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The largest cities in the country have merged under the auspices of KS. This week, representatives of the political leadership in Oslo, Trondheim, Bergen, Bærum, Tromsø, Stavanger and Drammen met with the Minister of Climate and Environment, Sveinung Rotevatn.
At the meeting, they presented demands for climate measures and instruments that they believe should be included in the government’s climate plan, which is expected before Christmas.
Cities can be “locomotives in the low-emission society”, the entry document states, which was written by the Oslo Transport and Environment Agency Lan Marie Berg.
Drastic changes
The document makes it clear that large cities need new tools to be able to implement drastic changes.
– I participated to face the demand that the municipalities want a stronger climate policy from the government. In big cities, we see that even if we cut all of our own emissions, the government must clarify and / or change the legislation, as well as provide financial support so that companies can adapt, Berg tells Dagbladet.
– Rotevatn should simply clarify what prevents municipalities from implementing a more effective climate policy, he continues.
Fossil free zones
One of the changes that cities are asking for is that they be allowed to introduce zero emission zones.
According to Lan Marie Berg, it is a matter of access to introduce a ban on gasoline and diesel cars in parts of cities, something that Oslo is already planning to implement.
– Our legal assessment is that we can and that the authority exists to establish zero emission zones in accordance with the Road Traffic Law. What remains is that Hareide must say that it is okay, Lan Marie Berg writes to Dagbladet in an email.
She notes that this is also one of the instruments proposed in Klimakur, which is the professional recipe for which the measures can provide a 50 percent reduction in emissions by 2030.
ORDER TO DELIVER: Minister of Climate and Environment Sveinung Rotevatn (V) Photo: Lars E claim Bones
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According to Berg, the permission of Transport Minister Knut Arild Hareide has been delayed.
– Now I wrote him a letter about this twice, I raised it with Rotevatn twice, but Oslo has not yet received a reply.
New Oslo ban
– Break the road
She emphasizes that the lawsuit for the rejection of a fossil car is not just about Oslo.
– Here we will open the way to other cities. For this reason, it must also be clarified in the climate report that all municipalities that want a zero emissions zone have the opportunity, he continues.
Big cities, led by Lan Marie Berg, are asking Rotevatn to ensure that municipalities that want to can also impose payment for parking in private parking areas.
The price should at least be able to correspond to what it costs to park on municipal land. The municipality of Bærum has expressed its disagreement on this point and consequently does not support this claim.
Parking ticket
“Access to cheap or free parking is one of the main reasons why many people still choose to use a private car instead of public transport or a bicycle,” it is stated in the justification of cities for the desire to introduce parking fines on private land.
Berg rejects that people run the risk of having to pay to park on their own plot if it is entered.
– Of course, no. It is your private employer, who gives you free parking, since you will not be able to, if the municipality wants to introduce it, he says.
– We know that access to free parking is a major reason people drive to work or shopping. If you have to pay for that parking too, then you will help someone get on the bus or subway. In Oslo, there are such good alternatives that we think this will work well for most people, says Berg.
Garbage capture with CO2
Large cities are also calling for large-scale demonstration projects for CO2 management to be organized.
– By capturing and storing CO2 from waste incineration, cities can become carbon negative and large cities take on an ever-increasing climate footprint of consumption in urban regions, the entry states.
Big cities are calling for work to be intensified and for CO2 capture to take place in Stavanger, Bergen, Trondheim and Kristiansand, in addition to Oslo.
More room for maneuver to set climate requirements in bidding processes, continuation of the zero growth target for passenger traffic in cities, and greater emphasis on the circular economy are also on the list of instruments cities will have in place. its place.
Berg describes the meeting with Rotevatn as good and says he listened and took notes. Expectations in the climate report are high after the meeting, he clarifies.
– I interpreted it positively. Now Rotevatn must comply with this entire list, if not the climate message is a big stir, he says.
– Includes entrance
Climate and Environment Minister Sveinung Rotevatn (V) says he very much appreciates the meeting with the KS network and takes the information with him.
– When it comes to the points made by Lan Marie Berg, these are issues we are working on in relation to the government’s climate plan, which is just around the corner, says Rotevatn.
It will not go into what comes in the plan.
– In general, there is no reason to claim that national climate policy is an obstacle for cities to implement effective climate cuts. On the contrary, national policies for electric cars, biofuels, public transportation and more are the main reason why several of our cities, fortunately, manage to reduce their emissions of greenhouse gases, says Rotevatn.
