Super-COP nærmer seg - hva betyr det for deg? Og for klimaet?

Først og fremst - vi kan kalle det super-COP, fordi hvert 5. år av FNs klimakonferansen COP er det noe ekstra viktig som skjer. Nå starter femårsperioden mot 2030 der verden har forpliktet seg til å nå 1,5 graders målet.

I år, på COP30, som finner sted i Belém, Brasil, fra 10. til 21. november, er et av hovedpunktene at alle land skal melde inn skjerpede nasjonale klimamål.

Men hvordan kan du få din stemme til å bli hørt, selv om du ikke skal dra til Brasil?

Det beste du kan gjøre er å vise de som skal representere oss i forhandlingene at du bryr deg. Norges befolkning bryr seg fortsatt om klimaet.

Hvis du er litt old school kan du skrive leserinnlegg - husk at politikere leser fortsatt aviser. Både til din lokalavis, der sjansen for å komme på trykk er god! Eller i en riksdekkende avis som Aftenposten, eller som en ytring til NRK.

Eller så kan du bruke plattformer som sosiale medier til å vise engasjementet ditt og bidra til å spre oppmerksomheten når noe viktig foregår på COP.

Du kan også hjelpe og løfte frem stemmene til andre som vil bli hardt rammet av klimaendringene, som urfolk, de som bor på små øystater, eller fra det globale sør.

En annen måte du kan bidra på nå før COP er å bli medlem i en av de store miljøorganisasjonene; WWF, Naturvernforbundet, Greenpeace og Natur og Ungdom. Disse organisasjonene reiser ned på klimaforhandlingene for å gjøre sitt beste for å sikre en sterkest mulig avtaletekst. Og med en større medlemsmasse kan de vise til at store deler av det norske folk støtter dem.

Vi har også akkurat fått et nytt statsbudsjett - en annen måte du kan engasjere deg for klimaet er ved å gjøre et av de politisk partiene som kjemper for å gjøre Ap grønnere, som MDG, SV og Rødt sterkere ved å bli en av deres medlemmer. Du stemte ved valget og nå er du gira på at stemmen din blir fulgt opp i reel poltikk.

Sist men ikke minst, følg med på nyheter om COP, snakk om det i nettverket ditt; med venner, familie, på skolen, på jobb. Og minn dem på at deres stemme også teller. FN representerer oss alle for å gjøre jorda mest mulig levelig.

Det er omtrent ingen av de problemene som finnes i verden i dag som vil bli bedre av et mer ustabilt klima. En trygg klode er grunnlaget for alt. Derfor er COP viktig, og derfor er det viktig at vi benytter de sjansene vi har, som COP, til å si ifra at verden bryr seg.

Fikk du med deg septembers beste naturnyhet?

I september ble endelig FNs havavtale for naturvern på åpne hav vedtatt! 🥳

Dette er kjempegode nyheter for verdens hav!

Målet er å verne 30 prosent av verdens havområder innen 2030. 💦

Avtalen skal bidra til å beskytte marine områder som strekker seg over millioner av kilometer. 🌍

Den skal også forhindre overfiske og dyphavsgruvedrift. 🐙

Avtalen skal også gjøre det mulig å opprette havreservater. Dette er områder med sterkt eller fullstendig vern i internasjonalt farvann. 🐳

Rundt ti millioner arter og økosystemer har det åpne hav som sitt hjem. I tillegg lever mange uoppdagede arter i havet. 🐡

Hvert tredje pattedyr i havet er utrydningstruet, i følge FNs naturpanel. 🦦

Overfiske og klimaendringer er de største truslene mot livet i havet. 🎣

Havavtalen kan også hjelpe klimaet fordi når vi verner havområder beskyttes også økosystemer. Et friskt hav lagrer naturlig karbon i havbunnen, noe som kan bremse klimaendringene. 🌊

Kilde: FN-Sambandet 🇺🇳

Gode miljøvennlige sommervaner

Hva kan du gjøre for naturen i sommer?🍓

1. Hvis det er bålforbud, ikke brenn bål! Du kan ende opp med å svi av verdifull natur. 🔥

2. Aldri «kvitt deg» med engangsgrillen i sjøen, tenk på livet der nede. 🐠🦭

3. Ser du plast i eller nær sjøen, plukk det opp. 🥤🐙

4. Åpenbart, ikke vær en som forsøpler når du nyter finværet. 🚬 🌞😎

5. Så bievennlige blomster i hagen din. 🐝🌼

6. Nyt den skjønne årstiden og gled deg over hvor flott naturen er. 🌸🌊

7. Bli så glad i hele naturen at du i september stemmer på et parti som vil ta vare på den. 🌳💚🌍

My time at GRID-Arendal

For the past 7 months, I worked at GRID-Arendal, a non-profit environmental communications centre. This sadly led me to neglect writing here for a while. To rectify this, I will link some of the pieces I wrote in my time at GRID:

