Karen O'Brien
Professor
![[karenob.jpg]](./bilder/karenob.jpg)
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Adresse: | Institutt for sosiologi og samfunnsgeografi Postboks 1096 Blindern 0317 Oslo |
| Besøksadresse: | Moltke Moes vei 31 Harriet Holters hus, 2. etasje 0851 Oslo |
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| Rom: | 215, Harriet Holters hus | |
| Telefon: | +47-22858480 | |
| Faks: | +47-22855253 | |
| Epost: | karen.obrien@sosgeo.uio.no | |
| Hjemmeside: | http://folk.uio.no/karenob/ |
Bakgrunn
- B.A. in International Relations at the College of William and Mary 1985
- M.S. in Environmental Studies at the University of Wisconsin-Madison 1990
- Ph.D. in Geography at the Pennsylvania State University, 1995
- Post-doc at the North American Commission for Environmental Cooperation (CEC)1996
- Senior Research Fellow at CICERO 1997-2005
- 20% position in the Department of Human Geography from 2001-2005
- Professor in Human Geography in the Department of Sociology and Human Geography from 2005
- Chair of the Global Environmental Change and Human Security (GECHS) project of the IHDP
Faglige kompetanseområder
Thematic focus: Global environmental change, globalization, and human security
Research on deforestation and climate change in southern Mexico, climate variability and the use of seasonal forecasts in southern Africa, and climate change impacts, vulnerability, and adaptation in the context of economic globalization
Pågående og planlagte forskningsprosjekter ved Institutt for sosiologi og samfunnsgeografi
Interactions between global environmental change and globalization; Climate change adaptation as a social process
Teaches courses on environment and society; social science perspectives on global environmental change
Lead author on the IPCC Fourth Assessment Report for Working Group II on Impacts, Vulnerability and Adaptation (Chapter 17 - Adaptation)
Leads the interdisciplinary social science-based research project PLAN - The Potentials of and Limits to Adaptation in Norway
Utvalgte publikasjoner
BOOKS
- Adger, N., I. Lorenzoni, and K. O’Brien (eds). (forthcoming) Living With Climate Change: Are there Limits to Adaptation. Cambridge: Cambridge University Press.
- Leichenko, R.M. and K.L. O’Brien. 2008. Global Environmental Change and Globalization: Double Exposures. New York: Oxford University Press
- O’Brien, K.L. and H.C. Vogel, editors. 2003. Coping with Climate Variability: The Use of Seasonal Climate Forecasts in Southern Africa. Aldershot: Ashgate Publishing.
- O’Brien, K.L. 1998. Sacrificing the Forest: Environmental and Social Struggles in Chiapas. Boulder: Westview Press.
JOURNAL ARTICLES
- O’Brien, K., Quinlan, T. and G. Ziervogel. (forthcoming). Vulnerability Interventions in the Context of Multiple Stressors: Lessons from the Southern Africa Vulnerability Initiative. Environmental Science and Policy.
- Eriksen, S.E.H. and K.L. O’Brien 2007. Vulnerability, Poverty and the Need for Sustainable Adaptation Measures. Climate Policy 7: 337-352.
- Klein, R.J.T., S.E.H. Eriksen, L.O. Næss, A. Hammill, C. Robledo, K.L. O'Brien and T.M. Tanner. 2007. Portfolio Screening to Support the Mainstreaming of Adaptation to Climate Change into Development Assistance. Climatic Change.
- O’Brien, K.L., Eriksen, S., Nygaard, L., and Schjolden, A. 2007. Why Different Interpretations of Vulnerability Matter in Climate Change Discourses. Climate Policy 7: 73-88.
- Dessai, S. O’Brien, K.L. and M. Hulme. 2007. Editorial: On Uncertainty and Climate Change. Global Environmental Change 17: 1-3.
- Vogel, C.H. and O’Brien, K. 2006. Who can Eat Information? Examining the Effectiveness of Seasonal Climate Forecasts and Regional Climate-risk Management Strategies. Climate Research 33: 111-122.
- O’Brien, K.L. 2006. Editorial: Are we missing the point? Global environmental change as an issue of human security. Global Environmental Change 16:1-3.
- O’Brien, K.L., Eriksen, S., Sygna, L. and L.O. Næss. 2006. Questioning Complacency: Climate Change Impacts, Vulnerability and Adaptation in Norway. Ambio 35 (2): 50-56.
