About the project
PLAN is an interdisciplinary social science-based research project funded by the Research Council of Norway's NORKLIMA program. The aim of the project is to investigate how individuals and communities in Norway adapt to climate change. PLAN addresses three key research questions:
- How do social processes influence the capacity to adapt to climate change?
- What are the limits to adaptation as a response to changing climate conditions?
- What are the implications of these limits for human security?
PLAN is based at the University of Oslo's Department of Sociology and Human Geography in Norway and includes geographers, political scientists, urban planners, and anthropologists from several leading Norwegian research institutions.
For more information about the project and its activities, visit our Norwegian website.
Background
Climate change represents an unprecedented challenge to society. The Earth's climate has always undergone change, and human societies have a long history of adapting to climate variability and change. However, the rate and magnitude of observed and projected changes associated with increasing greenhouse gas emissions are likely to pose new risks to humans, ecosystems, and species. As the impacts of climate change become more evident and better understood, there is a need to understand how different parts of society can adapt to projected changes and the uncertainties associated with global warming.
The PLAN project investigates the potentials of adaptation, as well as the limits to adaptation as a response to climate change. PLAN emphasizes that adaptation is a social process, and it explores how individuals, communities and groups can respond to new threats to human security.