I started during Arendalsuka, a democracy festival held every year in August in Arendal. GRID usually hosts many events, and I co-wrote a summarising article of our events. One of the highlights for me were the talks where we collaborated with different indigenous communities and talked around a bonfire in a lavvu.

In September, we were part of hosting the first ever World Cleanup Day in Tromsø, and I wrote an article about why the world need such a day. The theme this year was 'Arctic Cities and Marine Litter’. Plastic is currently a constant problem, specially in and near the ocean, but the Norwegian cleanup model is a great example of how the tidy up can look like.

In leading up to the massive UN plastic treaty meeting happening Busan, South-Korea, I interviewed all our scientists and experts working with plastic on how GRID would contribute to making a strong plastic treaty. Sadly, the run up to this meeting got little media attention, so I wrote an article originally called “INC - the meeting that nobody is talking about”. It was fascinating to hear all the different approaches, even though the meeting ended up unsuccessful.

Throughout the time I worked at GRID, I was also part of writing a longer storymap on GLOF’s - Glacier lake outburst floods! 2025 is the International year of glacier preservation, and leading up to this, we published this new research on the significance of both Norwegian and Pakistani glaciers.

One day we got a visit from Geneva, from Zoï Environment Network, to go into collaboration with them. To sign the memorandum, I was invited for a small ferry ride where I photographed the seanse, and afterwards wrote a small piece.

In November, I interviewed our delegation going to COP29 in Baku, Azerbaijan. GRID hosted different meetings at the climate summit, and from Norway, we worked on spreading this information.

In February, we were approached by the church if GRID wanted to do a collaboration during Arendalsuka 2025. In preparation for this, we had a meeting with 8 priests and the bishop, and I was so fortunate to be invited to attend. Afterwards I wrote a piece I called 'Hope is the thing with feathers’ on how environmentalist organisations like UNEP and religious communities has a long history of cooperation, and why it is so important to strengthen the message of hope.

During my time at GRID, I both got to work with exciting topics like the oceans health with scientists from Havforskingsintituttet, Flødevigen. Another ongoing project I worked a lot with was a sea drone project called “SeaBee, where I wrote numerous articles and helped create the new website.

In addition to doing social media, making reels, and writing manuscripts for videos for GRIDs social media, my own was neglected, but for the future, I hope to update both instagram and here more often.

Deep sea mining

In Norway, the 12th of April this year, it was decided that the seabed outside of the Norwegian Sea and the Barents Sea will be opened up for deep sea mining. See the map at the bottom.

The reason why this decision was made is to find more minerals, as they can be needed when the world community transitions to a greener economy. But the many reasons why we are not ready yet is what I will highlight here.

According to a recent article in Aftenposten Innsikt, where they interviews numerous scientists working on deep sea research, one researcher at UiB claims that the positivism around deep sea mining in Norway can be compared to that of the American space exploration program of Apollo, where 400 000 people worked and 25,4 billion dollars where invested in order to fill the knowledge gaps.

Another scientist, explains how the Mareano mapping of the sea bed has not gone deeper than 3000 meters yet, and that some trial and error must be expected, and at the earliest can start in 2025. Yet another scientist who works with creatures found on the sea bed states that it is hard to investigate in one area, when we do not know what is in the surrounding areas. With this she means that it is hard to know anything about their specific functions, when we do not have adequate knowledge of surrounding areas.

If we dive even deeper, another scientist working on biotechnology who focuses his research on enzymes, tells us that every enzyme that we find can have an enormous potential, and we have just scratched the surface of what is to come. At the moment he is researching an enzyme that can break down plastic. His worry is that if we start drilling in the sea bed, enzymes that could help us solve the plastic crisis can get lost forever, before we even found it.

Both The Norwegian Environment Agency and the joint environmental movement has protested the sea bed mining, and WWF has even taken the Norwegian state to court over this decision. The EU has asked for a pause, until we know more about the risks and alternatives to mining in the sea bed. The bank Storebrand states that they do not wish to help fund this industry, and also points out that the demand for minerals may decline when we improve the current recycling systems for the minerals we already have.

