Sifo recently published a very reader-friendly report on what we as consumers can do to live more sustainable in terms of our transportation-, agriculture-, heating-, clothing- and plastic consumption.
There are three main takeaways to how we can live more sustainable:
1. Replace a product with one with less environmental impact 💚
2. Change the way we consume
3. Reduce the amount we consume
Valuable tools that has proven useful in the long term to achieve this are:
- education on what is more sustainable 🎓
- knowledge on how to look after something📚
- Practical skills on how to repair f.ex clothes 🪡🧵
Structural changes is also needed from the authorities to make it easier for consumers to make these sustainable choices. ⚖️ ♻️ A combination of both individual choices and a society that makes it easier to choose the greener option is necessary. 🌱
I used this picture to illustrate this, because of the long lives of the garments I’m wearing. The hat is from at least 2012, the scarf🧣 is from 2016 and the jacket is borrowed for the occasion of a skiing trip from my mum! 🥰 I know it’s a very individual journey on the way to becoming more sustainable, and we are all at different stages on your journey, but we can find inspiration from each other and cheer each other forward ✨ It’s all the little choices that adds up to the whole 🌏
Positive climate news!
The EUs New Green Deal is finally escalating the green shift we’ve been waiting for. One of the many good things happening is that new investments will be marked as sustainable or unsustainable.
Unsustainable industries, like the petroleum industry, will therefore be less desirable to invest in. Norway will not get the stamp of sustainability on our petroleum industry, and henceforth have an added incentive to fully support renewable energy sources like wind, solar and water.
This may sound like a formality, but where the money flows, policy and action will follow. Christmas came early for the climate.
Have a palm oil free Christmas
The festive season is soon upon us, and so is a lot of traditional festive food. In my everlasting investigation on how to live more sustainable, I’ve come to notice how much of the store bought food that still contains palm oil in Norway.
Palm oil production has a severe negative impact on the rainforest, as vast areas with a high bio diversity is mowed down to make room for palm oil plantations. This also impacts the animals who used to live there, and the indigenous that made their livelihood in the rainforest. If you would like to read more about the problem of palm oil (in English) you can follow this link to the site “Say no to palm oil"
Palm oil plantation harvesting
As an eco conscious citizen, you don’t want to contribute to the deforestation of the rainforest while you are enjoying your store bought ginger bread, therefore, I will give you a guide on how to steer clear of the palm oil this Christmas:
In 2014, the Norwegian grocery store Rema1000 took a strong stand against palm oil and declared that no products with the brand “Rema1000” would contain palm oil. However, they continued to sell products that that already sold that contained palm oil, like Nutella. Therefore, I always check just in case. Rema1000 has committed to not bring in any new palm oil containing products to their assortment.
The Norwegian Regnskogfondet (The rainforrest foundation) has a brilliant guide where you can type in most products and see how much, if any, palm oil it contains. Here is the guide. “Søk etter vare” means “search for item”, for instance you can search for a Christmas classics example; ginger bread biscuits. Luckily there are quite few store bought ginger bread boxes that contains palm oil. The ones to stay away from are: All four types of ginger bread bought at IKEA, and the one called Berthas sjokoladepepperkaker. This guide is really handy when in doubt. Also, it is super simple to just read at the back of the packaging.
As more people are becoming aware of the problem with palm oil, manufacturers has started to label it in different ways. Here is a guide to different ways palm oil might be labeled.
You want to double check new products by Freia, like the “snøballer”, as they often contain palm oil. After Rema1000 decided to ban palm oil, they gave Freia the option to replace the palm oil in their popular easter eggs with something else, something they did not do, which lead to Rema1000 deciding to not sell the popular easter eggs in their stores.
Deforestation caused by palm oil plantations
RSPO certified Palm Oil
You have probably read the phrase “RSPO certified Palm Oil” on products containing palm oil. This is the “Roundtable on Sustainable Palm Oil (RSPO), which is a large, international group of palm oil producers, palm oil buyers, and environmental and social groups. According to WWF this initiative have taken steps in making the palm oil industry better.
However, Greenpeaces “Certifying Destruction” report shows that the RSPO is in fact not producing sustainable palm oil. The report uncovered how RSPO certified palm oil plantations was linked to deforestation. One of the reasons why RSPO certification is not working as it should, is because there are several loop holes to work around the conservation of the rainforest that it was set out to protect. If you want to understand more about RSPO, I recommend reading the report.
This is why RSPO certified oil is not a guarantee that the palm oil has not contributed to deforestation. Therefore it is better to avoid palm oil containing products altogether.
Have a joyful and palm oil free Christmas celebration. More tips on how to have a sustainable and eco friendly celebration will come.
My samoyed Kit looking forward to a new sustainable Christmas
Bridge to the Future
This week, the yearly conference 'Bridge to the Future' was hosted at Folkets Hus i Oslo. The Bridge to the Future is an alliance between the Norwegian trade unions, the environmental movement, the church and scientific researchers who has come together because time is running out to build a sustainable society, and we need to act now.
The alliance demands are a democratic, planned and just transition to 100.000 green climate jobs, and to slow down Norways ever expanding oil and gas industry.
If you would like to see the conference, you can view it here:
If you are interested in reading more about the thoughts behind the 100.000 climate jobs demand, you can find these former publications here.
Greetings!
Hello, my name is Charlotte, and welcome to this new blog project!
I've always been passionate about sharing information that leads to higher social awareness. For the past 10 years, I've been a part of the environmental movement. This has taken me from grassroot movements to the highest level in UN climate change negotiations. Through environmental and development NGOs, and through my formal education at university, I've been given a thorough education in the different aspects of what is happening to our planet. This year I'm doing a one year teacher studies course, and on that occasion I wanted to start this blog.
I want to be an environmental educator, spreader of environmental news and try to inspire with climate related literature. New posts will be added every Tuesday.
I will also explain environmental concepts. I want this blog to be helpful for those who want to understand climate change better, but don't know where to start. If we break it into smaller pieces, we can put them together as part of the bigger picture. If you want to read about certain concept or themes related to climate, write me a comment and I will follow up with a blog post.
I look forward to starting this project! Hope you will enjoy reading it.
