– Bellona helped turn the nature conservation campaign into an environmental campaign. Now there is a kind of nature conservation movement that is stopping the environmental fight, says Frederic Hauge. These days he marks 40 years as a central figure in the environmental movement. This week, Hauge is in Arendal to talk about his new collaboration, a company that will raise billions for green investments. But he also uses the opportunity to take a strong stand against parts of the nature conservation movement. – Impeding the green shift Climate change is coming closer and closer to us, and the challenges to overcome them are waiting in the queue. In order to meet the crisis, significantly more renewable energy must be developed in the future, believes Bellonastifteren. – This is something that large parts of the environmental movement and the nature conservation movement are against. And that is an obstacle to the green shift, he says to news. Hauge also highlights wind resistance as problematic: – In my opinion, there are now such dramatic climate changes underway that we cannot care if windmills look ugly, so to speak. Photo: Vegard Woll Hauge singles out the Nature Conservation Association and SV as examples of the problem: – The Nature Conservation Association which does not believe that it is necessary to develop more power, or SV which does not want to sacrifice nature to save the climate. He believes that industry-friendly environmental policy is absolutely essential to being able to cope with climate change. – In many ways, this is simple mathematics: if we do not get renewable energy, we will not be able to replace the fossil energy that is killing us. Deputy leader of SV Torgeir Knag Fylkesnes believes it is “nonsense from Hauge” that the party will not sacrifice nature to save the climate. – SV has fronted the climate battle for years, but all power production has consequences and there are real dilemmas. Unspoiled nature should never be the first place one looks for new power generation, says Fylkesnes. He points out that SV is in favor of the development of offshore wind, especially floating offshore wind. – I am very concerned about preserving nature and not destroying more than necessary, but the climate changes are now so violently dramatic that we will have such major changes in nature if we do not do something, says Frederic Hauge. Photo: Kristin Olsen / news Strongly disagree Truls Gullowsen, who is the leader of the Nature Conservation Association, reacts strongly to the criticism from Hauge. – I think it is sad that Frederic Hauge has been so blind to the power industry’s opportunities and consumption growth, that he forgets how important it is to also take care of nature. Gullowsen says to news that he agrees that tough choices must be made going forward in the climate battle. But he believes that these elections should not be about the destruction of nature, but about consumption. – We have to change from just continuing to waste to start saving. If we do that, we also manage to save nature, electricity and opportunities. Gullowsen emphasizes that the Norwegian Nature Conservancy does not say no to all new power development. – But I reject the idea that we have to choose between climate and nature, because we actually need both. – Saying that you will produce renewable power is no blank check for destroying nature, says Truls Gullowsen of the Nature Conservation Association. Photo: Kristin Olsen / news – Strongly underestimates climate change Norway is at the top of the world when it comes to electricity consumption per inhabitant. – If we manage to trigger the savings potential, we can take the time it takes to find sensible areas to develop the power we will eventually need, says Gullowsen. – But we have to do this in a gentle way, he adds. Gullowsen says he believes that there are opportunities for both offshore wind production that does not destroy marine life and wind power near existing infrastructure. Photo: Kristin Olsen / news Frederic Hauge, for his part, calls for a political settlement. – I believe that some greatly underestimate climate change, and fight on the wrong premises. We have to take the consequences of how dramatic the situation is.
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– Stops the environmental campaign – news Sørlandet – Local news, TV and radio