If Norway opens up for deep sea mining, it will be as the first country in the world to do so. There are numerous reasons to show precaution and let the science explore first. One scientist states that if the politicians does not come with tough enough guidelines, before we know what kind of values that may lie at the sea bed, it can look like the politicians are just biding their time. This is not the politics we want. We want responsible politicians that will put the safety of our planetary health before profit.

We do not yet know what kinds of life that live in these areas, and these spectacular images from the sea bed only show us the tip of the iceberg. We do not know what we are destroying.

The red is the search area

The Story is in our bones

How worldviews and climate justice can remake a world in crisis.

This is a book unlike most other climate books I have ever read. That is because it is not solely a book about climate, but about how different indigenous people all over the world have world views that needs to be heard, and as the title say - remake a world in crisis.

The author, Osprey Orielle Lake, is also a friend of me. It was one of my greatest privileges at my time in Greenpeace to spend time with the delegation of indigenous women coming to Norway to confront among others the Ethical Council, about divesting from the dirty oil pipeline that went through the drinking waters, also known as Dakota Access Pipeline.

Therefore, when I was gifted this book and asked to review it, it was with awe and respect of the author, as I know Osprey to be very insightful and considerate as a human being.

The book starts out explaining what is meant with a world view and how the stories we tell shape how we view the world we live in. Also, how the dominant culture, meaning the Western world view, has completely dominated that which was once many different ways to view and interpret the world. We see how capitalism entered into how we began viewing our nature, from a view where it was once an integral part of us and who we are, to be something that could be put a price on and traded away.

For this reason, the chapter on trees resonated very strongly with me. I too feel passionately that we lose ourself when we lose nature, and especially trees. It’s heartbreaking to learn about all the World Trees or Trees of Life that has been cut down. The fact that forrest lands  tended by indigenous people are better taken care of should become general knowledge. When these areas are tended by indigenous and controled fires are executed, we can avoid those devastating wild fire the world saw for example in California in 2018.

Osprey’s words are so deliberately chosen and with both a highly academical approach but also that of indigenous traditional knowledge, makes the reader experience quite unique. I hope this beautifully written book will find many readers, because it should appeal to all of us. If you are either interested in indigenous people in general, or which role the patriarchy and racism plays into how the world has gotten to the stage we are in today with both the climate crisis and the loss of biodiversity, this book is for you. If you want to know more about the role capitalism and colonisation has played, this book is also for you. If you want to learn about living in balance with the natural laws of the Earth and how our language and memories are part of healing our relationship with nature, this is the book for you. It has been a delight to read this book, and I hope it will open many new conversations on the way forward to a world in better balance.

Varmeste sommer på 2000 år!

En ny tysk studie som har sett på årringene til trær viser at fjorårets sommer var den varmeste på minst 2000 år! Hva skal du gjøre med denne informasjonen?

💚 Hvis du har stemmerett -> stem på partier som vil kjempe for klimaet

💚 Hvis du skal ut å reise -> tenk på om du må fly?✈️ finnes det alternativer? 🚄

💚 Hvis du er aksjonær i si, et større oljeselskap -> husk at en styrt nedfasing av norsk oljeindustri og omlegging til fornybare løsninger er det forskerne sier vil være best for både økonomien vår og klimaet.

Sy om!

Når du er hvertfall 10 cm lengre enn den feilkjøpte badedrakten, men vil prøve å gi den et nytt liv. Se bildene under: Først klippet jeg den i to, planen var å lage en bikini, så råkantene måtte syes inn. Så lagde jeg et nytt feste i ryggen og voila - noe jeg før ikke kunne bruke kan nå brukes! Vi tror ofte det er vanskeligere enn det er å gjøre tilpassinger som får et plagg til å ha en funksjon igjen. Dagens oppfordring; hva i din garderobe kan du gjøre noe om på som gjør at du kan bruke det igjen?

Earth Day "Planet vs. Plastics"

Årets #earthday tema var «Planet vs. Plastics» Kan du se plastledningen som ligger her? Se bilde under. Jeg sa ifra til kommunen om forsøplingen, og de herlige menneskene sendte noen ut samme dag! Jeg var tilfeldigvis ute der da de kom så jeg fikk vist dem ledningen.

Det nytter å si ifra om store ting man ser i naturen som ikke skal være der. Sjekk med din kommune om du ser noe forsøpling.

