The extinction of species

In September 2020, this years Living Planet Report was published with the devastating key data:

• The 2020 global Living Planet Index shows an average 68 % fall in monitored populations of mammals, birds, amphibians, reptiles and fish between 1970 and 2016. Species’ population trends are important because they are a measure of overall ecosystem health.

• 75 % of the Earths ice free surfaces is already significantly changed.

• Most oceans are polluted

• 85 % of the wetland areas in the world has been lost

• 84 % decrease in the animalpopulatioz in freshwater

• One million species (500.000 animals and plants and 500.000 insects) are in danger of extinction.

While writing this, we are still living with a pandemic that in large part was caused by the destruction of biohabitat, making the living conditions for animals severely worse.

However, there is still hope!

Sir David Attenborough released the documentary ‘A life on our planet’ where he presents the great challenges we have caused ourselves for our common Earth, but he also presents us with the ways in which we can combat it.

I can wholeheartedly recommend that you watch the documentary on Netflix, as it is more visually beautiful and impactful than written word, but for those of you who do not have access to Netflix, here are the key takeaways in an infographic from the WWF Living Planet Report:

The last half hour of the documentary, Sir David Attenborough discusses the ways we can prevent a future of further destruction:

• We must rewild nature to prevent further loss of habitat and biodiversity. I have previously written about the project “Rewilding Europe”. Rewilding means to give back land, by protecting it. This we must do both on land and in the ocean. We must vote for politicians who are ready to take this great responsibility to protect the foundations for our livelihoods.

• We must eat less meat, simple as that. If a higher percentage of the humans meals were plant based, we would need less land to produce the food and it would have a significantly lower carbon footprint. Changing your diet away from meat is one of the things we as consumers can do that have the highest impact on our carbon footprint. The EAT Lancet report can give you more indebt information about why this is better for both your health, and the Earth.

• The human population must stabilise, and the way to do this is by raising people out of poverty, giving all access to health care and enable girls in particular to stay in schools as long as possible. The way to raise the standard of living for all people in this world, without increasing our impacts on it, is by truly investing in renewable energy sources like solar, wind and water power.

Here you have the facts, but in order for this to make a lasting memory and to remember why the Earth is worth fighting for, I really recommend that you watch the documentary to see for yourself just how wonderful and vulnerable the Earth with all its life truly is. We are here together, right now, and the power is within our hands whether to protect it or not.

Again, as always, thank you for caring for our one and only common Earth.

The Amazon is burning - again

In 2019, the Amazon rainforest in Brazil had a record year of fires with 73.000 in total. The fires were so massive that they darkened the city of São Paulo in the middle of the day - several thousand kilometers away. 2019 was the worst year of deforestation in 13 years, and this year is set to be even worse.

Mato Grosso is the area in the Brazilian rainforest with the most fires so far this year, with 4437 so-called “hot-spots” between the 1st of January to the 13th of July, according to data from the INPE, Brazilian Space Research Institute. In the first two weeks of August there has been an alarming 15.000 hot-spots.

Even more alarming knowing that fires are not allowed at all in this area between July and September - making all these fires illegal. These fires are not accidents, or natural. Landowners and farmers set fire to the rainforest in order to free up more areas for cattle and industrial farming. According to this study, cattle ranching in Brazil is not even an economical sound investment, the productivity is notoriously low, and the people who want to eat the cattle live far away from where it is produced, making it an all around bad investment.

More important is the lives that are being lost, and the livelihood that won’t come back. A recent study confirmed what indigenous people has said for a long time - they are the best guardians of the rainforest - as long as they are fully protected by the property laws stating that they own their territories. But the indigenous are being forced out of their areas with fire in order to make space for more deforestation. In the Munduruku indigenous land, there was an increase of fires of 78 per cent from only last year.

So what can we do? Right now, a massive free-trade deal is being negotiated between the Mercosur countries Brasil, Argentina, Uruguay and Paraguay - and the EFTA countries Norway, Switzerland and Luxembourg. It is vital that we use this trade deal to come with demands on behalf of nature and the Paris-agreement. Until the deforestation is stopped, this trade deal can not happen. Please use this link and sign Greenpeace’s petition urging Norway to take responsiblilty

The Amazon has a unique and irreplaceable ecological system, vital in both stabilising the climate and water supply for the entire region. It must be preserved. This wild behaviour can not be allowed any longer. The Amazon are Earths green lungs and without our lungs we can not breathe.

