides can be transported away from the areas where they are used, and it is known that pesticides are found in groundwater, surface water and soil. Pesticide content is also monitored in fruit and vegetables in Norway. However, little knowledge exists regarding exposure to people who are in and near areas treated with pesticides.

The project

This project will respond to knowledge gaps and areas of focus that are consistent with the current Action Plan for the Sustainable Use of Pesticides.

The purpose is to increase knowledge about the level of exposure for those who handle plant protection products and people who are in the vicinity of areas sprayed with pesticides. The focus is on the crop categories grain, potato and fruit.

Furthermore, the project aims to examine the conditions and capacities users have to reduce exposure that may be harmful to the health.

The project is led by Norwegian Institute of Bioeconomy Research (NIBIO), and in collaboration with The National Institute of Occupational Health (STAMI), RURALIS Institute for Rural and Regional Research, and NILU, both air and surface samples will be taken, and exposure among farmers and other users of will be recorded. The study areas selected include a fruit-growing area in Ullensvang, a grain area in Romerike and a potato growing area along the Glomma in Grue municipality.

NILU 

NILU, headed by Helene Lunder Halvorsen, is responsible for sampling air and surfaces.

The level of pesticides in the air will be examined in areas where the general public can typically be exposed, such as schools, kindergartens and sports fields. During the growing season (April-September) in 2025 and 2026, monthly air samples (1 week) will be taken with an active air sampler (Kleinfiltergerät, see picture), using a pump to collect aerosols (particles) on a filter and gaseous substances in an adsorbent of porous polymer material (XAD). Additionally, air samples will be taken with passive samplers in 2026 to assess spatial variation in the exposed areas.

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For method testing, two types of samplers (PUF and XAD) will be used. The PUF sampler (see picture) hangs out for 3 months during the period, while the XAD sampler hangs out for the entire growing season.

Furthermore, the deposition of pesticides on surfaces in the various areas will be investigated in 2026. This is done by taking regular wipe samples of surfaces (e.g. windows, playground equipment and benches) in selected areas throughout the season. In addition, an attempt is made to investigate the deposition with alternative sampling methods, including cotton/fishing line attached to an approx. 1 x 2 m frame (NIBIO, see picture) or overhead foil that is attached to e.g. fences (NIBIO, see picture).

All samples are extracted (NILU/NIBIO) before chemical analysis of modern pesticides on GC- and LC-MS/MS using multi-methods (NIBIO).

Furthermore, NILU v/Elise Rundén-Pran will calculate an actual exposure concentration based on the active air samplers, which will be compared against available toxicity endpoints in order to assess whether the findings pose any direct health risk to users and/or the general public.

STAMI and Ruralis

STAMI will focus on human exposure to pesticides with an emphasis on farmers, using personal samplers (aerosol fraction) and silicone wristbands, while Ruralis will conduct interviews with farmers in various locations in Norway to gain knowledge about farmers' attitudes and access to suitable technical solutions and protective equipment that can prevent exposure that is harmful to health.

Expected results

The project will provide an indication of the actual spread and exposure to plant protection products in agricultural areas, both for the general public and for users of such products.

While the project is not representative of Norwegian agriculture as a whole, it should be regarded as a large pilot project in which different methodologies are tested in areas considered to represent “worst case” exposure scenarios.

Project

Surface coatings are essential for protecting materials in demanding and harsh environments. However, many of them are fossil-based, which contributes considerably to energy consumption and climate change through GHG emissions.

The EU-funded BLUECOAT project aims to develop 12 bio-based, low-carbon coating formulations specifically designed for the marine, textile and construction industry. They are using materials such as biopolymers, natural fibres and plant proteins.

The goal is to reduce greenhouse gas emissions by 45 % while cutting down on harmful volatile organic compounds.

The project’s coatings will deliver antifouling and anti-corrosion for ship hulls, antimicrobial durability for outdoor garments and flame-retardant, antifungal properties for insulation boards.