For en gledesfølelse å se kabelen bli tatt med! I verste fall kunne dette jorde blitt slått og det skumle avfallet kunne kommet i høyet som dyr skal spise

Dagens oppmuntring; velg deg et område i ditt nærområde som du tar litt ekstra ansvar for. Det føles veldig godt å vite at du bidrar og naturen takker deg.

Ny EU-lov om restaurering av natur

Dagens gode naturnyhet! EU har vedtatt en naturrestaureringslov som sier at innen 2030 skal 30 prosent av naturen være gjenopprettet i ødelagte grøntområder og våtmarker! 

Innen 2050 skal 90 prosent av økosystemet være brakt i balanse. I tillegg kommer klare mål for biodiversitet i landbruket. Hva med å feire med en tur i skogen i dag?

Bokanbefaling av "Mitt klimaregnskap"

Boka “Mitt klimaregnskap” av Anja Bakken Riise er for alle oss som noen gang har lurt på hvor mye vi kan gjøre for klimaet ved å kutte våre egne utslipp.

“Mitt klimaregnskap” er svært detaljert og gir deg innblikk i hvordan alt fra valg du tar om mat, transport og bolig påvirker ditt personlige CO2-utslipp. Dette burde ligge på 2,5 tonn CO2 per person, hvis vi skal nå målene i Parisavtalen. I dag ligger det norske gjennomsnittet på 11 tonn CO2 per person, noe som åpenbart ikke er bærekraftig. Spesielt kapittelet om klær engasjerte meg veldig, siden dette er noe jeg har brukt mye tid på.

Likevel er jeg glad Bakken Riise stiller spørsmålet “hvem skal ta ansvar for mitt klimaregnskap?”. Dette fører oss rett til kjernen i det hun selv også konkluderer med etter å ha målt sine egne CO2 utslipp i et halv år. Selv om hun tar alle de rette valgene og lever tilnærmet eksemplarisk så kan hun ikke nå grensen på maks 2,5 topp CO2 fordi de offentlige utslippene som går inn i regnestykket er så høye. Her kommer vi tilbake til den fiktive diskusjonen der individet blir satt opp mot stater og store bedrifter. Du som enkeltperson har ikke det samme ansvaret som for eksempel et oljeselskap eller en stat. Bakken Riise konkluderer også med at vi enkeltindivider kan ikke få ned CO2 utslippene våre alene, vi trenger at de folkevalgte politikerne våre tilrettelegger så de gode valgene for klimaet også blir de lette valgene.

Bokens siste kapittel kommer også med en rekke konkrete tiltak som er så konkrete og så enkle å gjennomføre, at alle på Stortinget burde få hvert sitt eksemplar av denne boka så de kan følge opp tiltakene. Alternativt som boka foreslår selv, at flere skal lese samme kopi. Uansett er det handling som må til for å gjøre det lettere å leve mer i tråd med ønske om å ta bærekraftige valg.

Dette er også en fin påminnelse, når man vurderer om det er en ren asketisk livsstil som er det eneste du kan gjøre for klimaet, så kan du også melde deg inn i en miljøorganisasjon. Da vil du oppleve å ikke stå like alene bak klimaforslagene dine.

Bilde av boka “Mitt klimaregnskap”

Bokanbefaling av "Verden på vippepunktet"

Dette er boka for deg som føler du må ha mer fakta for å kunne delta i klimadebatten. “Verden på vippepunktet” av Dag O. Hessen gir deg nettopp det. Hvis du av en eller annen grunn ikke følte at du hadde grunnlag for å uttale deg, eller at du ikke hadde det store bilde, så får du det av denne boka. Som en klimaformidler synes jeg åpenbart det er topp med bøker som kan åpne opp debatten for flere.

Inndelingen i kapitler hjelper også til for å forstå de ulike krisene, som naturkrisen i kapittelet “naturtap”. Hessen er kanskje best når han går i debatt med seg selv og setter ulike synspunkter opp mot hverandre. I kapittelet “trollmenn og profeter” fikk jeg et gjensyn med de to retningene som begge ønsker å løse klimakrisen der den ene sier vekst- og konsumkritikk og den andre er svært teknologioptimistisk. Denne typen historisk kontekst for å forstå hvorfor vi er der vi er i dag, tenker jeg er helt nødvendig for å forstå hvorfor politikerne vi velger sier det de sier.

