“We commit to increasing our efforts in polar research with NOK 1 billion in the next ten years, starting in 2026. With Arctic Ocean 2050, we will strengthen our position as a leading polar research nation,” said Norwegian Prime Minister Jonas Gahr Støre (Labor) in Tromsø, Northern Norway, on Tuesday.
In a few decades, the Arctic Ocean will be seasonally ice-free, and the consequences of this will be explored in the major, Norwegian research project Arctic Ocean 2050.
The project gathers Norway’s most prominent polar researchers from across the country, and covers geopolitics, defense and security policy, business, international law, environment, climate, and energy.
It’s this project, scheduled to take place from 2026 to 2036, which has now received promises from the Norwegian government about its place in the state budget in the coming years.
“We had great expectations for the government to deliver something on Arctic Ocean 2050 today, but the actual full financing of NOK 1 billion over ten years, just like we asked, is a fantastic boost for Norwegian and international polar research. This will brand Norway as an Arctic research nation for decades to come,” says Dag Rune Olsen, Rector at UiT the Arctic University of Norway.