BLUECOAT pioneers safe and sustainable by design criteria, and explores recyclability and biodegradability, providing viable and eco-friendly solutions for the future.

https://doi.org/10.3030/101213072

Project

The unique properties of nanomaterials (NMs), relative to their bulk form, has seen them used in a rapidly increasing number of commercial applications. However, with these useful new properties of NMs come potential health and environmental hazards. Thus, as part of a responsible innovation approach, NMs potential risks must be assessed in parallel to exploitation of their benefits.

Due to their enormous variability, NM risk assessment urgently needs advanced in silico methodologies capable of machine learning from limited experimental datasets. These in silico tools for NMs characterisation, exposure, hazard and risk assessment and sustainability and life cycle assessment, need to support implementation of existing regulatory guidelines and extend regulatory risk assessment to integrate the extensive new knowledge generated computationally.

CompSafeNano’s overarching objective is thus to drive the development of integrated and universally applicable nanoinformatics models, with broad domains of applicability across NMs compositions and forms, that are directly usable by industry, especially SMEs, and regulators for NMs risk assessment and decision making.

CompSafeNano will establish an extended safe-by-design paradigm that includes environmental sustainability (life cycle assessment) based on in silico predictions with experimental testing to validate the results.

CompSafeNano has a clear set of objectives to deliver this vision of an in silico safe-by-design computational platform and will be in close communication with other EU projects to access existing data on NM hazard and integrate existing nanoinformatics and NMs risk governance platforms (i.e. within NanoCommons, NanoSolveIT & RiskGONE).

Training activities will benefit both ESRs and ERs from participating organizations, with a strong focus on inter-sectoral exchange (SME-academia) and international collaboration, filling the well-recognised current skills gap in nanoinformatics and big data analytics.

Project

The purpose of the MAHAT project is to investigate the extent to which plastic recycling poses a health risk to workers at recycling facilities and to residents in surrounding areas in Chennai, India.

This is a rapidly growing industry that employs several hundred thousand people in India and exposes millions of residents in densely populated urban areas to potential air and water pollution.

The project will map the health impacts of plastic recycling by analyzing toxic chemicals released during recycling processes and by examining social conditions that amplify health risks for vulnerable groups.

We will focus on working and living conditions, exposure to harmful substances, self-reported health issues related to working in or living near plastic recycling facilities, access to personal protective equipment and healthcare services, as well as the broader social and structural factors that contribute to health inequalities and vulnerability.

Project

The European Topic Centre on Data Integration and Digitalisation (ETC DI) multiannual objective is to contribute to the activities of the European Environment Agency’s (EEA)  by supporting the digitalisation process of EEA including the harmonisation and enhancement of data reporting and management flows, and increasing relevant capacities across EIONET, the European Environment Information and Observation Network, from 2022 to 2026.

The ETC/DI mainly supports the EEA/Eionet Strategic Objective 4: Making full use of the potential of data, technology and digitalisation and is collaborating with EEA colleagues and the related ETCs from following EEA areas of work:

• Biodiversity and ecosystems
• Climate change mitigation and adaptation
• Human health and environment
• Sustainability trends, prospects and responses

The ETC DI Consortium is led by Umweltbundesamt - Environment Agency Austria and comprises 10 partners based in various EU countries.

Project

Primary objective

Use a nationally coordinated Earth system approach to understand, quantify and reduce uncertainty in projected northern latitude climate change and in particular Arctic warming.

Secondary objectives

Significantly advance the understanding of Earth system forcings, feedbacks, circulation and hydrological cycle in a warming Arctic and North Atlantic region through advanced data and model analysis.

Enhance the Norwegian Earth system modelling capability to address future scenarios of climate change through activating additional climate system components, improving the representation of key processes and increasing model resolution.

Quantify with improved modelling capability and systematic model experiments the likelihood of major or irreversible climate change in northern latitudes.

NILU's task in the project is the use of re-analysis and NorESM data to analyze heat and moisture transport into the Arctic, as well as understanding the role of ARs.