Er dette en dommedagsbok? Jeg vil ikke si det. Men det er en bok som gir oss mer innsikt i hvor det haster mest å sette i gang tiltak. Noen bøker jeg leser er sånne jeg tenker at alle burde ha lest. Denne boken skulle jeg hvertfall ønske at alle på Stortinget hadde lest, og ideelt sett at den ble oversatt til engelsk så den nådde enda lenger.

Verden på vippepunktet

COP28 - The results

Yesterday was a day of great relief in the climate realm, and so today is a day of contemplation. On the last day of the COP28 climate summit in Dubai, all the member countries could agree on the sentence: "Transition away from fossil fuels”. This is the first time fossil fuels has ever been mentioned in one of the closing agreements after a COP climate meeting.

The day prior, the first draft had removed any mentioning of fossil fuels altogether. Therefore the sorely needed phrase about the world agreeing to transition away from fossil fuels came as an early Christmas present to us all. However, in an ideal world, this Christmas present should have been delivered decades ago when the science first started to see the correlations between fossil fuels and global warming. But getting the sentence in is the first start.

At COP, the little words matter. Discussion points on using words like “phase out” or “phase down” are both considered to be stronger wordings than what was agreed. But as the UN Secretary General, António Guterres said in his closing statement: “The era of fossil fuels must end – and it must end with justice and equity” and “The world cannot afford delays, indecision, or half measures.”.

The previously mentioned Global Stocktake showed that the world is already behind in upholding the 1,5 degree target set in the Paris agreement. But not all is doom and gloom. On the first day of the summit, consensus was reached on what was thought to be a more difficult discussion point - namely the “Loss and damage” fund to the worlds low income countries and those most vulnerable to climate disaster.

There is a lot of hope that CCS - Carbon Capture Storage, will be a magical saviour in the energy mix forward. However, there is a real need to make changes in how we look at energy. If CCS were to be the only thing we changed in order to reach the 1,5 degree target, we would need to build 8000 facilities worldwide, according to the book “The world at the tipping point” by Dag O Hessen. Currently, there are only 196 CCS facilities worldwide.

Therefore another qoute worth mentioning is from the president of COP28, Sultan Ahmed Al Jaber: “An agreement is only as good as its implementation. This historic consensus is only the beginning of the road". This is where the real work start.

COP28!

COP season is upon us once again, and this year is going to be exciting! This years COP is being nicknamed the “Action-COP” meaning that action must be taken. But first, let me give you some context:

COP28 , 30th of November - 12th of December is this year held in Dubai. This has been a controversial decision because the leader of COP is also the CEO of a state owned oil company with plans to expand. He claims that this makes him very suited to negotiate.

What is this years agenda?

• Loss and damage - the distribution of money to help aid vulnerable communities who have suffered loss after climate change must come be agreed upon

• Increasing the speed towards a global fund that will help low income countries tackle climate change

• Accelerate the speed towards a clean, but just transition in energy

• To close the enormous emission gap

• To make this years COP the most inclusive COP ever

News this year is also that there will be a “global climate overview”. This will close COP28, and is meant as a process to show which countries who are meeting their set targets and which ones are failing to deliver.

There is also a theme each day:

Day 1: World leaders - this is where high level roundtable conversations will take place and start the initiating conversations following up from previous meetings. There are three main trails of conversations; The climate convention trail, the Kyotoprotocol trail and the Paris agreement trail.

Day 2: Climate action is in the focus - this day, world leaders are still there and will discuss actionable next steps. There will also be a platform where local communities will hold their first ever annual youth round table talk, with focus on indigenous youth and youths from local communities.

Day 3: Health, rebuilding and peace - this is the first day where peace is a talking point. The aim is to come to consensus around the health systems response to climate change.

Day 4: Finance and trade, equality and accountability - this day will focus on closing any precious negotiations. There will be made financial suggestions on how to close the gaps where it is needed the most, and the economical challenges that hinders girls and women.

Day 5: Energy and industry, just transition and indigenous people - this day the focus will be how we can ensure decarbonisation, growth in jobs and economical possibilities and a just transition in the entire energy and industrial sector. It is also the day of ingenious people, where we acknowledge the importance of indigenous knowledge in protecting and manage the planets health.

Day 6: Multilevel negotiations, urbanisation and transportation - this day will promote solutions in all levels of society towards decarbonisation and how to build resistent environments and infrastructures.

