Occasionally, Norwegian politicians should look a bit more at superhero movies. My best tip is to listen to Spider-Man's Uncle Ben.
(THIS ARTICLE IS MACHINE TRANSLATED by Google from Norwegian)
This is a contribution to the «Engaged utterance» column in the weekly magazine Ny Tid, in print 12.04.2013. In the column come various idealistic organizations are speaking. The participants are: ATTAC Norway, Nature and Youth, Agenda X, Skeiv Ungdom, Changemaker, One World, The Future in Our Hands, Bellona, the Joint Council for Africa, the Norwegian Society for Nature Conservation, MSF and NOAH – for animal rights.
Join the debate on the weekly magazine's Ny Tid debate pages – send your reaction to this text to debatt@nytid.no. Preferably before 1 p.m. 14 Tuesdays to get printed in the same week's edition, Friday.
Affluence. Both Norwegian politicians and oil companies claim that it is Norwegian oil and gas that lifts millions of people out of poverty. The truth is quite another. Because when the Norwegian oil and gas are burned, huge emissions of greenhouse gases are emitted, and these affect the world's poorest and more vulnerable.
Norwegian oil and gas are not sold to the poor farmers in Niger. Norwegian oil and gas are sold to Europe, so the British can cook their tea after work. It does not lift these millions out of poverty. Unfortunately, it is actually conceivable that Norwegian oil and gas will help to make their future even more uncertain. To make the climate even more unstable. What kind of superhero would we be if we agreed?
The climate problem we are facing is very real. At home it is a little difficult to take over at times. For what consequences do we get from one degree warmer climate? Or a half meter rise in sea level? For people in the poor parts of the world, one degree of global warming brings with it enormous changes.
Unsolidar line
A half meter rise in sea level in some countries will threaten millions of people's lives. At the same time, climate change is affecting youth worldwide. In Bangladesh, school buildings are destroyed by natural disasters and in Tajikistan, schools are kept closed in winter because it is simply too cold.
Climate change is already hindering education for thousands of young people around the world, and the common feature of these young people is that they come from countries that are not responsible for the changing climate.
This is exactly why it is so insanely unfair and unsolidary that we are doing. We have been rich in an industry that creates a product that helps to cook the globe. When we found it 40 years ago, we didn't know it, but now we know. We know that we make money on oil and gas, but we also know that the poorest are affected by the consequences.
One of the easiest ways to do that is to change the way we get energy today. Given that over 1,3 billion people are also without access to electricity, we also need to produce more energy. But we are totally dependent on doing so in a way that does not subject our climate to further stresses.
Renewable energy
Therefore, renewable energy production must be the focus, combined with a commitment to energy efficiency and post-insulation of existing building stock, both in the rich and developing countries. The UN is preparing new targets as a successor to the Millennium Development Goals, and for the first time is working on its own development goals for energy.
Uncle of the cartoon character Spider-Man, Ben Parker, said: "With great power comes great responsibility." It is time for politicians to start listening to him. The great power that Uncle Ben talks about in this case, is the knowledge.
All the knowledge we have gained about climate change and the climate impact over the last 20 years gives us tremendous power. It is a power we must use right. We must use it to reverse development. To prevent the worst consequences of climate change. If we just want it strong enough, we get it. ■
(This is an excerpt from Ny Tid's weekly magazine 12.04.2013. Read the whole thing by buying Ny Tid in newspaper retailers all over the country, or by subscribing to Ny Tid -click here. Subscribers receive previous editions free of charge as PDF.)