- Bohle, H. G. and K. O’Brien. 2006. The Discourse on Human Security: Implications and Relevance for Climate Change Research – a Review Article. Die Erde 137(3): 155-163.
- O’Brien, K., Leichenko, R., Kelkar, U., Venema, H., Aandahl, G., Tompkins, H., Javed, A., Bhadwal, S., Barg, S., Nygaard, L. and J. West. 2004. “Mapping Vulnerability to Multiple Stressors: Climate Change and Economic Globalization in India.” Global Environmental Change 14(4): 303-313.
- O’Brien, K.L., Sygna, L. and J.E. Haugen. 2004. Resilient of Vulnerable? A Multi-Scale Assessment of Climate Impacts and Vulnerability in Norway. Climatic Change 64: 193-225.
- O’Brien, K. and R. Leichenko. 2003. “Winners and Losers in the Context of Global Change.” Annals of the Association of American Geographers 93(1):99-113.
- Leichenko, R. and K. O’Brien. 2002. “The Dynamics of Rural Vulnerability to Global Change: The Case of Southern Africa.” Mitigation and Adaptation Strategies for Global Change 7: 1-18.
- O’Brien, K. and R. Leichenko. 2000. “Double Exposure: Assessing the Impacts of Climate Change within the Context of Economic Globalization.” Global Environmental Change. 10(3): 221-232.
BOOK CHAPTERS
- O’Brien, K. (forthcoming) Climate Change and Changing Values in Norway: Are their Limits to Adaptation? In N. Adger, I. Lorenzoni, and K. O’Brien (eds). Living With Climate Change: Are there Limits to Adaptation. Cambridge: Cambridge University Press.
- R. Leichenko, L. Acosta-Michlik, K. O’Brien and M. Rounsevell (submitted) Vulnerability to Climate Change and Trade Liberalization: Double Exposure and Intervulnerability. In R.J.T. Klein, A.G. Patt, A.C. de la Vega-Leinert, D. Schröter (eds) Environmental Vulnerability Assessment for Policy and Decision-Making.
- O’Brien, K.L. and R.M. Leichenko. (submitted). Global Environmental Change, Equity, and Human Security. R. Matthew, et al. Global Environmental Change and Human Security.
- Leichenko, R. and K. O’Brien. (forthcoming 2005). Climate Change Adaptation: Is a Winners and Losers Framework Appropriate? N. Adger, ed., Justice in Adaptation to Climate Change. Cambridge: MIT Press.
- O’Brien. K.L. 2003. “Regions, climate change and water: Issues of scale, environmental justice and governance” Pages 181-206 n W. Lafferty and M. Narodslawski, editors, Regional Sustainable Development in Europe: The Challenge of Multi-Level C-operative Governance. Oslo: PROSUS.
- Vogel, C.H. and K.L. O’Brien. 2003. “Climate Forecasts in Southern Africa,” Pages 3-34 in K.L. O’Brien. and H.C. Vogel, (eds) Coping with Climate Variability: The Use of Seasonal Climate Forecasts in Southern Africa. Aldershot: Ashgate Publishing.
- O’Brien, K.L. and C.H. Vogel. 2003. “A Future for Forecasts?” Pages 198-213 in in K.L. O’Brien. and H.C. Vogel, (eds) Coping with Climate Variability: The Use of Seasonal Climate Forecasts in Southern Africa. Aldershot: Ashgate Publishing.
- Liverman, D. and K. O’Brien. 2001. “Southern Skies: The Perception and Management of Global Environmental Risks in Mexico.” Chapter 9 in Learning to Manage Global Environmental Risks: A Comparative History of Social Responses to Climate Change, Ozone Depletion and Acid Rain. Edited by William C. Clark, Jill Jäger, Josee van Eijndhoven and Nancy M. Dickson. Cambridge, MA: MIT Press.
- O’Brien, K.L. 1998. “Scales of Change: The Climatic Impacts of Tropical Deforestation in Chiapas, Mexico.” Pages 86-100 in S.J. Hassol and J. Katzenberger, eds. Elements of Change, 1997. Aspen, CO: Aspen Global Change Institute.
- O'Brien, K.L. and D.M. Liverman. 1996. “Climate Change and Variability in Mexico,” Pages 55-70 in J. Ribot et al., eds., Climate Variability, Climate Change and Social Vulnerability in the Semi-Arid Tropics. Cambridge: Cambridge University Press.