Mauritius oil spill emergency

This is the oilspill in Mauritius where a ship carrying 4,000 tonnes of fuel oil, ran aground on a coral reef off the Indian Ocean island on 25 July. 

The need for help is urgent. Fridaysforfuture.mauritius says Mauritan Wildlife Foundation is where we can donate money to help in the oil spill recovery! Go to their homepage and donate if you can, the situation is urgent and still not resolved: https://www.mauritian-wildlife.org/home

Update: There’s also these two organisations that I got recommend who works with the Mauritius cleanup:

1. http://SmallStepMatters.org

Small Step Matters is a social fundraising platform for organisations (NGOs / Foundations) and individuals who wish to promote social and environmental projects in Mauritius or for Mauritians. Small Step Matters is a non-profit organisation whose primary purpose is to bring together project promoters and benefactors who wish to donate funds or time and to hereby contribute to the progress of the Mauritian society today and tomorrow.

https://www.smallstepmatters.org/en/projets/environnement/ref105991-ansampounoulagon-wakashio-un-desastre-ecologique-mobilisons-nous/?fbclid=IwAR30DfQEGMfFHj_O0uImk8Nsnm3EKsa6AQhbRQ5SyfTQORfBHTpsA2PsYuo

2. Eco-Sud crowdfund

Eco-Sud is an environmental NGO created by the citizens of Blue Bay-Mahébourg over 20 years ago in order to protect the environment and the biodiversity of Mauritius for the generations of today and tomorrow.

https://www.crowdfund.mu/mauritius-oil-spill-cleaning-2020-mv-wakashio-306.html?fbclid=IwAR0mA8QCglF4nCKxiHkxS5AQnVgnNKVRDPBDBbwt0tJZUhx3KPT-xAzVwwk

NoDAPL!

Celebratory post!! 🎉 Finally the #dakotaaccesspipeline was stopped by a US federal judge due to environmental reasons! 

🎊 As long term readers will remember, in 2016 the protests started for the right to have clean drinking water. But a massive oil pipe were built right through the Missouri River, on the border between North- and South Dakota, right through the Standing Rock Sioux reservoirs. 

People all over the world protested and ‘checked in’ to #standingrock via Facebook to show solidarity and stop the use of Facebook to target those protesting. I was one of the ones checking in October of 2016, and by very happy circumstances, I got to work for Greenpeace the following year and meet a wonderful female delegation representing the Standing Rock! This I am forever thankful of! ❤️ 

Therefore I am so happy today to celebrate this victory! Clean drinking water is a right everyone is entitled to through the UN! This was always a fight worth fighting and it shows that it’s worth fighting for what is right for the planet! 🌎💚 #nodapl #stillnodapl

Gruveutbygging i Repparfjorden

På bildet ser dere Repparfjorden, en fjord i Hammerfest kommune i Troms og Finnmark.

Her har selskapet Nussir ASA fått konsesjon til å bygge en kobbergruve i Kvalsund. Nussir ASA har fått utslippstillatelse til å dumpe 250 millioner tonn avfall i Repparfjorden.

Havforskningsinstituttet har frarådet dumping av gruveavfall i fjorden. Fjorden har også status som Nasjonal laksefjord.

Den vil være i Reinbeitedistrikt 22 Fiettar, og både distriktet, Norske Reindriftssamers Landsforbund, og Sametinget har protestert kraftig mot etableringen av gruva. Det er vår-, sommer-, og høstbeite i distriktet, og over 8000 rein er gjennom området i løpet av et år.

Dette prosjektet er en alvorlig miljøkriminalitet, og derfor har over 4500 personer sagt seg villige til å lenke seg fast for å beskytte fjorden. Du kan melde deg på nu.no hvis du også vil være med!

World Ocean Day - and crisis packages during Covid-19

Monday this week, on World Ocean Day, I celebrated the ocean in a kayak with my sister. Experiences like this should not be taken for granted.

