(THIS ARTICLE IS MACHINE TRANSLATED by Google from Norwegian)
Of: Hanne Sofie Lindahl
A new expedition stands at the door. The green shift is on everyone's lips. This abstract concept, which everyone has an idea of what looks like, but which no one is quite capable of explaining, is the most important thing we will work towards over the next few decades. The green shift should be seen as an expedition where the low-emission community is the target. It is the new, undiscovered goal, the great test of our time for men and women – the Green Pole.
Choices. Climate change is destroying the way we have lived on Earth, on such a large scale that hundreds of millions of people are losing their lives. Being a climate refugee is no longer a game of words, it is a reality for a rapidly growing group of people around the world. Common to them is that they have little resources to put in when the crisis strikes and that they have done little to end up in this situation themselves.
At the same time, we know enough about the cause of climate change to be able to point to some challenges. One of the most important is that we use resources that nature has spent millions of years creating – in a few hundred years. We agree that the world needs much more energy, but that it cannot come from these fossil resources. Therefore, we have to imagine a society that is radically different from what we have today. This is what makes it an expedition – we don't quite know which way we end up taking, but we have a good idea of where we're going.
But do we have what it takes? Are politicians tough enough to make the hard priorities? Road selection is not just about choosing where we are going, but also where we are not. To choose is to choose at the same time. Unfortunately, there are few places this is as clear as in the green shift debate. By disputing an inflated oil industry, the result is that we do not make any road choices at all.
A favored industry. The pace at which the fossil resources of oil and gas are extracted is today artificially high. Through favorable support schemes – which in all other industries would be called subsidies – the state takes both financial costs and risks for the companies. The exploration reimbursement scheme and favorable amortization rules are examples of schemes that favor the petroleum industry.
industry compared to other industries in Norway. The reimbursement scheme works so that companies looking for oil can get a full 78 percent of exploration costs reimbursed by the state. The favorable advantage means that many more companies are willing to try their luck. As a result, only 23 of 73 oil companies drilling for oil on the Norwegian continental shelf are in a tax position, and billions of Norwegian tax money are thrown out the window to keep the petroleum industry artificially alive. In this way, the subsidies contribute to the green shift and the development of renewable energy being the second choice among investors and Norwegian energy producers. The subsidies not only hinder the realization of the green shift, but also create powerlessness among politicians. Few people dare address the issue, and the subsidies remain protected and left out of the debates.
Priorities. The preconditions for a successful green shift are clear priorities. We do not reach the Green Pole by building up an industry that we have to get rid of. If we are to reach the Green Pole, priority must be given to measures to create growth and development in the renewable industry, while the petroleum industry must be phased out. One cannot always get in a bag and bag. The silence and the disclaimer must cease, and this must happen when Norwegian politicians start talking about what we should prioritize down when we prioritize something else.
We do not reach the Green Pole by building up an industry that we have to get rid of.
The solutions are already many, and new ones are created every day. Investments in environmental technology, the establishment of a state renewable company and increased investments in renewable energy and infrastructure through the Norwegian Oil Fund are specific measures that can be implemented to move Norway closer to the Green Pole. What we need now are brave politicians who dare to set goals and fearlessly embark on an expedition against the low-emission society. Right now we are nowhere near reaching the goal, although everyone agrees that it is the Green Pole we are going to. We've talked long enough. Now, Norwegian politicians must show that they are ready to make the right priorities. The expedition to the Green Pole has started.
