NORD-STAR is the Nordic Centre of Excellence for Strategic Adaptation Research. We aspire to a Nordic region that can adapt sustainably to the inevitable impacts of climate change and the unintended consequences of climate policy. Pursuing innovative science, sound economic analysis and effective communication, our goal is to enable Nordic stakeholders to design and implement successful adaptation policy and practice.

Nordic innovation

NORD-STAR presents two key innovations:

• state-of-the-art climate visualisation techniques and policy-analysis tools to help bridge the gaps between adaptation science, practice and policy.
• by linking climate adaptation with mitigation, NORD-STAR results will help public and private stakeholders at all levels to improve strategy development and decision-making.

Research focus

Within the scope of climate impacts and climate policy, NORD-STAR focuses on three issues; land-use change, energy transitions, and insurance and finance. NORD-STAR researchers analyse and communicate needs and opportunities for strategic adaptation using two methodological approaches; scientific visualisation and modelling, and policy analysis. Combining the three issues and the two methodological approaches, NORD-STAR has six main projects:

• Project 1 Interactive land-use modelling, visualisation and decision support
• Project 2 Land-use trade-offs affecting adaptive capacity
• Project 3 Energy transition modelling
• Project 4 Energy transition management
• Project 5 ICT based decision support on multiple levels
• Project 6 Appraising adaptation policy

Training and dialogue

NORD-STAR also hosts a graduate training programme involving a Nordic alliance of accredited universities and institutions that provide world-class education through solutions-oriented and tool-based courses. Dialogue with Nordic stakeholders further ensures the societal relevance of NORD-STAR’s research findings, and enables an effective response to new knowledge needs.

An open centre

The NORD-STAR consortium consists of nine core partners from the five Nordic countries. Additional research organisations and non-academic stakeholders add value to NORD-STAR as associate partners by contributing financial, human, or other resources. The open-centre nature of NORD-STAR allows it to grow and flourish, not only in the Nordic countries but also in other regions, making possible a global constellation of STARs.

Top level research initiative

NORD-STAR has been awarded NOK 30.5 million in funding by the Norden Top-Level Research Initiative sub-programme Effect Studies and Adaptation to Climate Change. Approximately 25% in additional financing is contributed by the consortium, demonstrating the partners’ commitment to NORD-STAR.