Day 7: A day of rest and contemplation

Day 8: Youth, children, education and competence - the hope of this day is to give young people he opportunity to help shape the results of COP28. The day will feature just representations and stronger engagement mechanisms.

Day 9: Nature, use of land and ocean - conservation of nature and sustainable management of nature is essential to reach the targets in the Paris agreement.

Day 10: Food, agriculture and water - climate change is pressuring food and water supplies globally. This day will have safety of food and water as the main focus.

Day 11: Light at the end of the tunnel? There is no thematic days on the last two days of COP.

Day 12: Usually the talks go into the weekend and we must expect that from this years COP as well.

Here is your overview of the next two weeks. I would encourage you to find your passion in this and follow # on social media to see how and where you can get engaged in COP, even though you are not physically present. My hope for this years COP is that we will see action.

source: UN

The Fosencase - and why we should all care

Right now in Norway, there are major protests by both sami activists and activists from the youth climate organisation Nature and Youth. They protest in Oslo city centre, on the main road - Karl Johan, and yesterday, inside our Parliament - Stortinget. Today, they are protesting inside Statkraft, the state owned energy company in Norway.

But what are they protesting? To find out - we need to know a little bit of history:

• The sami people have used the mountain area Roan and Storheia at Fosen since before year 1500 for their reindeers to graze in the winter months.

• In 2006, Statkraft, the state owned energy company applies to build a wind turbine park in the area. In 2010 they are granted this permission. There is filed a complaint against this decision, but it is confirmed that the wind turbines will be built in 2013.

• In 2014, the sami population of Fosen take this decision to the Norwegian court system, on the basis that the wind turbines will destroy important grazing territories and violate the samis rights to exercise their own culture.

• In 2016, even thought the case has not gone through the entire Norwegian court system, the building starts to take place. The state grants permission to start the project earlier. 11 billions NOK is invested in the project.

• In the meantime in 2018, the UN asks Norway to stop the building, until the court system has made a final verdict. This is on the basis of indigenous rights. The state does not follow this request and starts the running of the wind turbines in 2020.

• In 2021 the Supreme Court in Norway, which is our highest court, unanimously states that the wind turbines violates the samis rights to exercise their culture. This is a human rights violation. The concessions to build are therefore invalid.

• In 2022, despite the verdict in the Supreme Court, the wind turbines continues to run. The Norwegian government sends a letter to the Sami parliament saying they intend to have both sami herders and wind turbines in the same area.

• When 500 days had passed, the sami- and nature and youth activists shut down several Ministries with civil disobedience.

It is now 700 days since the verdict fell in the Supreme Court and nothing has happened at Fosen with the wind turbines.

What does this have to do with the climate and environment you might ask? Don’t we need all the green energi sources we can get? A green transition can not be sustainable when it violates human rights and indigenous rights.

Greta Thunberg joined the activists today, saying Norway made a disgrace of themselves in this case.

There are so many pictures that illustrates the Fosen case, but for many high quality ones, follow this link to NRK.

So what are the demands of the protesters:

• They demand that the Norwegian government delivers a solution before the ongoing human rights violation has reached 1000 days.

• The money that has been earned since the Supreme Court made its verdict should be used to restore the land to the reindeer herders.

• The climate crisis must be solved without violating indigenous human rights.

Why you, and why now - the new IPCC synthesis report (2023)

The 20th of March, the UNs climate panel (IPCC) launched their synthesis report on climate change. This is a compilation of the main findings from the reports published between 2018-2022. Climate scientist Jan S. Fuglestvedt, who has also contributed to the reports, held a presentation in Norwegian and presented the main findings.

The IPCC reports concerns the physical climate changes and the effects they have on nature and society, climate adaptation, emission reductions, absorption of greenhouse gases and means of mitigating the effects of climate change. The special reports concerns the 1,5 degree heating target, climate change and land areas and oceans and ice. The synthesis report combines the finding of these and puts them into context.

The IPCC reports concerns the physical climate changes and the effects they have on nature and society, climate adaptation, emission reductions, absorption of greenhouse gases and means of mitigating the effects of climate change. The special reports concerns the 1,5 degree heating target, climate change and land areas and oceans and ice. The synthesis report combines the finding of these and puts them into context.

The current status is that we are already at 1,15 degrees warming.

The first arrow says “"We are here”. The second arrow says “Will be passed within the next 10 years”. The third arrow says “Paris target”, and the fourth arrow says “This is where we are headed”.

This image shows future emission scenarios. Where darker pink and purple colours indicates a higher temperature. In order to not reach those scenarios - three things must happen.

