Vegetarian food in the schools and higher road tolls loom in the Norwegian capital, after the Greens Party could and did demand more power within Oslo’s new city government. The coalition made up of the Greens, Labour and the Socialist Left (SV) parties remains the same, but Labour lost some of its dominance. “Green politics […]
Cyclists cited in autumn darkness
October 21, 2019
As autumn sets in, so do Norway’s long, dark nights and mornings. Police in Oslo have been out in force during the early commuter rush, ticketing cyclists who lacked lights on their bikes. “When we transition into autumn, folks have to get used to new routines,” admitted one regretful cyclist, Henning Moe, to newspaper Aftenposten. […]
Government drops state windmill plan
October 17, 2019
Prime Minister Erna Solberg’s conservative coalition is scrapping a new national wind energy plan that identified specific areas as best-suited for windmills. It proved to be highly controversial, prompting Solberg to back down after massive criticism that huge wind turbines can ruin scenic wilderness and that local objections could be overruled. “This was supposed to be […]
Defense build-up bad for the climate
October 16, 2019
Norway’s new US-produced F35 fighter jets will contribute to considerably higher carbon emissions in 2030, the government admits, and that’s right when emissions are supposed to be 40 percent lower than they were in 2005. Norway’s gas production can amount to a “climate bomb” as well, according to a new report from a German think […]
Solberg heckled by climate demonstrators
October 14, 2019
When Prime Minister Erna Solberg formally re-opened the Museum of Natural History in Bergen on Monday, demonstrators were on hand to protest her government’s climate and environmental policy. They held signs shaped like gravestones and featuring extinct and threatened birds, plants and animals. Police kept the demonstrators from the international organization Extinction Rebellion at bay […]
Norway can pay to avoid climate cuts
October 14, 2019
A loophole in Norway’s agreement with the EU to cut Norwegian carbon emissions will once again allow the country made wealthy by its oil industry to pay other countries to cut their emissions instead. Some government politicians are already talking about financing emissions cuts in poor Eastern European countries, so that Norway’s oil industry can […]
Norway won’t meet its UN climate goals
October 8, 2019
Not even what the government calls “the greenest state budget ever” will enable Norway to meet its climate goals for 2020, and its unlikely to meet the goals promised as part of the UN’s Paris Agreement for 2030 either. The Greens Party is already threatening to propose a lack of confidence vote in Parliament, to […]
Greens: ‘Stop oil exploration now’
October 8, 2019
UPDATED: The national spokesperson for Norway’s Greens Party is calling on the Conservatives-led government to immediately halt issuance of new oil and gas exploration licenses, and he’s won cautious support from some Conservative MPs. Arild Hermstad is also once again urging the government to eventually phase out oil production in much the same way Germany […]
More oil gushes as conflicts rage
October 6, 2019
Norway’s state-owned oil and energy company Equinor publicly celebrated during the weekend as it started pumping up the first oil from its huge new Johan Sverdrup field in the North Sea. Far from feeling guilty about producing more oil in the midst of ever-increasing conflicts over climate concerns, executives of the former Statoil found no […]
Firms fail to report impact on the seas
September 27, 2019
Norway is a major shipping, seafood and offshore nation, yet the vast majority of its maritime businesses fail to chart or report their own impact on the seas. The firms’ lack of consideration for the seas may embarrass their own government, which has launched an international effort to address maritime pollution. Just as Prime Minister […]
CURRENCY RATES