A new research project at NMBU will turn Follo into a laboratory for climate-resilient development.
A wide range of stakeholders from academia, elected officials, and public administration gathered as the research project “Balancing Growth and Sustainability: Co-creating Local Climate-Resilient Practices in the Oslofjord Region” was launched at the BIT Center in Ås on Tuesday, March 24. The event marked the beginning of an ambitious collaboration between the Centre for Climate-Resilient Change (KRED) at NMBU and the six municipalities of the Follo region, aiming to develop new solutions for how local communities can practically address climate, nature, and broader sustainability challenges.
Going beyond the comfort zone
Ola Haave, Director of Follo IPR, and Erik Trømborg, Pro-Rector for Research at NMBU, opened the seminar by emphasizing the project’s importance for fostering more concrete collaboration between the Follo region and NMBU. Both stressed the need to develop new forms of cooperation between research and practice to generate knowledge capable of addressing major unresolved societal challenges. Both municipalities and NMBU must be willing to step outside their comfort zones to achieve this.
Siri Eriksen, professor at NMBU and head of both the project and KRED, explained the concept of climate-resilient development. It involves building societies that can both withstand climate change and move in a sustainable direction. This requires holistic solutions developed across themes, sectors, and disciplines. Issues such as nature, health, food, water, and climate must be considered together so that actions in one area do not negatively impact another—an approach highlighted by the UN’s Nature Panel in the 2024 Nexus Report (Thematic Assessment Report on the Interlinkages among Biodiversity, Water, Food and Health).
For Follo, climate-resilient development is about ensuring progress toward sustainable and attractive communities in terms of social, cultural, economic, and ecological qualities, as well as identifying measures—such as nature-based or circular solutions—that can both reduce climate risk and lower emissions.
Limits to adaptation
The project is set against a serious backdrop: the world is heading toward significantly higher temperature increases than global targets and expert recommendations suggest. Both ecosystems and societies are already being pushed toward their limits. Eriksen emphasized that the higher temperatures rise, the less effective climate adaptation measures become. Climate-resilient development therefore requires rapid transitions, social justice, and new ways of collaborating. The Nexus Report identifies more than 70 relevant measures that form the basis of the research project.
Land-use change as a driver of emissions
Ali Mozaffari from KRED presented new analyses of greenhouse gas emissions in Follo, based on his Master’s thesis. The figures show that transport dominates direct emissions, but indirect emissions—such as those from the production of consumer goods—are significantly higher. Although direct emissions have declined over time, there remains a persistent gap between current levels and the municipalities’ climate targets. So far, reductions have largely been driven by national measures (such as electric vehicles).
Municipalities have the greatest potential to reduce emissions through land-use planning. The presentation highlighted a key point for the research project: without structural changes in land use, mobility, and energy systems, achieving genuine climate-resilient development will be difficult.
Connecting actors and testing solutions
The research project was presented by Jan Thomas Odegard, project coordinator for KRED. Running from 2026 to 2030, it aims to generate new knowledge on local climate-resilient practices, particularly related to development and land use in Follo. A central approach is to establish the region as a “living laboratory,” where solutions are not only discussed and developed but also tested in practice.
Ten researchers from three faculties at NMBU are involved. The project will also map the current state of climate-resilient development in Follo and explore how it can be measured going forward. Activities, insights, and results will be presented in a specially developed Follo Atlas. The ambition is not only local impact but also to contribute knowledge applicable at regional, national, and international levels.
From knowledge to action
A key theme throughout the kick-off was the need to bring together diverse stakeholders to create shared solutions. Municipalities, businesses, researchers, and civil society must all contribute if challenges are to be addressed effectively. The project therefore places strong emphasis on co-creation—not as an add-on, but as the core driving force of the work.
With Follo as a testing ground, new forms of collaboration, decision-making processes, and concrete measures will be developed side by side. The goal is clear: to demonstrate what local climate-resilient development can look like in practice, and how it can be measured and scaled up.
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