His education in meteorology and climate is from the University in Oslo (UiO). The bachelor degree (2004-2007) was in physics, astronomy, and meteorology, with specialization in meteorology and oceanography. The master degree was in geophysics, with specialization in meteorology and oceanography. The master thesis was on soot (BC) in snow in Svalbard with the title: “Elemental carbon in Svalbard snow from local sources and its impact on surface albedo.” Three years of his studies were done at the University Centre in Svalbard (UNIS) in Longyearbyen. In the period 2014-2016, he took a Philosophiae doctor (Ph.d.) in geophysics, with specialization in meteorology and oceanography, at UiO. The theme of the doctorate thesis was climate and emissions from the transport sector and with the title “Developing, evaluating, and applying emission metrics for the assessment of the climate impact of transportation.”

He has been employed at CICERO since September 2010. In the period September 2010 – February 2011, he was a Research Assistant, followed by being a Researcher (Researcher 3) until March 2016 and a Senior Researcher (Researcher 2) until November 2024. He is currently a Senior Researcher (Researcher 1). At CICERO, he is the leader of the local group of the union Tekna. He is also the Chair of the Board of the group Tekna Researchers. In the period 2023-2027, he is a member of The Young Academy of Norway. Between 2025-2030, he is a member of the Global Young Academy.

Previously, he was a Research Assistant at UNIS (September 2009 – May 2010). He was also a board member at UNIS for the period August 2008 – July 2009.

He was a Contributing Author in Chapter 8 in the Fifth Assessment Report Working Group 1 published in 2013. In addition to doing research, he is an active science communicator and writer, giving roughly 20 popular science talks a year about climate. In recent years, he has led numerous commissioned research projects. For a complete and updated list of publications and talks, both academic and popular science, as well as media appearances, go to CRIStin. His research is also available from Google Scholar or via the links above.

His main focus as a scholar has been on simple climate models and emissions that impact climate. The models he use are mainly emission metrics and CICERO Simple Climate Model. He is a natural scientist that works interdisciplinary and who is interested in cooperation across disciplines and themes.

Some of Borgar's research interests: Emission metrics (GWP/GTP/RTP), greenhouse gas and aerosol emissions, life cycle (LCA) emissions, climate models, climate change, climate risk, climate budgeting, the transportation sector, travel behavior, household cooking, social practices, and circular economy.

Articles

Clean Cooking and Climate Change Impacts

Published 1.3.2024

Household Air Pollution (HAP) ranks as the ninth leading risk factor for premature mortality globally. Through the CICERO-led project 4CImpacts we have worked on clean cooking and climate change impacts in Tanzania.

Air pollution | Health | Energy consumption

Projects

FLYWELL - how to reduce air travel and at the same time maintain a high quality of life.

The goal of FLYWELL is to engage people and organizations in Norway in reducing the environmental impact of air travel. For many people, air travel is linked to quality of life. Travelling for work, leisure, and family is often associated with experiences of relatedness, belonging, physical health, autonomy, and freedom, all identified as human or basic needs in the well-being literature.

Consumer behaviour | Transport | Just transition

eLife - how to circulate more electronics

Consumption of electrical and electronic products (e-products) in households contributes to increasing amounts of hazardous EE waste, environmental damage and greenhouse gas emissions. While actors within business, voluntary organizations and the public sector have increasingly been driving forces to implement strategies for a more circular economy, consumers have been far less involved.

Circular economy

UPSCALE: Upscaling sustainable collaborative consumption using public libraries

This project addresses how public libraries can be used as hubs for an upscaling of collaborative consumption contributing to the transformation to a low emission society.

Circular economy | Consumer behaviour

4CImpacts - Universal Energy Access: Clean cooking and climate change impacts

Lack of access to clean cooking technology is the single largest environmental risk factor for disease and disability in countries relying on traditional biomass fuels for household energy due to household air pollution.

Adaptation | Air pollution | Health

Research groups

Climate System

The research group conducts atmospheric research, with special emphasis on understanding the processes and physical impacts of the climate system.