1. Global Co2 emissions must be halved within 2030 to reach the 1,5 degree target.

2. Adaptation. All sectors and systems must adapt and find where they can cut emissions.

3. Financing. Some measures are smarter and more affordable than others. See list below.

To be able to close the gap it will take drastic changes in all sectors and systems.

This graph shows measures under 100 USD per ton CO2 that can be halved within 2030.

The UNs climate panel says that we have what we need to act on the crisis - but the speed needs to increase drastically! The choices we make this decade will affect life on this planet for millenias’s to come.

This is where you come in. Instead of feeling overwhelmed or exhausted by these facts - put your energy into action! Here are five smart ways for you to get an outlet for your climate frustrations/anxiety/numbness etc:

1. Join an organisation - chose one that’s local to you. If you’re under 26, Nature and Youth is a good choice. If you are a student, maybe Spire. Being part of something bigger than yourself will help you channel your concerns into something more concrete, and get an outlet that will help the cause.

2. Express how you feel about the climate. Make art, write poetry, letters to the editor, letters to your local politicians (remember Norwegians - we have an important election coming up in September).

3. Vote. Of course you vote, but this year, and the coming - vote with the graphs above in mind. Vote for a living climate and a living planet, for you and those who will come after you.

4. Talk. Talk with your fellow students, your colleagues, your neighbours, your family, your community. Talk about both your concerns, but also what you both do in your every day life to make it better. We need hope and inspiration.

5. Finally - act. It feels good to contribute physically, so make your own or join a beach clean up event this spring. Make a list each month of 5 things you will do for the environment and climate that month. It might be taking old clothes to recycling, starting to mend your old clothes, making a bee hotel, using more meat free recipes or using the bus instead of your car. The list is endless, be creative with this one.

Be kind to yourself in the process. Combating climate change is a lifestyle that we must all be a part of. Find ways that are sustainable for your life situation. And celebrate your wins along the way. The seeds you plant today will be amazing in the time to come.

Klimaboka

Nytt år, mye nytt bra klimalesestoff! Jeg kommer nok til å bruke lang tid på denne.

Bekymringen for klima hos unge har visstnok gått ned ifølge en ny undersøkelse, men realiteten er der fremdeles. En levelig klode er grunnlaget vårt for alt det fine vi kan få til sammen som mennesker. Jeg håper derfor for 2023 at vi legger bort tanken om at klima- og naturkrisen er separate problemer, men heller inkluderer dem i alt arbeide vi gjør.

Det er mange innganger til å bli engasjert i klima og miljøspørsmål. Ut fra en rask oversikt ser denne boka ut til å tilby mange! Jeg vil derfor anbefale den til alle som ønsker nye perspektiv på klimaspørsmål.

Godt nytt miljø og klimavennlig år.

Wistingfeltet må aldri åpnes

Vi kan ikke på alvor finne på å åpne Wistingfeltet for oljeboring - og det når Espen Barth Eide i dag reiser til COP27 i Egypt med det som skal være Norges skjerpede klimamål!

Wistingfeltet er verdens nordligste oljefelt, som ligger bare 50 kilometer fra iskanten. Et oljeutslipp her vil ha katastrofale konsekvenser for det sårbare økosystemet i Barentshavet. Feltet ligger også 300 kilometer fra land, så skulle en ulykke skje ville hjelpen være langt unna, og høye bølger, mørke og ekstreme forhold ville gjort det ekstra utfordrende å håndtere en ulykke.

Regjeringen skal gjøre det beste for innbyggerne i Norge, og det er blant annet å redde klimaet. Ikke å bidra til å eskalere global oppvarming i lang tid fremover. Vi har også en grunnlov der det står at fremtidige generasjoner også har rett til et levelig klima.

Wistingfeltet er ikke en del av løsningen. Det er et oljefelt, ikke et gassfelt, så oljen fra Wisting ville ikke kunnet hjulpet den pågående energikrisen i Europa. Et annet moment å ta med her er at om vi hadde åpnet dette oljefeltet ville det ikke vært i drift før 2028, og med planlagt produksjonstid til 2058, altså 8 år etter at verden skal være karbonnøytral, sier det seg selv at Wisting ikke er forenelig med våre forpliktelser i Parisavtalen.

Norge kan ikke lengre drive business as usual med oljen. Vi har lovet å bidra til kampen mot eskalerende klimaendringer. Ikke å fremskynde dem. Nå er tiden inne for å skrinlegge denne tikkende bomben og begynne en reel grønn omstilling.

