PLATON - a PLATform for Open and Nationally accessible climate policy knowledge

PLATON is a knowledge platform aimed at knowledge production and knowledge dissemination that are relevant for fulfilling Norway's greenhouse gas mitigation targets. The knowledge production consists of novel insights from own research as well as reviews of the existing international research frontier. Data, statistics and model tools that are used for generating the knowledge, are also part of the platform. The knowledge is organised according to emissions sources. Work Package 1 (WP1) includes research and knowledge syntheses on greenhouse gas emissions and carbon uptake in agriculture, forestry and land use. The main focus has been on how policy instruments – and also suitable measurement methods – can contribute to reduce emissions and increase uptake. The interaction between mitigation and other goals for the agricultural and forestry sectors is another key subject. The role of food consumption has also been studied. WP3 addresses the Norwegian emissions covered by the EU Emission Trading System, while WP2 covers the remaining emissions, where energy combustion in transport is the dominating source. The main research topic in WP2 has been passenger transport on land, in particular questions on how different policy instruments affect emissions and questions on how it affects fairness and accept. The former questions have to a high degree dealt with Norway’s exceptional electric vehicles policies but also with carbon taxation, toll roads and bio-fuel blending. The studies of distribution have addressed how green city plans can be accommodated for certain passenger groups, including women and elderly road users. Severe toll road protests that took place in 2019 were also scrutinized. PLATON has, in addition, contributed in the fields of freight transport and of emissions and measures in sea transport. Some of the research has also addressed CCS in waste incineration. WP3 about emissions covered by EU emissions trading has observed the rapid reforms in the EU closely. It has studied the interaction between allowance pricing and other instruments. Policies to stimulate innovation, in general, and CCS technologies, in particular, have been central. WP4 and WP5 are sector-overarching with a domestic and European perspective, respectively. One purpose is to understand how instruments at different governance levels interplay. Both the interplay between the EU and domestic level as well as between the national and regional level have been scrutinized. This includes several initiatives to interpret new targets and instruments in the EU’s Fit-for-55 strategy and implications for Norway, inter alia, implications of various allowance trading possibilities (flexibilities). What climate policies abroad means for the implementation and costs of Norwegian policy strategies and what Norway can learn from policies in other countries have also been research topics. Moreover, we have scrutinized how Norway’s climate neutrality aim for 2030 can be interpreted and fulfilled. We have also studied the processes in the state-funded support scheme KLIMASATS for municipalities. Another project has mapped trade-offs people and firms make across different measures and instruments. Finally, a key task has been to develop and apply the SNOW model for climate policy analyses. The knowledge dissemination of PLATON has many target groups. The primary is the state administration, but also politicians, businesses, NGOs and the general public are potential users of knowledge about climate policies. The 30 user-partners in PLATON have been key co-players when the research was to be formulated and dispersed. International and national research communities, focusing on the climate, within political and social science, technology, economics and natural sciences have also been important target groups and part of the PLATON network. www.platonklima.no, social media as well as op-eds and interviews have been tools for disseminating findings and informing about PLATON’s many seminars, workshops and debates as well as other news. User-partners have been involved actively in all WPs, and some have participated in PLATON’s communication group. User-partners were represented in the Board, which primary task was to decide and monitor how the 9.7 mill. unallocated NOK were spent on new research questions or new data, models or informants emerging along the project period.

PLATON’s purpose, research questions and communication activities have been geared towards making a tangible impact on policymaking and practice. This has been pursued through active cooperation between researchers and decision-makers in the field, as well as through organising meeting-points for different perspectives and competences, including courses, workshops, meetings, seminars and debates. An active media policy has also been effective. Knowledge exchange in the research-policy nexus is emphasized as utterly important in various official documents. The knowledge platform has attracted attention as a novel and interesting instrument for stimulating the communication in the nexus and reap mutual spillovers. PLATON has been invited to tell about its experiences to relevant ministries and agencies in the state administration. Dialogue with RCN has also been part of this communication. When input and discussions are urgent, as often experienced in policymaking, PLATON has been able – not least due to the unallocated budget – to provide stand-by capacity. This has often been pivotal for making an impact on ongoing decisions. Indicators of potential impact from the project are that PLATON’s research is referred to in various official documents from ministries, administrative agencies, and commissions. Also, PLATON researchers have been invited as experts to participate in, or advise, officially appointed commissions. See also the reporting from the user-partners above on their utility of the PLATON participation. The project has laid a strong foundation for future developments in environmental policy and practice. In particular, we intend to continue the life of the knowledge platform by pursuing new funding for policy-relevant knowledge building and dispersion, for maintaining the webpage, and for keeping up and strengthening the network realized by the 5 years’ collaboration in the PLATON consortium.

PLATON will gain and disperse knowledge about how the policy system works and can be adjusted in feasible and effective ways to satisfy the reporting commitments and meet the 2030 and 2050 emission targets of Norway. Knowledge-building in the platform includes new insight that fill knowledge gaps in the international research frontier and domestic policymaking, overviews that assess and establish the status quo knowledge, applied analyses/assessments, accessible data and tools for public agencies, analysts and researchers outside and within the platform, and communication activities. In work package (WP)1: NET EMISSIONS FROM AGRICULTURE, FORESTRY AND LAND USE we will deepen insight in how to stimulate abatement and uptake without conflicting with other sector priorities. Challenges will be to overcome current limitations in data and develop state-of-the-art projection models. WP2: EMISSIONS FROM TRANSPORT AND REMAINING NON-ETS SOURCES addresses instruments for GHG mitigation from transport and waste. Key to impact studies of transport policy is to understand demand for mobility and modes. We will study policies for sustainable biofuels and for fostering public-private-research collaboration for clean shipping. WP3: EMISSIONS FROM THE ETS SECTOR looks at instruments targeting manufacturing and petroleum idustries. ETS, along with CO2 price add-ons and support schemes will be analysed, as will Norway’s full-value-chain CCS initiatives. Longterm abatement impacts are focused. We will search for deep decarbonisation indicators and effective policy designs, taking past evidence and projected development into account. WP4: POLICIES AND BEHAVIOURAL RESPONSES IN INTERPLAY and WP5: NORWAY IN THE WORLD overarch sectors and governance levels. Interplays give rise to complex processes and potential sectoral conflicts that we will analyse qualitatively and quantitively. Studying implications of alternative global developments will illuminate uncertainties in policymaking.