Project

Integrated Carbon Observation System (ICOS) is a European research infrastructure forming an observation system that measure and assess atmospheric greenhouse gas concentrations ensuring independent and reliable carbon measurements. Through observations, ICOS provides knowledge on how societies have succeeded in reducing their greenhouse gas emissions and how emissions are regionally distributed.

ICOS-Norway is the Norwegian component of ICOS. It delivers standardized and high-quality carbon data from different sites and platforms, including towers for air measurements in southern Norway and at Svalbard, a forest station in south-eastern Norway, and the use of ine research ship and two commercial ships in the North Atlantic, the Nordic Seas, and areas around Svalbard.

This observation system will be an important tool to verify Norway and EU's efforts to mitigate climate change.

Data from the various platforms are integrated and made available to carbon system scientists and various interested parties such as research communities, national agencies, oil and energy companies, and fisheries.

The Ocean Thematic Centre (OTC) is one of four central facilities within ICOS. OTC currently coordinates twenty-nine ocean stations from eight countries monitoring carbon uptake and fluxes in the North Atlantic, Nordic Seas, Baltic, and the Mediterranean Sea.

Project

Project

The Global Stocktake, and the success of the Paris Agreement, hinges on the information nations provide about their emissions through National Greenhouse Gas Inventories (NGHGIs).

Current methodologies laid-out by the IPCC for reporting emissions are generally built around the use of statistical data and emission factors. Although they are designed to be transparent, they can have significant uncertainties owing to incomplete or inaccurate information.

The 2019 refinement of the IPCC Guidelines highlights the need for independent verification of NGHGIs especially using atmospheric observations. However, the technical complexity and the hitherto limited resolving power of atmospheric constraints makes it challenging for NGHGI compilers to adopt this type of verification.

EYE-CLIMA will address this need for independent verification by developing observation-based methods (using both satellite remote sensing and ground-based observations) to a level of readiness where they can be used to determine emissions at national and sub-national scales and for verification of NGHGIs.

The methodology involves using process-based and data-driven models to simulate GHG fluxes, first without atmospheric observations, then these fluxes are then combined with models of atmospheric transport and chemistry to assimilate atmospheric observations, which are used to correct the first flux estimates.

Through engagement with stakeholders, i.e., NGHGI compilers, EYE-CLIMA, will develop flux data products for CO2 (LULUCF sector), CH4, N2O, and emissions data of F-gases (SF6, HFC-23, HFC-143a, HFC-125, HFC-134a, HFC-32) and black carbon (BC), which will be tailored to their needs. The fluxes will be attributed to natural versus anthropogenic sources, and for the latter, to source sectors that can be compared with groups of IPCC sectors in NGHGIs. The methodology for the atmospheric inversions and how to use these for verification of NGHGIs will be described in best practice guidelines.

Project

GreenEO is a Horizon Europe project that uses satellite data, environmental modelling, and artificial intelligence to support sustainable land-use practices across Europe.

As environmental pressures intensify, such as urban expansion, pollution, biodiversity loss, and climate-related risks, GreenEO aims to deliver actionable information for policymakers, land managers, and communities.

By integrating next-gen satellite data from EUMETSAT, digital technologies, atmospheric inverse models, and machine learning, GreenEO will provide decision-makers with advanced tools for land use, pollution tracking, and protect biodiversity.

The project’s mission is to:

• provide improved satellite-based environmental information to support sustainable nature protection practices
• focus on four land-use areas: cities, agricultural areas, forests and ecosystems
• facilitate the creation of practical applications such as high-resolution air quality maps, emissions tracking applications, forest fire services, and tools to monitor the health of ecosystems

[caption id="attachment_59467" align="alignnone" width="587"] See more on the projects' official web page[/caption]

[caption id="attachment_59460" align="alignnone" width="548"] See more on the projects' official web page[/caption]

Collaborators shown in map

Project

The Copernicus Atmosphere Monitoring Service (CAMS) is funded by the European Union and administered by European Centre for Medium-Range Weather Forecasts (ECMWF).

CAMS is a dedicated service within the Copernicus programme for providing services and data products to help understand European air quality and global atmospheric composition.

