Climate Minister Barth Eide: When it comes to the climate, Norwegian politicians have done a bad job across party lines

The current and previous climate ministers agree that Norwegian politicians have not done enough to combat the climate crisis.

“We have done a far too bad a job… across party lines. We have known about the climate crisis for a long time, but we have done too little,” Minister of Climate and Environment Espen Barth Eide (AP) told the newspaper Vårt Land.

Norwegian politicians have been reprimanded by Kikki Kleiven, the Bjerknes Center for Climate Research director. 

She wants politicians to take responsibility for the fact that Norway has not had major emission cuts so far and calls for more transparency that, according to her, the 1.5-degree target is unrealistic.

Improved efforts needed

Barth Eide accepted the criticism. He pointed out that Norway should have been better at investing in renewables, saving energy, putting higher price tags on emissions, and building value chains for emission-free alternatives. 

He believes that the Stoltenberg and Solberg governments share the responsibility for decreasing Norway’s dependency on the oil industry.

Former Minister of Climate Sveinung Rotevatn (V) also agrees that the efforts have been slow. 

“I take responsibility for every tonne of CO2 we emitted and did not emit when I was Minister of Climate. I am glad the emissions went down when the Liberal Party was in power, but it has not gone fast enough,” Rotevatn said.

Barth Eide and Rotevatn don’t agree that the 1.5-degree goal is impossible to reach, but they admit that it is challenging.

Source: © NTB Scanpix / #Norway Today / #NorwayTodayNews

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