CV LINDA SYGNA
Co-Founder and Executive Director, cCHANGE
Haslekroken 4, 0575 Oslo, Norway
Email: [email protected]
Mobile (+47) 909 35 111
Webpage: cchange.no
EXPERTISE, COMPETENCE AND CAPACITY
Linda Sygna has been working within the climate change field for 15 year and her research
has been focused on social and human dimensions of climate change and particular on social
impacts, vulnerability and responses, in both developed and developing country contexts. She
has been involved in the work of the Intergovernmental Panel on Climate Change since 2008.
She has extensive experience with transdisciplinary project and events, with science-policy
dialogue and communication on social science perspectives on climate change and broad
networks in Norway and internationally, including in international research processes.
EDUCATION
1993-1998
Cand.agric (M.S.), Department of Economics and Social Sciences, Norwegian
University of Life Sciences, Ås, Norway.
Thesis: From Science to Development? Soil Productivity Research Programme
1981-1998. Department of Economics and Social Sciences, Norwegian
University of Life Sciences, Ås, Norway, December 1998, Norway.
EMPLOYMENT
2014-
Executive Director, cCHANGE Transformation, Norway.
2010- 2013
Project Leader, Department of Sociology and Human Geography, University of
Oslo.
2007-2010
Project Coordinator, Global Environmental Change and Human Security
(GECHS) Project of the International Human Dimensions Programme for
Global Environmental Change (IHDP), at the Department of Sociology and
Human Geography, University of Oslo.
1999- 2007
Research Fellow, Center for International Climate and Environmental Research
– Oslo (CICERO).
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SELECTED PUBLICATIONS
Books
Inderberg, Tor Håkon, Siri Eriksen, Karen O’Brien and Linda Sygna, forthcoming. Climate Change
Adaptation and Development: Transforming Paradigms and Practices. Earthscan.
Sygna, L., O’Brien K. and Wolf, J. 2013. A Changing Environment for Human Security:
Transformative Approaches to Research, Policy and Action, London: Earthscan.
Journal Articles
Eriksen, Siri, Paulina Aldunce, Chandra Bahinipati, Rafael Martins, John Molefe, Charles
Nhemachena, Karen O'Brien, Linda Sygna and Kirsten Ulsrud 2011. When not every
response to climate change is a good one: Identifying principles for sustainable adaptation.
Climate and Development, 3(1): 7- 20.
O’Brien, Karen, Siri Eriksen, Linda Sygna and Lars Otto Næss, 2006. Questioning
complacency: Climate change impacts, vulnerability, and adaptation in Norway. Ambio, 35
(2): 50-56.
O'Brien, Karen, Linda Sygna and Jan Erik Haugen, 2003. Vulnerable or resilient? Multi-scale
assessments of the impacts of climate change in Norway. Climatic Change, 64 (1-2): 193-225.
Sygna, Linda, Jan S. Fuglestvedt and H. Asbjørn Aaheim, 2002. The adequacy of GWPs as
indicators of damage costs incurred by global warming. Mitigation and Adaptation Strategies
for Global Change, 7 (1): 45-62.
Book Chapters
O’Brien, K., Sygna, L. and Wolf, J. 2013. ‘A changing environment for human security’, in L.
Sygna, K. O’Brien and J. Wolf. (eds) A Changing Environment for Human Security:
Transformative Approaches to Research, Policy and Action, London: Earthscan.
Wolf, J., O’Brien, K. and Sygna, L. 2013. ‘The future is now: human security as a choice’, in
L. Sygna, K. O’Brien and J. Wolf. (eds) A Changing Environment for Human Security:
Transformative Approaches to Research, Policy and Action, London: Earthscan.
Other Books and Research Reports (since 2000)
O´Brien, K. and Sygna, L. (2013) Responding to Climate Change: The Three Spheres of
Transformation. Proceedings of Transformation in a Changing Climate, 19-21 June 2013, Oslo,
Norway. University of Oslo. ISBN: 978-82-570-2000-1.
O’Brien, Karen., Siri Mittet, Eva Bakkeslett, Siri Eriksen, Inger Hansen-Bauer, Grete Hovelsrud, Tor
Håkon Inderberg, Cathrine Ruud, Inger-Lise Saglie and Linda Sygna, 2012. Klimatilpasning. Hva
betyr det for meg? Oslo: Unipub.
O'Brien, Karen, Linda Sygna, Robin Leichenko, W. Neil Adger, Jon Barnett, Tom Mitchell,
Lisa Schipper, Thomas Tanner, Coleen Vogel and Colette Mortreux, 2008. Disaster risk
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reduction, climate change adaptation and human security. Report prepared for the Royal
Ministry of Foreign Affaris by the Global Environmental Change and Human Security
(GECHS) Project. GECHS Report 2008:3.
