A four-year climatic roar awaits the Storting – E24

Since the celebration in 2019, Klimabrølet has been named New Year of the Year and won the Oslo Environmental Prize.

Now there is a new kind of brand on stairs.

– Instead of the largest weather mark, we will now make the longest. We will cry out for the climate for four years, during the Storting period, to keep politicians coming into government on their toes.

This is what Klimabrølet leader Even Nord Rydningen says.

Together with thousands of other enthusiasts and 70 environmental organizations, the goal is to reach out widely and get as many Norwegians as possible involved in the climate crisis.

– It is not just political and technological solutions that are needed to solve the climate crisis. Building a bridge and building broad and popular support is currently the most important and most difficult piece to implement, says Rydningen.

– We will collect roar and display it digitally and through a physical installation. In addition, we will help increase participation among first and second time voters, he says.

The business community must also roar

Shift is one of the organizations that has chosen to join the new selection.

With business leaders from Storebrand, Posten, Coca-Cola, Telenor and Microsoft, they are one of the largest business organizations fighting for a clearer climate framework.

– Klimabrølet managed to put the issue of climate on the agenda with deafening force in 2019, through an expression that resonated with many, including the business community, says CEO Bjørn K. Haugland at Skift.

Shift believes that Norway’s green change is too slow and will have predictable fees and requirements, so the business community can plan cuts.

– At the same time, we must dare to think big and set a course for Norway with focus areas within, for example, carbon capture and storage, offshore wind, hydrogen, zero-emission transport and circular business models, says Haugland.

– We must create green competitiveness in all industries. In the age of the climate crisis, all jobs are big jobs, he says.

Believes that roar can create greater political room for maneuver

The overall goal of the climate roar is to ensure that Storting politicians take measures that are in line with the Paris Agreement and that guarantee nature.

– We do a lot of good in Norway, but it is also clear that we do a lot of things that are not in line with the Paris Agreement or the advice of the UN Nature Panel, says Rydningen.

– Regardless of who sits or will sit in government, we will support climate politicians in each individual party so they can pass as many climate measures as possible, he says.

Rydningen believes there was a change of pace in the climate fight in 2019 that Klimabrølet contributed to creating greater political room for maneuver.

– If there is something that particularly controls our behavior, it is what others do. In other words, we need to reach out and activate all the layers in this delicious social cake called Norway, he says.

Happy with the climate fight this year

– I am in favor of all those who are involved in this here and make demands on politicians.

This is what the Minister of Climate and Environment, Sveinung Rotevatn (V), says about Klimabrølet and similar movements.

He believes the biggest battle for the climate and the environment has been won this year: setting tougher emissions targets.

– The most important thing we can do to achieve the Paris Agreement is to set stricter targets. We finished that. Norway has the third largest emissions target in the world and we are working to get more countries to cut further, Rotevatn tells E24.

Rotevatn’s next climate report in January will be a blueprint for how the goal will be met.

– We do what we promise. Norwegian emissions are declining and have been declining for several years. The climate goal for 2020 is within our grasp and we will reach 2030, he says.

Rotevatn believes that Norway needs strengthened policies and targets, among other things at the level of taxes, injunctions and bans that can help reduce emissions.

– We have already released a couple of measures, including in the maritime sector. In the years to come, we will demand that all ships be environmentally friendly, he says.