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Much has been said about the bulky the climate summit in Copenhagen from 7. to 18. December.

And not without reason: Tens of thousands of politicians, activists and media people have gathered in the Danish capital.

But one fundamental question arises afterwards: Was the meeting really necessary? And the answer to that is… No!

Because it is not the Copenhagen meeting that could save the world from global warming in the 21. century. There are not great promises that can prevent a climate more out of balance. It is not neat white paper signatures that will stop more of the ice in the Arctic from melting. There are no promises of huge emissions cuts and lunar landings within 2050 that will halt the drought and storm that hit the poorest.

The only thing that helps, is action. Now. No promises on what could happen in a hazy future.

And unfortunately, it is precisely action that is missing, best exemplified by Jens Stoltenberg who, absurdly enough, takes his own jet to Copenhagen, presumably to save the earth from the climate change. It is this enormous distance between life and learning, between the lack of self-effort and the serious words, that helps to create today's climate apathy.

If Norway had only understood the content of Brundtland Report "Our Common Future" from 1987, or keeping the 1997 Kyoto promise, everything would have been so much better. But instead, CO₂emissions in Norway only continue to increase, following a deliberate and deliberate policy on the part of the Storting majority.

Now they will drill for oil halfway to the North Pole. While Stoltenberg proudly tells Peace Prize winner Barack Hussein Obama that there are now increased economic opportunities in Norwegian waters, as new ship rents open in an ice-free polar sea. It's hard to believe.

Emissions are increasing. And Norway is at the top of the world in emissions per capita when our wealth creator, oil recovery, is included.

And then, for safety's sake, Norway will buy itself out of the problems, by trading climate quotas with poor countries. As if someone thinks it helps the world's climate emissions. No, the quota trade is rather the indulgence trade of our time.

If you want to cut emissions in the world, whether you are a prime minister or an ordinary citizen, there is one place to start: with yourself.

Why wait with others cutting 40 percent in 2040, when you yourself can cut 10 percent in greenhouse gas emissions in 2010? This is what is so good about the new "10:10 campaign", which Ny Tid was the first company to support this autumn (see 1010norge. no).

We are now entering a new year and decade. Instead of blaming everyone else, you can set a good example by setting a good example. If everyone cut 10 percent in 2010, we would not need more expensive and climate-hostile climate summits.

It is actually this climate issue is about: Concrete action now, no more empty promises. ■

Help the Rafto Prize winner

Wednesday afternoon we learned from the Rafto Foundation that Ilgar Nasibov – the man of the year Raft Prize winner Malahat Nasibova from Azerbaijan – was beaten down and badly injured in his home country. It happened when he was about to inform about a corruption case at Nakhchivan State University.

There were several athletes, studying at the sports faculty at the university, who took action against Nasibov and his colleague Vafadar Eyvazov. Both work for the "Democracy and NGO Development Resource Center", which is headed by Malahat Nasibova. In an interview with Ny Tid, she recently agreed to become a new "Without Borders" columnist in the magazine. Like the Rafto Foundation and the Helsinki Committee, Ny Tid condemns the attack.

We expect that the Azerbaijani authorities prosecute the perpetrators, and that the Norwegian authorities and their state-owned company Statoil, which invests heavily in the regime, better clarify their strategy to help respect human rights in the country. ■