The covid crisis has taught us many things, as how connected we all are and how much we depend on each other - and a living nature.

As CO2 emissions are estimated to go down with 4 to 7 percent this year as a consequence of the covid crisis (Source: Global Carbon Project) If we are to reach the 1,5 degree target set in the Paris-agreement , equivalent reductions must be made every year this coming decade (source: IEAs Global Energy Review).

However, national authorities have made economical crisis packages that will affect the climate in the coming decades with increased CO2-emissions.

In Norway, the oil industry has gotten tax leave for up to 100 billion NOK in order to keep investments up. The equivalent rescue packages for a green transition is set to 3,6 billion NOK.

Scientists says this is an attempt to breath fresh life into a dying industry. Norway knows the transition must and will come, the only question is if it’s one we regulate by making real investments that matter in the green transition, or continuing falsely like we have with one foot in each camp. It’s time to chose a side Norway. The climate can’t wait.

Kayaking in World Ocean Day

Two happy climate news!

Two amazing and wonderful things for the climate and the environment has happened these past two days so this is a celebratory post in honour of Earth day 2020, the 50th year anniversary of Earth Day!

First - yesterday the Norwegian court agreed to take the climate court case I used to work for to the Supreme Court in Norway! This is rare and it’s an extraordinary opportunity to finally make oil policies that is in line with what our common world needs.

The second great news is that XR Sør has collected 300 signatures from residents in Kristiansand (myself included) to ask the commune to declare ecological and climate crisis!

And all this on the yearly Earth Day! Now more than ever we need good climate and environment news! I celebrate this with a close up of my samoyed Kit!

Kit, celebrating nature every day.

Climate during the corona crisis

In these corona times there is also news about how wild animals reappear in city landscapes.

If we can learn anything from the corona crisis I hope it is that humans, nature and animals are so connected. We can not mistreat 2/3 (nature and animals) and expect us humans to be unaffected.

My hope is that we finally see that we must live in balance with nature and animals.

We are so dependent of each other. I hope you are all safe and follow the guidelines from the authorities so we all can help stop this crisis. 

Amazon Forrest burning

We are facing a horrible situation now with wast amounts of the Amazon forrest burning. One football field worth of forrest disappear every minute now.

This picture (below) is not from the amazon, but a local forrest in Norway to illustrate and make us think “how would it be if our nearest forrest burned?” Because the Amazon rain forrest is also the homes of several indigenous tribes. They live in and of the forest and they need it for their survival.

And the rest of the Earth needs the Amazon Forrest as well. Several organisations are collecting funds for this cause, for example The Rainforest Foundation.

I’ve read that it’s important that we share this message so it goes out viral. I wish for extreme rain to help stop the fires. Until then, let’s do what we can with sharing information and if you can, support the cause. We owe it to the Amazon to take care of it, like it takes care of us.

#ClimateStrike #FridaysForFuture

There is a growing movement of young people everywhere, waking up to the challenges, created by earlier generations, that will affect their own lives. The movement of school children striking for the climate started with 16 year old Greta Thunberg in Sweden. She demanded that Swedish politicians adapted their climate policy to be in line with the Paris agreement. Because currently, the emission graphs are headed in the wrong direction.

Greta Thunberg has been speaking clearly about the climate for a long time now. Her school strike started in August last year. In this TEDx talk, she explains why taking action for the climate can not wait. It been seen by over 1 million viewers. I can highly recommend it.

Last week, Thunberg travelled by train to Davos, where she told the world leaders who where gathered at the World Economic Forum. She spoke directly to them and said that the current way that the worlds leaders are treating the climate crisis is simply not good enough. She told them how urgent it is, and that many people present had been part of causing it, with their high emissions.

Inspired by Greta Thunberg, climate strikes has been erupting several places. In Brussels, 35.000 students marched out of their schools last week, to demand climate actions from their politicians, lead by 17 year old Anuna De Wever. In Norway, Nature and Youth organised climate strikes in September. In both Belgium and Norway there will be elections this coming autumn. Then everyone with a right to vote can do the climate justice by voting for a future that will still include a living planet.