Bokanbefaling av "Varm is"

Ole Mathismoen har skrevet en liten perle av en bok om det spennende temaet is og da spesielt is som smelter på grunn av klimaendringene. Med “Varm is” klarer Mathismoen i sin alltid rolige og pedagogiske stil å formidle svært komplekse systemer i naturen og det skiftende klimaet på en enkel og oversiktlig måte.

Boken er bygget opp på en sånn måte at du ikke trenger forkunnskaper for å kunne sette deg inn i stoffet. På elegant vis knytter Mathismoen det han kaller iskrisen til de to store krisene vi allerede kjenner til - klimakrisen og naturkrisen. På denne måten blir alt fra tining av permafrosten til forgrønning av Arktis sett i en større kontekst.

Personlig har jeg vært spesielt interessert i Arktis og de dramatiske endringene som skjer der allerede før jeg skrev masteren min om det. Jeg håper virkelig denne boken blir lest av mange, så flere får øyene opp for hva som allerede skjer, og hva som kan skje. Spesielt kapittelet som omhandler hvor mye havet vil stige er svært skummelt. På side 99 i boka skriver Mathismoen: “Panelets (IPCC) konklusjoner om havnivået er svært dramatiske. Fordi smeltingen vil fortsette i hundreår og tusenår også om vi skulle klare store utslippskutt, tar de med hvilke svar scenarioene gir: Stopper vi oppvarmingen på 1,5 grader, vil havnivåstigningen bli begrenset til mellom to og tre meter de neste 2000 årene, og til mellom to og seks meter hvis vi klarer togradersmålet. Skulle det ryke, vil havet om et par tusen år stå mellom 19 og 22 meter over dagens nivå”. Og det er ikke bare i det lange perspektivet at ting blir skummelt. Mathismoen forteller om ulike vippepunkt der issmelting og effektene av det vil bli umulige for oss å gjøre noe med.

Det er nødvendig å vite om hvordan hvite polområder beskytter klimaet og hvordan isen her spiller en større rolle i reguleringen av klodens klima. Jeg føler dette er en bok som burde leses av alle, men spesielt politikere og andre med makt til å reversere oljepolitikken som føres i dag. Boken burde også oversettes til engelsk, for å nå flere.

For meg er Mathismoen et litterært forbilde i klimaformidlingens navn og her har han skrevet en sånn bok som du ikke vil skal ta slutt. Anbefales på det varmeste.

Review of Bonnie Wrights "Go Gently"

Climate activist and actress, Bonnie Wright, most known for her role as Ginny Weasley in the Harry Potter universe, has written a book that sets out to be “Actionable steps to nurture yourself and the planet”.

The book has a logical build up, from the “Go learn” chapter, where Wright highlights several aspects concerning the global climate movement, to chapters as “Go see” where the focus is more inwards to your own habits and lifestyle choices. Bonnie Wright writes that she has herself been involved with climate and social issues the past decade, and the book invites us intimately along her own journey, as she also has changed habits and practises at home in order to align with her values. I think the book is at its best when she writes in long form, in stead of the many short factual boxes. Wright also holds space for other voices in her book, which gives us many interesting perspectives, ranging from indigenous voices to members of the queer community.

Book cover of “Go gently” by Bonnie Wright

The following chapters, “Go organise”, “Go shop” and “Go cook” is exactly what they sets out to be - ways in which to incorporate our values as climate concerned humans in our daily activities. The chapters “Go keep” and “Go make” is very much centred around activities you can do at home. Bonnie Wright writes that she found that when she started to incorporate more of her values, like her passion for the ocean, by trying to reduce single use plastic in her own everyday life, it made her feel more aligned with her values.

In the last two chapters, I felt that the book was the most unique of the climate books I have read so far - “Go enjoy” which is about exercises to cultivate joy and connect with the planet and the last chapter “Go beyond”, which was the main reason why I bought the book - about finding your place in the climate movement. This last chapter offers several questions to reflect on. Bonnie Wrights main thought here is that there is not one right way to act when you are concerned and want to do something for the climate. There are luckily several, and as she highlights that different aspects of the book will hopefully spark some interest for you as a reader.

I think this book is a good introduction for someone who would like to find their place within the climate movement, or re-find it. And as Bonnie Wright says - remember to “go gently” on yourself while doing so. <3