The CAMS2_64_bis project will support ECMWF to ensure the successful operation of the Global Fire Assimilation System (GFAS) and develop upgrades for improved accuracy up to 2028.

It will also provide daily input FRP products from the GOES and Himawari satellites and develop GFAS onwards to make best use of the fire radiative power (FRP) products from the latest polar orbiting satellites and the most relevant geostationary satellites for Europe.

The project will deliver four types of services:

1. NRT provision of level-2 FRP products from three geostationary satellites on an FTP server
2. Implementation of new GFAS developments and auxiliary data in the processing chain and git repository at ECMWF
3. Flexible on-demand support to ECMWF
4. Compilation of a report with plans for possible and recommended GFAS developments

Project

(The project is also known by: The Arctic Peat- And Forest-fire Information System (APFF))

Climate change, with Arctic temperatures rising at roughly twice the global rate (Arctic amplification), is expected to increase the frequency of wildfires. This heightens public concern about climate-related impacts such as poorer air quality in nearby cities, light-absorbing emissions that accelerate ice melt, and disturbances to Earth’s radiative balance.

Fires in northern high latitudes release substantial amounts of CO₂, CH₄, NO₂, black carbon (BC) and organic carbon (OC), and these emissions are often transported into Arctic regions. In northern areas, melting permafrost can expose peat—partly decomposed vegetation that has accumulated in wetlands over centuries. Peat stores carbon on a scale comparable to the current atmospheric carbon pool. When peatlands dry, they become vulnerable to fires that burn deep into the peat layers. Such peat fires can smoulder for months at relatively low temperatures, producing whitish, organic-carbon-rich haze in the lowest atmosphere. In contrast, flaming wildfires generate grey to black plumes with high soot content.

SPARKS (Sentinel and Copernicus powered Arctic Wildfire Knowledge System) is a new wildfire information service for the Arctic and northern latitudes. It utilizes Sentinel satellite data, Copernicus services, and FLEXPART model output to provide valuable information for climate-aware citizens, researchers, and environmental entities. Maps showing regions with active fires and burned areas will also distinguish between peat fires and forest fires. For large fires, the maps will also display areas affected by atmospheric transport of aerosols and gases.

SPARKS is funded by the European Commission Caroline Herschel Framework Partnership Agreement on Copernicus User Uptake (FPCUP, FPA no.: 275/G/GRO/COPE/17/10042). The project is a collaboration between the Norwegian Space Agency (NOSA), the Tartu Observatory (TO), and NILU.

• https://www.copernicus-user-uptake.eu/
• https://www1.fpcup.eu/user-uptake/action-details/arctic-peat-and-forest-fire-information-system-503

Project

Revolutionizing Urban Sustainability with NatureScape
Led by NILU, NatureScape includes Eastern Switzerland University of Applied Sciences, University College Dublin, Uniwersytet Przyrodniczy w Lublinie, Lisboa E-Nova, Nodibinajums Baltic Studies Centre, and Politecnico di Milano as partners. This project integrates Nature-Based Solutions (NBS) across seven cities: Oslo, Lublin, Dublin, Lisbon, Milan, Riga, and St. Gallen, turning urban areas into thriving ecosystems.

Why NatureScape?
Cities face challenges like pollution, climate change, and biodiversity loss. NatureScape tackles these by focusing on sustainable maintenance and governance of urban green spaces post-implementation, ensuring that NBS thrive and benefit both communities and ecosystems.
How Does NatureScape Work?

At its core are Transformation Labs (T-Labs), which do more than beautify, they revolutionize urban-nature interactions through scientific research, community involvement, and innovative governance. These T-Labs enhance urban resilience, biodiversity, and resident well-being. Communities use digital tools and citizen science within T-Labs to actively maintain and monitor NBS, fostering a deep connection between people and their environment.

What Makes NatureScape Unique?
NatureScape employs a dynamic, non-linear approach to urban transformation, blending local insights with expert knowledge through modern digital and participatory methods. This ensures NBS become integral, cherished parts of the urban landscape.