Greta Thunberg says she sees the question about the climate as a black and white one. If more people saw it that way, if more people were aware that we are in fact in the middle of the sixth mass extinction, that the worlds emissions are set to increase, not decrease in the coming year - then more people would take to the streets. That is why my call for action to anyone who reads this is quite simple today - spread awareness and take action!

Talk about the changing climate. Talk about it at school. Talk about it at your job, at the dentist office, at the hairdresser, on your commute to job. To your family members who does not believe in it or does not care. Tell everyone, and show them examples of how it is already happening today. It will only get worse tomorrow. There is no planet B. If more people were woke to this fact, if more people walked out of the places they were meant to spent their working hours, in order to give attention to what matters the most - then our politicians and leaders would have to listen.

Rana Plaza and Talanoa Dialogue

Happy May Sunday, dear climateschool readers! I've had a short hiatus due to exam season starting up here at NTNU, but in just 6 weeks time I will have finished the teacher degree. In the meantime; climate-news does not take exam breaks. Therefore, this blog post will be a short summary of two important things that's been happening while I've been away reading pedagogy literature: 

- The 24th of April was the 5 year mark since the clothing factory Rana Plaza collapsed in Bangladesh and 1138 textile workers died that day. Last year, I attended a meeting about the 4 year mark, and it was then announced that what needed to come in place was a binding agreement where the brands we know sign a uniform agreement of openness and transparency, so that an accident and working conditions like Rana Plaza can never happen again. The Future in Our hands has done a great job following the progress of this security agreement. However, they revealed that the giant IKEA has not signed this agreement. This is a huge shame, because the agreement works, and is already making a significant change in the life of the textile workers. To get a visual of how it was like to experience an ordinary day before the collapse of the Rana Plaza, The Future in our Hands has put together this short video.  

If you want to take action after knowing this, like I do, you can go to IKEAs facebook page and ask them to sign the agreement.  For example: (in Norwegian) "Kjære IKEA, skriv under den livreddende sikkerhetsavtalen for tekstilarbeiderne i Bangladesh!" (And you may also link to the Future in our Hands article) 

- There has also been a UNFCCC Climate change meeting in Bonn from the 30th of April - 10th of May. This was the start of the Talanoa Dialogue : "

"Talanoa is a traditional word used in Fiji and across the Pacific to reflect a process of inclusive, participatory and transparent dialogue. The purpose of Talanoa is to share stories, build empathy and to make wise decisions for the collective good. The process of Talanoa involves the sharing of ideas, skills and experience through storytelling.

During the process, participants build trust and advance knowledge through empathy and understanding. Blaming others and making critical observations are inconsistent with building mutual trust and respect, and therefore inconsistent with the Talanoa concept. Talanoa fosters stability and inclusiveness in dialogue, by creating a safe space that embraces mutual respect for a platform for decision making for a greater good.". 

A short recap of the outcome of this meeting: 

• There was progress made in the the Paris "rulebook"
• The next meeting will be held in Bangkok, so a negotiation text will be made to prepare for this session
• There is still key factors in the technical and financial negotiations that needs to be worked out

Thanks to ClimateTracker for the infographic: 

Earth Day 2018: End Plastic Pollution

Today, Sunday 22nd of April is Earth Day, where the mission is to end plastic pollution. Plastic pollution has luckily gained a lot of awareness this past year in Norway. On a recent survey by Norad, 7 out of 10 Norwegians answered that plastic pollution should be Norways most urgent environmental cause, and that Norway has a special responsibility as a sea nation. 

I worked with marine littering almost every day in Greenpeace, and have written some fact sheets about marine littering and micro beads. Fortunately, plastic in the ocean is so easy to get engaged in, as it is clearly so wrong. It also helps with great TV series like NRKs "Planet Plast". 

Also fortunately; there is so much we can do about it! First of all, we can have a close look at our own consumption and notice how much plastic, and especially disposable plastic, we use every single day, and then take the measures to reduce our overall plastic habit. But as we know, there is already so much plastic waste in the ocean. 

