We have asked the public what issues you want to read about? Many responded that we should write more about overconsumption. – Yes, we are environmentally conscious and also buy used clothes. We give the clothes we no longer wear to Fretex or our siblings, say friends Amalie Hennum and Juna Muller. The two 18-year-olds wear trousers and jumpers in a clothing store. Wardrobe renewal. – I probably shop for clothes two or three times a month, but I have friends who buy much more often, Hennum asserts. In 2016, it was pointed out that the overuse of clothing is the biggest environmental challenge: “On average, we have 359 items of clothing in our closet. One in five hangs unused”. Hennum and Muller have jobs, and half their wages are deposited into a savings account. One third goes to shopping for clothes. – I probably have 20-25 sweaters at home, says Muller. – Oh, you have more then! objects the friend. Actually, Muller was going to buy new trousers, but now she is standing with a sweater in her hand. – Do you need it? – No, I’ll hang it back … and then wait until you’ve left, she laughs. Are you willing to cut down your consumption for the climate cause? Yes of course. No I dont want to. Maybe. But not before I think it really gets serious. Show result The politicians do not dare to have the discussion – I have tried to raise the discussion about overconsumption. In the municipal council, through chronicles and with politicians here during Arendal week. No one dares to participate in such a discussion! MDG politician Tormod Knutsen warns against the consequences of our overconsumption – and is supported by a professor. Photo: Tina Brock / news Like CO₂ emissions from a factory pipe, given words are pumped out by Tormod Knutsen. The municipal board member for MDG in Larvik and the representative of the Besteparentes climate action is passionately concerned with the environment. – The last year Norway did not have overconsumption was in 1970. It has completely derailed. We have only increased consumption, even though we actually have enough, Knutsen points out. Consumption increases in Norway Ola and Kari Nordmann’s shopping habits leave a mark on the climate. We are at the top of the world. Last autumn we bought more clothes and shoes than ever before. We spent NOK 22.4 billion on this in the fourth quarter, NOK 4.4 billion more than in the same quarter in 2019. The overall consumption of goods by Norwegian households increased by almost 13 per cent during the pandemic. Each year, a date is calculated for when all nations’ consumption exceeds the earth’s capacity to reproduce this, the so-called Earth Overshoot Day. This date has come at the end of July in recent years, but if you look at Norway’s consumption alone, it already comes on 18 April. That is to say, if everyone consumed as much as us per capita, we would need 3.4 globes for the earth to recover. Norway is the worst in Europe He mentions Earth Overshoot Day. Every year, the date is calculated for when all nations’ consumption exceeds the earth’s capacity to reproduce this. The date has come at the end of July in recent years. If you look at Norway’s consumption alone, it already came on 18 April this year. – Is it possible to be optimistic about the future? – There is hope. I think some young people are beginning to understand the connection here, unlike us old people who have turned to a large overconsumption, Knutsen replies. We simply have to cut consumption, otherwise it goes off the cliff, says Tormod Knutsen. Photo: Tina Brock / news – How can our consumption become more sustainable? – There is something called a circular economy. We simply have to cut down on consumption, see values other than material ones. A change of mentality MUST be needed, for everyone! Norway has the worst circular economy in Europe. According to this report, only 2.4 percent of the goods we use go back into the cycle. Knutsen wants the politicians to take the lead, but thinks it will be difficult. – They absolutely do not want to implement something that makes them unpopular with the voters, concludes Knutsen. This is what the world has promised to do against climate change. In the Paris Agreement, the countries of the world agreed to limit global warming to 2 degrees, and most preferably 1.5 degrees. 5 degrees The world is already around 1 degree warmer than pre-industrial times. Even the most optimistic scenarios in the UN’s latest climate report imply that one will for a period exceed 1.5 degrees The sixth main report from the UN’s climate panel clearly states that the consequences of climate change will be greater, more unpredictable and more difficult to adapt to as the temperature in the world increases rising Serious changes – Norway is at the top of consumption in the world. We are few, but per person we leave a very strong imprint when it comes to consequences for nature. Arild Vatn, professor emeritus, formerly associated with the University of Environmental and Life Sciences at Ås, largely agrees with Tormod Knutsen. Professor emeritus Arild Vatn warns against our overconsumption. Photo: NMBU He says the challenges are great, but believes the biggest problem is that we have not realized what development we are heading into. – We are far behind when it comes to climate change. When asked how far we have possibly come in this development or when the changes will come, Vatn answers as follows: – It is difficult to specify a time. We are pushing the system towards serious changes, which will come at times we do not know and with a strength that we cannot estimate either. How dramatic it will be, no one knows. Furthermore, when we get past a certain point – what is called a tipping point in nature – it becomes very difficult to turn around, Vatn answers. The UN’s climate panel’s latest report The new main report from the UN’s climate panel (IPCC) summarizes the latest research on climate change. The report is the sixth in a row. The first was published in 1990. The sixth main report from the panel will consist of three parts. Part two came on 28 February, which looks at impacts, climate adaptation and vulnerability. Over 270 researchers from 67 countries have contributed to the latest interim report. Altogether, the researchers have gone through over 34,000 sources to summarize the knowledge about the field Measures to slow climate change are the subject of the latest interim report, which will be presented on 4 April New and unknown world He mentions several visible consequences. The heat waves in Europe this summer are one of them, the reduction in the number of species is another. But says that it doesn’t seem like we are able to take it in. In autumn, the climate panel determined that there is no longer any doubt that humans are changing the climate. Here is hurricane “Larry” as seen from the International Space Station on 7 September 2021 Photo: Thomas Pesquet / Esa/Nasa – What can be done to stop this? – There are two things. One is to change the way we produce. Of course we have to move away from fossil energy. But also think that it is possible to live good lives without getting more in our wallets and that the companies get more and more profits. Behind this lies the fundamental problem; the way we make decisions: – Short-term politicians who are more concerned with the upcoming four-year period for which they have been elected. – Business managers who have a claim to a quick return to the owners. Arild Vatn says we have to think 50, 100 and 200 years ahead. – I warn against making policy as if it is most likely going well and thinking that we can change course if it doesn’t go that way. If we talk about tipping points, then it is too late when they have been passed. Then we are in a new and unknown world which in all likelihood involves worse conditions for both humans and most other life.
ttn-69
Norwegians are the worst at consumption – will have serious consequences for the climate – news Oslo and Viken – Local news, TV and radio
