New Nordic research programme on green growth
Director of NordForsk, Gunnel Gustafsson, announced the upcoming initiative at the Nordregio Forum in Keflavík, Iceland, last week in connection with the annual meeting for the energy and business ministers.
The programme will be developed and administered in a collaborative effort between the three instituions, NordForsk, Nordic Energy Research and Nordic Innovation, much like the Nordic Top-level Research Inititiative.
The new initiative is launched just as the Nordic Top-level Research Initiative holds its final Flagship Conference in Stockholm on November 18-19.Secretary General of the Nordic Council of MInisters, Dagfinn Høybråten,spoke at the conference, stating that:
- The climate and energy challenges in our world demand new knowledge and innovations. But together we can contribute to solving the global climate crisis and at the same time promote research and innovation within the Nordic region.
- With this initiative we have created a new platform for future Nordic cooperation on research and innovation within the areas of climate, energy and the environment and the Nordic region is now a leader within certain areas of the energy and climate sectors, he added.
Prime Ministers green growth initiative
The Green Growth Research and Innovation initiative has its origin in the Nordic Prime Ministers’ shared green growth initiative under the auspices of the Nordic Council of Ministers.
Research groups and industry actors alike will be involved in the programme, which will be based on three pillars:
- Society: A green transformation of society that takes into account the wellbeing and welfare of the citizens and promotes the resilience needed to uphold the principles of the Nordic social model.
- Economy: A competitive and innovative business sector which utilises the inherent resources in the entire value chain, with efficient and sustainable energy and transport solutions that are beneficial for local and regional development.
- Environment: Promoting sustainability of the natural resource base. This implies clean energy for energy-intensive industry and transport and innovative products, methods and technology for optimising use of resources from primary industry.
The programme’s one-year preparatory phase is expected to be launched in the first quarter of 2015. The preparatory phase will be followed by a five-year programme period.
The programme will be financed via common pot funding, currently at approximately NOK 100 million.
See also article on the website of NordForsk