That is why in Norway, starting next week; its Beach Clean up Week! All over Norway, you can find your local beach and join in on cleaning your local beach for plastic. Off course, needless to say, but none the less - you can off course have every day of the year as beach clean up day! Whenever I am at home, on the South-Coast, and I see some plastic either already lying in the ocean, near the ocean, or on land, I pick it up, because eventually it all ends up in the ocean. 

There is also the recent trend of "plogging" where you jog and pick up plastic waste in nature at the same time. 

If you've ever walked a dog in nature, you know how easy it is for the dog to spot the plastic as something that is not belonging in nature. Two years ago, when I was walking my samoyed at home on a local beach, and I turned my head towards the horizon for 5 seconds, my dog had found a transparent plastic bag in the sea, and maybe mistook it for something edible, so when I turned back to look at my dog, she was half way inhaling the plastic bag. Luckily I got it out of her mouth in seconds, but it was absolutely horrible to witness and to think about what could have happened, and what has happened to so many animals living in the ocean. 

I hope the awareness created around plastic pollution will last, and continue to be at the forefront of peoples minds as we have a national and global "dugnad" (joint volunteer work) to end plastic pollution together. Happy Earth Day. 

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. 

Where do you find your climate news?

Today I thought we could do a different kind of blog post, namely, where do you get your climate news? And why does this matter? One of the many reasons why I keep myself constantly updated and informed on what is happening, is because I actively seek news about the climate and environment. This is of course because I want to know what is going on. 

My theory is when you limit the amount of work from information seeking to action, it is easier to get engaged. In practice for me, this means on social media to follow reliable sources that I know will provide me with relevant and updated climate and environmental information. 

In reverse, if you only ever get the tiny snippet of these kinds of news headlines in relation to sensational stories, then I can understand that it is easy to become defeatist. By broadening your sources, you should gain a wider perspective on the same topic, which again enables you to join the climate debate, which is ultimately what I would want more people to do. 

I think a lot of people fear having an opinion on climate/environmental related topics, because they feel it is too abstract/complicated/hard to grasp etc, which leads them to not participating. 

My thought on this is that regardless of how far you've come in your 'environmental journey', you do have a right to voice your opinion.

If asked why should you care about the environment/climate, let me rephrase it; if you care about anything that is happening on planet Earth, you should care about the climate/environment, because it is the foundation for everything that happens next. 

This week, there has been a ton of climate/environment related news stories, some uplifting, some more alarming: 

- A 'mega-colony' of 1,5 million penguins has been discovered in Antarctica. Overfishing and climate change causes a great threat to this massive colony, which is why the area is now considered to become a sanctuary. 

- The worlds first plastic free supermarked opened this week in Amsterdam, leading the way to show that a plastic free future is possible! 

- ExxonMobil (US based oil company) is now pulling out its Arctic project with Rosneft (Russian oil company) 

- Canada announced it will fund new protected land, oceans and wildlife, which is a historic investment in turning the tide of bad news!

- Arctic temperatures are at a record low this winter, which is frightening climate scientist. 

- Germany let cities decide to ban diesel cars in order to better the air quality! 

- The Norwegian Oil fund is still heavily invested (11 billions) in 'The black snake', Dakota Access Pipeline (DAPL). This is despite of the promise that the Oilfund should withdraw its assets. By keeping our investments there, we are allowing Trumps agenda to follow through. 

As you can see from this selection, a lot is happening all the time, and by knowing it is happening it is easier to speak up and take action when and where it is possible. 

If you want to see some of my climate/environmental sources, you can see that here. 

My last news of this blog post is this video from the creators of Blue Planet 2, with the end message being that it is not too late, we can still make a positive change for the worlds natural environment. 

Victory in the fight against micro beads!

In the climate battle, it is important to celebrate every win, because they don't come often enough. This time, it is the micro beads - more particularly; the rubber granules that is used on artificial turf (synthetic football fields), that will now be regulated. 

The rubber granulates are made of finely chopped car tires. This has become a massive environmental problem. 

Within the end of this year, The Norwegian government has announced, that artificial turf on football pitches will need to have a plan for how to make the micro beads not fall outside of the turf. There will be stricter rules on storage, usage and how to collect the micro beads. 