The Bigger Picture
By establishing NBS T-Labs in varied climates, from Northern Europe's humidity to the Mediterranean's dryness, NatureScape develops a flexible model for urban sustainability.

Join the Green Revolution
NatureScape is a movement towards cities that are not merely inhabited but truly alive. As we navigate environmental challenges, NatureScape offers a sustainable way forward, demonstrating the transformative power of integrating nature into urban life.

Project

NILU and Ricardo support the European Commission with an evaluation of the siting of industrial monitoring stations (sampling points).

Air quality measurements at industrial locations are intended to assess the impact of industrial emission on population health and ecosystems. Therefore, appropriately sited sampling points are essential to understanding the impact of industrial emissions, which is necessary to design a meaningful monitoring network, implement effective abatement strategies, and inform supplementary assessment methods such as dispersion modelling.

The AAQD (Ambient Air Quality Directive) provide rules and guidance for monitoring stations across different environments, including specific rules for those classified as industrial. The overarching aim is to underpin assessments by the European Commission of whether the criteria for placing industrial sampling points are applied throughout the European Union in a harmonised manner and whether the application of the criteria ensures that the highest exposure of the general population to air pollution from industrial sources is measured in all air quality zones.

We have carried out an evaluation of the 2019 monitoring network across Europe in the vicinity of industrial sources and developed an interactive viewer that is to help air quality monitoring experts understand whether their current industrial monitoring network is in alignment with the AAQDs requirements.

The interactive viewer displays specific siting criteria, such as proximity to the nearest sampling point, affected population, protected ecosystems, and prevailing wind direction – and cover every pollutant analyzed in the study, including Particulate Matter (PM10), Nitrogen Oxides (NOx), Sulphur Oxides (SOx), Arsenic (As), Cadmium (Cd), Nickel (Ni), and Lead (Pb).

Publication:

Assessing the siting of air quality sampling points at industrial sites

Map viewer:

Map viewer - Assessing the siting of air quality sampling points at industrial sites

Project

Project

Project

In 2001, a global agreement, the Stockholm Convention, was signed to protect humans and the environment from known persistent organic pollutants (POPs).

POPs in food, humans and the environment have largely been discovered using advanced chemical analysis methods. A limitation of this method is that the new pollutants we find tend to be similar to the pollutants we already know about.

In the DEMO project, we take as our starting point the thousands of chemical substances that we already know are produced in significant quantities.

Based on this knowledge, we will develop and apply mathematical models to understand and predict whether these substances have properties that indicate that they can be transported via air and sea on a global scale and accumulate in the Arctic.

Based on an initial ranking, we will then repeat the analysis, but then also take into account how likely it is that we will find these prioritized substances in Svalbard, at what levels and where. We will use the revised list of relevant substances to plan and conduct fieldwork in Svalbard.

Finally, we will develop and apply new chemical analysis methods to see if any of the relevant substances are present in the environmental samples.

Through these research activities, we hope to gain better insight into whether there are chemical substances that may have gone under the radar, primarily with regard to their possible occurrence in the Arctic, but possibly also in a regulatory context.

Preliminary results from the project have been presented at scientific conferences, as well as communicated to relevant decision-makers involved in chemical strategies for substances that can accumulate in the Arctic (the Norwegian Environment Agency, OECD and the Stockholm Convention (POPRC)).

The project is also contributing to the upgrade of the existing modelling tool developed by the OECD to calculate long-range environmental transport and the overall lifetime of chemical substances in the environment.

Project

ACTRIS is a pan-European distributed research infrastructure (RI). It produces data for the understanding of short-lived atmospheric constituents and their trends, impacts on health, climate, and interactions. This is a European infrastructure that was established as "European Research Infrastructure Consortium (ERIC)" in April 2023, with Norwegian membership.

ACTRIS provides high quality, reliable data of ca 100 atmospheric variables serving scientists addressing atmospheric, climate and air pollution science.

