Climate Justice

Photo: Ingvild Dahle/Norwegian Church Aid

This article contains:

International Climate agreement

Climate Justice

Norwegian emission reduction and Oil Fund Investment

Oil Fund Campaign

Individuals: Personal choices and opportunities

The issue

Rich countries are historically responsible for the majority of greenhouse gas emissions and still have the most emissions per capita. It’s the world’s poor that feel these effects most strongly, as they live in particularly vulnerable to areas, often rely more directly on natural resources, and do not have the safety net that rich countries do.

Women in the South are particularly affected. Already marginalized, environmental changes make their competition for resources even more difficult. Climate and environmental change displaces refugees, spreads diseases and creates hunger.  This is tragic on its own, but the inequality in its effects is what makes climate change a fundamental source of injustice, and a Changemaker issue.

Changemaker believes that poverty in itself does not create environmental problems, and that climate and environmental changes have been caused by overuse of resources in rich countries, to the detriment of the global South.  Climate and environmental is an issue of injustice, and cannot be solved with technological advances alone. Norway is among the countries with the highest emissions per capita, while gaining wealth from oil.  This gives us an additional responsibility as well as a unique opportunity to solve climate problems.

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Changemaker works for climate justice on three levels:

1. Worldwide: A new climate change agreement

The Intergovernmental Panel on Climate Change (IPCC) concludes that we must reduce greenhouse gas emissions in the world with 25-40% by 2020 to avoid irreversible climate changes that will come with more than two-degree average temperature increase.  A comprehensive global agreement, committed to by all nations is necessary to achieve this. The Kyoto Protocol was an important first step, but has proven to not be enough to solve climate problems.

It is important that all countries are heard in climate negotiations, including the poor. Rich countries refuse to take on climate commitments unless developing countries do the same, while  developing countries point to the rich countries' historical emissions, and the need to increase their greenhouse gas emissions to achieve development and ensure its citizens basic needs.  We believe that measures for the reduction and adaptation must be seen as an overall cost and that responsibility must be allocated to countries based on factors such as citizens' income and historic emissions after 1990. People who are unable to satisfy basic needs should be exempt from financial responsibility for the greenhouse burden. 

Additionally, Changemaker believes that the new climate change agreement must ensure the transfer of technology from North to South. But we must also recognize traditional technologies for adaptation and protection of natural resources in many communities, which is often cheaper and can work better under local conditions.  Western technology must be available but not forced upon developing countries.

The Norwegian authorities have to be a driving force to create a stronger climate agreement where rich countries take particular responsibility, both by reducing its own emissions, and contributing  financially to adapting to existing climate change and the transfer of renewable energy technology to the South.

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2. Current campaign: Tck tck tck. Time for Climate Justice!

In December 2009, all countries of the world meet for UN climate negotiations in Copenhagen known as COP15.  Putting in place an international agreement now may be the last chance to prevent irreversible climate changes and global warming exceeding two degrees. 

Our goal in the campaign is for Norway to be a driving force for climate agreement that will: 1.  Effectively stop global warming 2.  Preserve the right to development for poor countries. 3.  Commit Norway and the rich part of the world to bear the costs. 2009 is the year we will determine whether we can stop climate change! Our Climate Justice Campaign is a joint campaign between Norwegian Church Aid and Changemaker. Action: Changemaker is employing a variety of measures to promote climate justice including educational seminars, signature campaigns, and public demonstrations.

Witches representing political parties with bad climate policies boiling the globe. Photo: Nina Rose

One of our key methods is pressuring decision makers in Norway. With 100 days left until COP15 and just days before the Parliamentary elections in Norway, we held a public demonstration in downtown Oslo, calling out those political parties who are not committed to climate change. Dressed as members of the Conservative Party (Høyre) and Progress Party (FrP), who wish to drill for oil on the Norwegian islands of Lofoten and Vesterålen , and the Labor Party (Arbeiderpariet), who has chosen not to take a stand, witches “boiled the globe” to represent how drilling impacts the environment. Changemaker believes that climate is the most important election issue, and therefore reminded voters and politicians alike of the coming climate negotiations and the impacts of our decisions here in Norway.

Changemaker and Norwegian Church Aid have also been visited by Erik Solheim, Minister of Environment and of Development Cooperation, where they asked him tough questions about what he’s going to do about climate change. Solheim belives that Norway must has ambitious goals and is very concerned that Norway has not reached its goal of cutting emissions by 30%, however he believes we must join with others before raising Norwegian ambitions. Changemaker believes Norway must be at the forefront of climate justice as an example to the rest of the world, and by cutting emissions as the IPCC recommends, other countries will feel pressure to do the same.

