Workshop on GHG mitigation in Norwegian agriculture

This workshop is part of a research project financed by the Research Council of Norway entitled "Strategies to reduce greenhouse gas emissions in Norwegian agriculture". Some of the researchers involved are David Blandford (Penn State University, USA), Iv ar Gaasland (SNF, Norway) and Erling Vårdal (UiB, Norway). The objective of the project is to assess cost-effective ways of reducing GHG emissions and promoting the sequestration of atmospheric carbon by the Norwegian agricultural sector. Norway has taken a pro-active role in the debate on climate change and this project is intended to contribute to the design of future Norwegian policies in this field. As part of the project, a quantitative model of the Norwegian agricultural sector is being used to eval uate various approaches to GHG mitigation. The major aims of the project are to: 1. Determine the cost effectiveness of various approaches to reducing CO2 emissions in Norwegian agriculture and their impact on the production and consumption of agricultura l products, international trade, and domestic economic welfare. 2. Examine the cost effectiveness of carbon sequestration activities in Norwegian agriculture and their impact on the production and consumption of agricultural products, international trade, and domestic economic welfare. 3. Examine the design of effective agri-environmental programs for promoting mitigation and sequestration activities in Norwegian agriculture. In addition to generating research directly relevant to Norwegian agriculture, t he collaborators on the project are interested in assembling a broader body of research on CO2 mitigation and sequestration in agriculture, focusing on Europe and North America, with a view to publication of an edited volume by a major publishing house.