To give you some numbers; 

- There are ca 1600 artificial turf football fields in Norway

- Micro beads coming from these artificial turfs is one of the highest plastic polluters in Norway

- Globally, over 8 million tonns of plastic ends up in the ocean, this equals five lorry truck worth of plastic per minute being dumped in the ocean. 

In other words; this is great news! Marine littering is however a global problem, and plastic that ends up in the ocean knows no limits to where it might end up. But seeing Norway stepping up and making changes like this makes a real difference, because we are such a high consuming nation. I hope more countries will make similar priorities in the near future, so we can have more environmental wins, and protect more of what we love. 

Protect the Antarctic

So far, The Climate School has had a strong focus on the Arctic and the environmental challenges it faces, but today, we are travelling to the other pole. We are looking towards the Antarctic because something potentially extraordinary could be happening down there this year. 

You might have read news stories like this one, about Antarctic sea ice being at a record low, this, in combination with escalating climate change and expanding industrial fishing is putting severe pressure on the Antarctic ecosystem. 

Luckily, there is something we can do about it! In 2018, the Antarctic Ocean Commission (CCALMR) is meeting to discuss a Antarctic Ocean Sanctuary. This will be the largest protected area on the planet. 

This is not unlikely to happen. We have made it happen before. 30 years ago, a treaty was signed to protect the land in the Antarctic. Now it is the ocean that needs our help and attention.

My good friends and former colleagues in Greenpeace has made a petition and campaign where you can add your name to show that a lot of people care about this. 

I have added my name here, because Norway plays a vital role in these negotiations, and by showing that you care, you help to put pressure on the government to do the right thing.  

For a more visual representation of what's at stake, enjoy this video: 

What is happening in the Norwegian Climate Court Case?

On the 4th of January, we got a verdict in the court case against the Norwegian state for unconstitutional oil drilling in the Arctic Barents Sea.

Oslo District Court found that the Norwegian government was not responsible for breaching the Constitution. However, the Court found that the right to a healthy environment is protected by the Constitution and the Government must uphold these rights. That is a major victory in itself. 

But it doesn't end here. The Norwegian justice system goes higher than The District Courts. The next instance is The Court of Appeal, and at the top we find The Supreme Court. 

Tomorrow, the deadline for the appeal expires. Then, a decision will be made whether this should be taken higher in the Norwegian justice system. This will be announced during a press conference on Monday the 5th of February. This will be live streamed at Klimasøksmål Arktis facebook page at 11.00. 

Court processes are very expensive, and it is still possible to contribute until tomorrow on this page. 

As always, thank you for reading and caring about the environment. As David Attenborough says: ‘The Arctic is closer to our homes than we think.’

For the full verdict, follow this link. 

COP23 Finished

This past week, the historical climate lawsuit has taken place in Oslo District Court, but I will follow that up in next weeks blog post, when the court case is finished. However, another monumental climate event, COP23, finished this week, and this is what we know so far. 

The climate awareness spreading site Climatetracker has put together this helpful infograph to visualise what happened at COP. A positive outcome is that parties (UN lingo for countries) agreed that the processes must move quicker. The main objective, namely creating a way forward with he Paris agreement, was achieved. 

The process forward is called the Tanaloua Dialogue. This is a process that helps each country to hold each other accountable with the emission cuts they promised in the Paris agreement. These emission cuts are referred to as Nationally Determined Contributions (NDCs). However, it turns out that the emissions each country intends to cut is not enough for the world to reach the 2 degree target, and definitely not the 1,5 degree target. Therefore there needs to be a process that reviews and increases these NDCs over time. This is the Tanaloua Dialogue. 

The COP is happening near the end of each year, but in the meantime there is a constant negotiation process going on in the UFCCC. These sessions are referred to as intersessionals, and are also worth following. For an overview of important dates on the climate calendar, have a look at the bottom of this piece from Carbonbrief. 

Norway's first climate lawsuit!

Something historical will happen this following week. On Tuesday the 14th of November, in Oslo District Court, the climate article 112 will be tested for the first time ever. The article reads: 

'Every person has the right to an environment that is conducive to health and to a natural environment whose productivity and diversity are maintained. Natural resources shall be managed on the basis of comprehensive long-term considerations which will safeguard this right for future generations as well. The authorities of the state shall take measures for the implementation of these principles'.

