On Wednesday, the UN Secretary-General gathers UN countries for a climate summit. But António Guterres has made a clear demand: Only countries “that have something concrete to contribute” can delay the Climate Ambition Summit. They must be able to present concrete and credible plans to cut emissions, among other things by converting society from the use of oil, coal and gas to emission-free alternatives. On Tuesday evening, news learned that Norway was not on the list of speakers. Only 34 member states will have the floor. – Should have listened to SV – It shouldn’t come as much of a surprise that Norway is not allowed to speak during this climate summit. The reason is obvious. The government has no new major climate measures to come up with. If they had listened to SV in the budget negotiations and stopped oil drilling in vulnerable sea areas, they could probably also have spoken at the UN. Lars Haltbrekken, SV. Photo: Tale Hauso / news That’s according to SV’s spokesperson for energy and environmental policy, Lars Haltbrekken. – Norway must create a credible plan for restructuring the fossil fuel industry. SV has many times proposed remedies to make this happen, and we are ready to form a majority with the government, he says. Ola Elvestuen is energy and environmental policy spokesperson for Venstre. He says it this way: – I understand Guterres not giving Støre speaking time at this meeting. There is no reason to let even a prime minister talk seriously about climate change without following this up with concrete action. Climate and Environment Minister Espen Barth Eide (Ap) had hoped Norway could speak during the meeting on Wednesday. Photo: Anders Tvegård / news Would like to speak at the meeting Climate and Environment Minister Espen Barth Eide (Ap) is in New York, and participated together with Støre and several other government members at the UN’s so-called high-level week. He says that Norway has a tradition of making new announcements at the formal climate summits, not at the UN General Assembly. – We are one of the largest contributors in the world to international rainforest work, which is a very important part of global climate work. Norway emphasizes being a long-term and reliable cooperation partner and contributor both to the UN system and to our partner countries, says Espen Barth Eide. He also points out that in the future Norway will actively contribute to the world agreeing on a long-term global plan for the transition to an emission-free energy system. – We would like to talk about all this, but we are not among the quarter of the 193 member countries who speak at the meeting. Regardless of that, we will participate in the meeting with great interest, says Barth-Eide. UN Secretary-General António Guterres will host the meeting on Wednesday. Photo: Themba Hadebe / AP – Will be weakened internationally Ola Elvestuen believes that it will be noticed internationally that Norway will not get speaking time at the meeting. Ola Elvestuen, Left. Photo: Even Hye T. Barka / news – The fact that the richest country in the world does not act with strength to overcome global warming is noticed internationally and it weakens Norway’s position in international climate work. The Ap/Sp government must start by initiating powerful climate measures and stop with just empty talk – then Norway will also get speaking time at the UN, says Elvestuen. He adds: – The only new initiatives the government has in a world facing a climate and natural crisis is to continue the oil exploration as if nothing is happening, and to be the first country to open up deep-sea mining. At the same time, they have no measures to achieve their own goal of cutting 55 percent of emissions by 2030, and they are lagging far behind in the work to follow up Norway’s binding climate agreement with the EU. Frode Pleym, manager of Greenpeace Norway, says they unfortunately expected that Norway did not get to speak at the climate meeting. Photo: NTB It should be a wake-up call – This is super embarrassing for Norway! Hopefully it is a real wake-up call for our politicians, says Frode Pleym, head of Greenpeace Norway. He believes this shows that Norway does not have a credible restructuring plan. – Norway must therefore announce that we are ending all new oil exploration. The high pace in the oil industry neither cuts emissions nor creates safe jobs, says Pleym. Secretary General of WWF Verdas naturfond, Karoline Andaur says that it is embarrassing for Støre to have to stand in the hallway and have to suffer for the environmental nation Norway. – It does not help to have ambitious targets for emission reductions and renewable energy when we are preparing for an oil boom by approving a record number of developments on the Norwegian continental shelf, she says, and adds: – Støre should take this as a clear signal that the government’s policy about “developing, not discontinuing” the oil and gas industry stands in the way of Norway as a credible climate change nation. Secretary General of WWF Verdas naturfond, Karoline Andaur says that this is embarrassing for Norway. Photo: WWF – Has looked back on climate policy Høgre’s Mathilde Tybring-Gjedde believes that the government has looked back on Norwegian climate policy. At the same time, she is calling for a new climate plan from the government. Mathilde Tybring-Gjedde, Right. Photo: Tore Linvoller / news – The fact that we are denied speaking time, while the latest UN report says that we are lagging far behind in the fight to cut emissions, shows that the alarm is sounding. It is urgent to have a powerful climate policy globally and in Norway, which reduces emissions and takes care of nature. That means large-scale development of renewable energy, investing in climate solutions for the future, such as carbon capture and storage and hydrogen and increasing the price of C02, says Tybring-Gjedde. – Unfortunately, we have a government that does not take any of this to heart, she says. – No wonder the government fell through with the UN The leader of the MDGs, Arild Hermstad, is not surprised that Norway will not be allowed to make a statement at the meeting. Arild Hermstad, MDG Photo: Annika Byrde / NTB – It is no wonder that Jonas Gahr Støre and the Norwegian government failed at the UN. The government’s policy does not deliver significant climate measures, and the only result they have to show is an emissions reduction of just 0.5% in 2022, says Hermstad. – I am worried about what the government’s lack of climate action will do to Norway’s role internationally in the long term. We are in the process of losing face, and that will have consequences for the extent to which we can enter into agreements and influence other countries positively in the fight against climate change. The world no longer listens to politicians who do not take leadership in the biggest challenge of our time, he says. Neither do the USA and China. Other countries that do not get speaking time are the USA and China, which account for the largest emissions in the world. The United Arab Emirates, which is hosting the COP28 climate summit in December, also just has to listen. Among those who get to speak are Denmark, Iceland, Brazil, Canada, Pakistan, South Africa and Tuvalu, as well as the EU. Companies and institutions are also on the list of speakers, among them the banking and insurance group Allianz, the World Bank, the International Monetary Fund, the City of London and the American state of California.
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– Super embarrassing that Norway does not get speaking time at the UN chief’s climate meeting – news Norway – Overview of news from different parts of the country
