Guillaume Lapeyre from Toulouse in the south of France already has an international professional career behind him. In recent years, he has worked for the European Commission in Brussels, and previously at the French Ministry of Foreign Affairs. When a position appeared at Høgskulen på Vestlandet in Bergen last year, it did not take long before he accepted. Several summers with heat waves and temperatures well above 30 degrees meant that he and his roommate decided to move north. – I don’t like it when it gets too hot, he says dryly. So far he is having a great time in Bergen, where he never complains about the cool weather and large amounts of rain throughout the summer. LIKES RAIN: Guillaume likes rain better in Bergen than scorching sun in Brussels. Photo: Privat He remembers with horror the heat wave that took many lives in Europe in 2003, where he stayed in France and became “physically ill”. After 2015, he noticed a change. He experienced that the hot days came more frequently, with temperatures of up to 40 degrees. This summer has been extreme, with rivers drying up and forest fires ravaging large areas on the continent. His parents, who live in France, hardly go out because of the heat. This summer they have peeled the hatches and stayed inside. He made the decision to move after studying climate models for the next few years. They show that Nordic countries – as expected – experience fewer heat waves than countries further south in Europe. TURGÅAR: Guillaume likes the summer temperatures in Norway so much that he spends more time outdoors now than he did before. Photo: Private Thinks more will come Climate researcher and professor Helge Drange at the University of Bergen is not surprised by Guillaume’s story. He has colleagues who have done the same, that is to say moving from a country in the south of Europe to Bergen because of the heat. – I also have research colleagues who have moved from southern Europe to Iceland for a similar reason. He believes this is the start of a development that will intensify in the coming years. – Living with heat waves and drought over time is tiring, quite simply. It is probably tempting for quite a few to avoid the heat in summer. LOIRE. FRANCE: The drought in Europe leads to dry rivers without water. Photo: STEPHANE MAHE / Reuters He believes the disadvantage of rainfall in Bergen is far less than a prolonged drought. In countries such as Italy and Poland, around half of the citizens believe that climate change is harmful to their homeland – today. While in Norway, the corresponding figure is 27 percent. – This is not the first summer on the extreme side in parts of Europe, with high temperatures and extensive drought. This is serious, and in many cases only the beginning of a development. EXPECTING MORE: Climate researcher Helge Drange believes that more people will move to Norway in the next few years because of the climate. Photo: Kim E. Andreassen / På Høyden, UiB According to a report from the World Bank, 100-140 million people could become internal climate-driven migrants by 2050. The figure is based on a scenario with weak economic development and high warming. LOW RESISTANCE: The Sirmione peninsula in Lake Garda is surrounded by pale rock that normally lies under water. Photo: Antonio Calanni / AP Uncertain models But how this will play out in Norway is more uncertain. For many years, there has been more immigration to Norway than emigration, where work is the most important reason why people move. Today, the climate does not provide a basis for asylum, a question that has been the subject of political discussion in recent years. In 2014, researcher Marianne Tønessen at the Norwegian Institute for Urban and Regional Research, Oslo Met, took a closer look at whether climate change will lead to increased immigration. The conclusion was that it is difficult to create clear models. – Quantifying how many extra immigrants to Norway climate change will mean is terribly difficult, she says. DIFFICULT TO QUANTIFY: Researcher Marianne Tønnesen says it is difficult to quantify how many people will move due to climate change. Photo: Studio Vest AS She points out that for those who move, the decision is often a mixture of many considerations, where climate can be one of many factors. Work and family are other reasons that weigh heavily. But, she adds: – If it becomes difficult to live in certain areas due to climate change, then there will be a clear incentive to move from there.
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– More comfortable in Bergen than Brussels – news Vestland