In particular, the understanding of spatially and temporal trends is greatly improved. NILU leads the ACTRIS data centre, which currently offers measurements from 80 state-of-the-art observational platforms/locations distributed across Europe. 3 of these are Norwegian:

• Zeppelin (Ny-Ålesund, Svalbard)
• Birkenes (Agder county)
• Trollhaugen (Antarctica)

All ACTRIS data are managed and made available to the user communities through the ACTRIS Data Centre.

ACTRIS-Norway’s overall objective is implementation of the ACTRIS Data Centre. These efforts will strengthen the curation and access to datasets of surface trace gas and aerosol concentrations in Norway, Europe and beyond. New functionalities and improvements to existing data centre functionalities will be implemented including database updates and data portal updates. This builds on a well-established internationally leading initiative already established and led by Norway.

New services integrating with international programmes will be developed, with the potential to elevate the profile of Norwegian research in this area. The EBAS and ACTRIS systems are a key aspect of Norwegian atmospheric composition research, and the leading international data centre of its type. The project will strengthen Norwegian participation in international environmental frameworks, European Infrastructures, and Open Science initiatives.

Project

PARC is an EU-wide research and innovation partnership programme to support EU and national chemical risk assessment and risk management bodies with new data, knowledge, methods, networks and skills to address current, emerging and novel chemical safety challenges.

PARC will facilitate the transition to next generation risk assessment to better protect human health and the environment, in line with the Green Deal?s zero-pollution ambition for a toxic free environment and will be an enabler for the future EU ?Chemicals Strategy for Sustainability?. It builds in part on the work undertaken and experience acquired in past and on-going research and innovation actions, but goes beyond by its vocation to establish an EU-wide risk assessment hub of excellence.

To contribute to several expected impacts of destination 2 ?Living and working in a health-promoting environment?, PARC will organise the activities to reach three specific objectives:

- An EU-wide sustainable cross-disciplinary network to identify and agree on research and innovation needs and to support research uptake into regulatory chemical risk assessment.
- Joint EU research and innovation activities responding to identified priorities in support of current regulatory risk assessment processes for chemical substances and to emerging challenges.
- Strengthening existing capacities and building new transdisciplinary platforms to support chemical risk assessment.

The Partnership brings together Ministries and national public health and risk assessment agencies, as well as research organisations and academia from almost all of EU Member States. Representatives of Directorates-General of the EC and EU agencies involved in the monitoring of chemicals and the assessment of risks are also participating.

PARC will meet the needs of risk assessment agencies to better anticipate emerging risks and respond to the challenges and priorities of the new European policies.

Project

The main aim of the CELLUX project was to develop a novel pharmaceutical based on CeO2 nanoparticles (NPs) in the form of eye drops to treat Age-Related Macular Degeneration (AMD).

This treatment, in combination with stem cell-based therapeutic strategies, aims to halt degeneration and restore vision. The progression of AMD is associated with an increase in oxidative stress and inflammatory responses in the eye, leading to retinal cell death. This chronic disease is a major cause of blindness in elderly people and affects millions worldwide. CeO2 NPs have antioxidant properties due to their unique electronic structure; when reduced to the nanoscale, oxygen defects appear on their surface, serving as sites for free radical scavenging.

Within the project, CeO2-NPs were developed to regulate cellular redox potential and protect tissue from oxidative stress. Nanoceria eye drops were formulated, and treatment with these drops reduced the loss of retinal cells and visual dysfunction, as well as decreased inflammation. In combination with retinal pigment epithelial (RPE) cell transplants, increased RPE cell survival was demonstrated in rats, along with improved retinal light responses.

We demonstrated that such antioxidant therapy is a promising approach for enhancing the efficacy of RPE cell therapy in retinal degenerative diseases. Safety assessments of the nanoceria were performed in various models, and no hazardous potential was detected. Additionally, no irritation to human corneal epithelium was observed, confirming that the eye drop formulation is safe for ocular application.

NILU studied the safety of CeO2 NPs using in vitro models, measuring both the induction of cell death and DNA damage. Furthermore, the mechanisms of CeO2 NPs interaction with cells were studied using confocal microscopy, and the antioxidant protective effects of CeO2-NPs were compared with those of known antioxidants.