Ulsrud, Kirsten, Linda Sygna and Karen O'Brien, 2008. More than Rain, Identifying
sustainable pathways for climate adaptation and poverty reduction. Report prepared for the
Development Fund by the Global Environmental Change and Human Security (GECHS)
Project.
Sygna, Linda, 2005. Climate vulnerability in Cuba: the role of social networks. CICERO
Working Paper 2005:01, CICERO, University of Oslo, Norway.
Sygna, Linda, Siri Eriksen, Karen O'Brien and Lars Otto Næss, 2004. Climate change in
Norway: Analysis of economic and social impacts and adaptations. CICERO Report 2004:12,
CICERO, University of Oslo, Norway.
Sygna, Linda and Karen O'Brien, 2001. Impacts of climate change. Summary report from
CICERO-seminar "Climate change impacts" 30th –31st October 2000. Report 200101. CICERO, Norway.
Torvanger, Asbjørn, Knut H. Alfsen, Hans H. Kolshus and Linda Sygna, 2001. The state of
climate research and climate policy. Report 2001-02. CICERO, Norway.
Godal, Odd, Linda Sygna, Jan S. Fuglestvedt and Terje Berntsen, 2000. Estimates of future
climate based on SRES emission scenarios. Working Paper 2000-04. CICERO, Norway.
O'Brien, Karen, Linda Sygna, Lars Otto Næss, Robert Kingamkono and Ben Hochobeb, 2000.
Is information enough? User responses to seasonal climate forecasts in Southern
Africa. Report 2000-03. CICERO, Norway.
Aaheim, H. Asbjørn and Linda Sygna, 2000. Economic impacts of climate change on tuna
fisheries in Fiji Islands and Kiribati. Report 2000-04. CICERO, Norway.
Magazine and newspaper articles (since 2000)
Karen O’Brien, Johanna Wolf and Linda Sygna, 2009. Global environmental change and
human security in a decade that matters. IHDP Update 2, 2009.
Linda Sygna, Kirsten Ulsrud and Karen O’Brien, 2009. Human security in an era of global
change – the GECHS synthesis process. IHDP Update 1, 2009.
Karen O'Brien, Linda Sygna and Kirsten Ulsrud, 2008. Sustainable adaptation to climate
change. IHDP Update Extra 2008 - IHDW.
Sygna, Linda and Siri Eriksen, 2002. Commentary: We’re not using the knowledge we have.
Cicerone, 2002 (6).
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O'Brien, Karen og Linda Sygna, 2001. Climate impacts in Norway: Should we worry?
Dagens Næringsliv (10/04/2001). Oslo , Norway.
Sygna, Linda, 2000. We are going to study the effects of climate change in Norway.
Cicerone, 2000 (6).
ASSIGNMENTS
Member of the communication group of the Norwegian launch of the IPCC Fifth Assessment
Working Group II Report.
Member of the Steering Committee of the IPCC Special Report on Managing the Risks of
Extreme Events and Disasters to Advance Climate Change Adaptation Regional Outreach
Meeting, 20-22 October, 2013, Pretoria, South Africa. ,
Project leader, the international Conference “Transformation in a Changing Climate”, June
19-21, 2013, University of Oslo, Oslo, Norway.
Project leader, the Extreme Dialogue on Climate Extreme, 18 June 2013, University of Oslo,
Oslo, Norway.
Appointed reviewer to the Fifth Assessment Report of the Intergovernmental Panel on
Climate Change.
Review Editor, Chapter 7, Managing the Risks: International Level and Integration across
Scales, IPCC Special Report on Managing the Risks of Extreme Events and Disasters to
Advance Climate Change Adaptation, 2012.
Contributing Author, Chapter 8, Towards a Sustainable Future, IPCC Special Report on
Managing the Risks of Extreme Events and Disasters to Advance Climate Change Adaptation,
2012.
Main Conference Coordinator, GECHS Synthesis Conference “Human Security in an Era of
Global Change”, June 22-24, 2009, University of Oslo, Oslo, Norway.
Nominated participant to the IPCC scoping meeting on “Extreme Events and Disasters:
Managing the Risks”, March 23-26, 2009, Oslo, Norway.
Project Leader, lead the writing of the report and annotated bibliography “Disaster risk
reduction, climate change adaptation and human security. 2008.
Organizer, IHDP Training Seminar on Sustainable Adaptation, October 2008, New Delhi,
India
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