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Common Nordic Flagship: Cutting-edge Research within Climate, Energy and the Environment

The Nordic Ministers of Research have approved a large-scale common Nordic initiative to promote cutting-edge research within climate, energy and the environment.

The Nordic Ministers of Research have approved a large-scale common Nordic initiative to promote cutting-edge research within climate, energy and the environment.

The project, known as the Nordic Research Excellence Initiative, will be launched in early January 2009 with a budget of about DKK 350 million over the next five years.

– This initiative to promote excellence in research will be an ambitious flagship to support the international position of the Nordic countries as a leading research and environment region. The timing is also good in relation to the International Climate Summit in Copenhagen next year, says Science Minister Helge Sander.
– At the same time, the initiative will improve the scope of the Nordic research environments for obtaining support from the EU's R&D programmes.
– This marked effort to promote cutting-edge research within climate, energy and the environment is one of the concrete and significant results of Prime Minister Anders Fogh Rasmussen's initiative launched about eighteen months ago to prepare the Nordic countries for the challenges of globalisation, says Helge Sander.

Themes under the Nordic Research Excellence Initiative are:

  • Impact studies and adjustment to climate changes
  • The interaction of climate changes with the cryosphere
  • Nanotechnology and energy efficiency
  • Integration of large-scale wind power
  • Sustainable biofuels
  • Capture and storage of carbon dioxide/CO2

During the ongoing negotiations on the globalisation reserve, the Danish Government has proposed that DKK 15 million should be allocated in 2009 and 2010 as the annual Danish contribution to the Nordic Research Excellence Initiative.

The funding of DKK 350 million over the next five years is derived partly from the national budgets of the Nordic countries (about 60 per cent), and partly from the Nordic Research Board, the Nordic Innovation Centre and Nordic Energy Research (about 30 per cent), and partly from the budget of the Nordic Council of Ministers (about 10 per cent).

For further information about Nordic Research Excellence, please contact the Ministry of Science, Technology and Innovation, Solveig Boesen, Special Consultant, tel.: +45 72 26 56 02, sbo@vtu.dk .

Science Minister Helge Sander can be contacted via the Ministry's Information Manager, Allan Boldt, tel.: +45 33 92 97 39, abo@vtu.dk .