The project was financed through the ERA-NET EuroNanoMed3 program and was coordinated by the University Hospital (VHIR) in Barcelona. The consortium consisted of six partners from five countries: Spain, Norway, Italy, the Czech Republic, and France.
The results of the project are promising and will be published in scientific journals, even after the project is completed. Furthermore, the results will be used in new applications for research funding to achieve a higher Technology Readiness Level (TRL), with the goal of developing and producing eye drops for the treatment of patients with age-related macular degeneration.

Project

The RISKRES project aims to investigate the exposure of the Norwegian economy to climate and environmental hazards, which are expected to increase in frequency and intensity due to climate change.

The project will begin by exploring the Norwegian economy by analyzing activities in different sectors at a fine scale, understanding the spatial distribution of value added. The goal is to distribute Norway's GDP at a point level.

A map of Norwegian activity can be overlaid with maps of natural hazards (for example, floods) to understand the most vulnerable areas of the economy, the economic sectors affected, and the regions involved. The role of critical infrastructure, such as transportation or energy infrastructure, will be explored to evaluate Norwegian economic dependence on this infrastructure.

This project aims to explore the role of linkages within the economy, specifically in terms of demand and supply, to analyze how the impact of a hazardous event can propagate throughout the economy. The project will also discuss measures that can be taken to mitigate such risks and evaluate the mitigation potential of several approaches. The goal is to inform policymakers and local actors of the means available to them to reduce their exposure and minimize the impact of future events.

Started in September 2023, the project has so far focused on the following activities: Collecting data on location and key economic parameters at company level, as well as maps of flood risk for both coastal and river floods. Both datasets were plotted on a map of Norway to indicate which economic actors are most exposed to floods. Preliminary results are made available at https://apps.sustainability.nilu.no/activitymap-no.

In addition, the project contributed to a study on limits to graphite supply in the battery scale-up scenarios, required for electrification of the global transportation sector. Main conclusions were that both natural and synthetic graphite supply could be a constraining factor in the most ambitious decarbonization scenarios (Net Zero emissions in 2050), highlighting the importance of systematic recycling of graphite in batteries.

Project

Cleancon (Clean Construction Machinery) is an EU-funded project under the Interreg Øresund–Kattegat–Skagerrak programme aimed at promoting the use of zero-emission vehicles and construction machinery.

In the project, public and private actors work together with the goal of increasing the use of renewable energy in both the public and private sectors by highlighting zero-emission machinery for construction projects and municipal operations.

The project is coordinated by RISE – Research Institutes of Sweden.

Partners include, among others, Kunnskapsbyen Lillestrøm, municipalities from Norway and Sweden, NILU, and a number of stakeholders (e.g., VOLVO, the Norwegian Agency for Public and Financial Management, NAPOP AS, NASTA).

Project

ANALYST aims to accelerate the transition towards a safer and more sustainable industrial value chain while encouraging and expanding the existing knowledge on the safe and sustainable by design (SSbD) framework.

The project implements robust and consistent methodologies and guidelines for integrative health, environment, social, and economic impact assessments of PVC materials at the EU and global scale.

ANALYST will develop an open platform intended to embed both the digital multi-criteria decision-making support tool (DMDMS) and a large number of resources (results of the validation program, training actions and materials and other dissemination and communication resources). The DMDMS uses an own-generated cohesive and interoperable database that combines different data sources.

ANALYST also comprises a validation program, with 3 different use cases covering the whole PVC value chain, namely Suspension-PVC (flexible), Emulsion-PVC (flexible) and Suspension-PVC (foamed rigid), of the automotive and construction sectors.

The goal is to support impact-based informed investment decisions, the SSbD framework, and the implementation of policies for future chemicals and materials through an improved understanding of potential sustainability trade-offs.

All in all, ANALYST will support the New Industrial Strategy for Europe, the Circular Economy Action Plan, and the Chemicals Strategy for Sustainability (CSS) while fully aligning with the European Commission's Green Deal for cleaner and more climate-neutral industrial value chains.