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3. Norway: Emission reduction and Oil Fund investment

As a major exporter of oil and gas, Norway has a significant responsibility for the global climate crisis. Changemaker is against Norway opening up production of new oil and gas deposits.  Moreover Changemaker believes that the existing oil and gas sector must be stepped down, and that research on renewable energy must be given priority.  The authorities must also facilitate a transition to a more extensive use of renewable energy.  Although the Norwegian government has made a plan for how Norway will meet its Kyoto obligations, it has yet to put it into action. Norway must legislate its goal for emission reduction, which at its current levels, should be reduced by at least 90%.

At the same time, Norway must have a policy that aims to solve the real challenges of climate change-not only fulfill an agreement for agreement's sake.  Clean Development Mechanism projects (CDM), is one of the emission mechanisms in the Kyoto agreement to support and finance climate change reduction projects in developing countries.  The use of this mechanism must be in addition to Norway's greenhouse accounting, and Norway must ensure that projects are effective and sustainable.

The wealth of the Norwegian Oil Fund (Government Pension Fund-Global) comes from an industry that contributes to anthropogenic climate change. It is Norway’s responsibility to invest this money responsibly, and we belive that the ethical guidelines for the fund should be expanded to explicitly deal with climate change. The Fund should increase investments in the field of renewable energy and invest in companies that solve climate problems, not create them.

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Past Campaign: Climate-friendly Oil Fund

The Oil Fund, or the Government Pension Fund – Global represents a double-climate problem.  First, it is money earned from a cause of climate change, and second, the capital is invested in companies that further exacerbate climate change. We believe that the Oil Fund should be invested in companies that address climate change issues rather than companies that create them.  So in 2006, we took action.

The campaign was kicked off after our summer seminar when 100 changemakers arrived with brooms, mops, and sponges to “wash” the Treasury Department of its dirty investments.  Building from this first action, the campaign mobilized a record high number of people, with over 6,000 signatures collected. Since every individual’s share of the oil wealth amounts to 300,000 kroner, these signatures represented 1.8 billion NOK of power, all delivered to Kristin Halvorsen, former Minister of Finance at the end of the campaign.

We reached out to partner with other organizations in order to create a broad campaign. Even Al Gore said “I totally agree” when presented with our campaign requirements! In the spring of 2007 we partnered with Nature and Youth (Nature og Ungdom) to facilitate a climate conference among the youth branches of all the political parties. At the end, all seven parties signed a settlement which, among other things, supported Changemaker’s Oil Fund campaign.

Results

The campaign quickly gained media attention and thousands of signatures, but it took several months before there was political response. Much has happened in the wake of this campaign that constitute political victories for Changemaker, and we have cause to celebrate.

The first political party to join the cause was the Christian Democratic Party, whose three representatives submitted a private bill for the further development of the oil fund climate profile in 2007.  Around the same time the government announced a commitment to active corporate governance where climate and children’s rights were given special priority. The management of the Treasury Department stated further that it would consider withdrawing from the companies that did not sign on to better themselves, but this has not happened. 

In 2008 the Finance Minister announced that it would evaluate the pension fund's ethical guidelines thoroughly.  Changemaker attended the opening conference in January 2008 and repeated their demands.  In February 2008, Finance Minister Kristin Halvorsen said that it would be appropriate to set aside a small portion of the oil fund for investment in climate technology.  Finally in 2009 it was decided that 20 billion of the oil wealth should be set aside for environmental investments! This is a huge victory for Changemaker, but we must continue to encourage responsible investment of the oil fund in climate-friendly companies.

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Individuals: personal choices and opportunities

Changemaker wants to raise awareness that the responsibility for climate change lies with companies, governments, and individuals. We encourage individuals to reduce their own consumption of electricity, fuel and material objects, since they contributes to greenhouse gas emissions and large amounts of waste.

Changemaker further believes that the Norwegian authorities should arrange for a significantly more climate-friendly life for individuals, by committing to high-speed rail, public transport, cycle paths and energy efficient flight measures.  As individuals reduce their own consumption, Norwegian decision makers are shown that they too can make the right decisions.  Participation in signature campaigns and other political actions further shows the government that they must make these decisions.

Changemaker seeks to educate and empower youth to make these individual decisions, so that collectively we can change this source of injustice in the world!

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