PLATON - PLATform for Open and Nationally accessible climate policy knowledge

PLATON is Norway's largest social science climate research project and will help politicians and businesses in their efforts to make Norway a low-emission society.  The project will build an openly available knowledge platform on climate policy and how it affects the economy, behavior and emissions. In addition to researching new knowledge, PLATON will gather and systematize knowledge that already exists. Data, statistics and model tools that form the basis of the knowledge will be part of the platform. 

PLATON is funded by the Research Council of Norway and with contributions from 28 different community actors.

The primary objectives of the PLATON project are: 

1. to gain knowledge about how the policy system can be adjusted in feasible and effective ways to satisfy the reporting commitments and meet the 2030 and 2050 emission targets of Norway through increased greenhouse gas (GHG) abatement and carbon uptake in soil and vegetation, while ensuring climate-friendly innovations, alongside meeting other societal goals. 
    
2. to ensure that the knowledge synthesised and developed in PLATON is relevant and reaches policymakers, public administration, business actors, NGOs, the civil society and the international research community.

A key knowledge objective is to study a wide array of policy instruments that affect abatement and carbon uptake, both in the existing climate policy system and novel structures and tools, including: 

• different funding and support mechanisms.
• taxation with various recycling options.
• both soft instruments like nudging and information and strong like mandates and bans. 
• instruments oriented towards both the production and consumption side.
• instruments targeted towards identified barriers.

 
CICERO is the overall co-ordinator of PLATON, and more information about the project can be found on PLATON project website.