This is a brilliant article because it says that the state is responsible for a liveable environment, not just for us, but also for future generations. This means that the actions we make today must be morally just towards the environment because it will affect the environment of the future. 

I believe, and so does the wonderful workplace that I am proud to call my job - Greenpeace, that drilling for more oil, and especially in the Arctic, is not in agreement with this article. We believe that it violates this article, and when the Norwegian government handed out new oil licences for oil drilling in the Arctic, against all environmental advices, that this would not be in the best interests of a liveable climate for the future. 

I first wrote about this lawsuit over a year ago, which you can read here, before I even worked in Greenpeace, because I as a global citizen care about and feel deeply committed to global climate justice and belive in the slogan that 'what happens in the Arctic doesn't stay in the Arctic' - meaning that the oil and gas that is extracted from the Norwegian continental shelf will, when burned somewhere else, further escalate global warming. 

In two days it is finally happening. At 09.00 in Oslo District Court we will meet the states representatives and lay forward our best arguments. I hope with all my heart that we are heard and understood. If we were to win this case, it would set a global precedence. Literally, the world is looking towards Oslo these next two weeks. Here, you can read about it in Al Jazeera. 

There will be a myriad of cultural and other events linked to the lawsuit, that you can attend here, if you are in Oslo. Otherwise, for the best coverage, if you want to follow the court case, I would encourage you to follow Greenpeace Norge on both Twitter, Facebook, Instagram and even Snapchat. Also, follow Klimasøksmål Arktis on Facebook. It will be press coverage in both Norwegian and English. For purely English content, I would recommend following Save The Arctic on Facebook and Greenpeace International. Also, I will do my best to update on social media as well, so find me at The Climate School on Instagram. 

I am so very exited about these two upcoming weeks and I know that there is massive global support to this case. Over 400 000 people have signed up at Save The Arctic to add their names as witness statements. At the same time as this historical lawsuit is taking place in Oslo, there is the COP happening in Bonn, where Norway advocates for ways for create a better climate for the future. By looking towards ourselves first, we could make a significant impact in bettering the climate conditions by being the example that the world so sorely needs. Thank you to everyone that helps bring this message forward in the coming two weeks. 

COP23

Today, COP23 (Conference of the Parties) started. This is the UN's climate negotiations, under the UNFCCC (United Nations Framework Convention on Climate Change). Did I mention that they love abbreviations at COP?

This years COP is taking place in Bonn, Germany, but is hosted by Fiji. This is the first time a small island state is hosting COP. Fiji was the first state to formally ratify the Paris agreement, the global climate agreement from 2015 where almost all nations has come together to limit global warming to 2 degree celsius, but aiming for 1,5 degree celsius. Before coming to COP, Fijis prime minister announced that having a small island state as host would affect this years negotiations. In his opening speech, he also said that: 'It is a message to the world that all 7.5 billion people on earth are in the same canoe. We are all affected by climate change and we all need to act'. This is the very true, even though some states, as small island states will feel the effects of climate change sooner than others. 

The key thing to sort out during this COP is making a 'rulebook' for how the Paris agreement should be implemented, and how states should be able to hold each other accountable and have transparency to see that each other are delivering their set targets. Norway's minister of climate and environment, Vidar Helgesen actually went as far as saying that 'it's a good sign if nothing much is heard from this meeting'. This might be also be a reference to the tense fact that Trump previously this year announced that he was going to withdraw the US from the Paris agreement. Formally though, this is a process that takes years, so as per this COP, the US is still in the negotiations. Therefore, the hopes are that they won't try to block good initiatives even though they don't see a reason to helping this planet come together to solve the climate problem. 

Because COP isn't needed less now, it is needed more. 2017 is currently in the lead to become one of the three warmest years currently on record, including that it has been a year with an abnormal amount of extreme weather events all across the globe. Currently, we are on the track for a 3 degree celsius warmer globe, which means that our current efforts are not enough to combat the rising temperatures. 

Another key discussion topic of COP23 is 'loss and damage' - the mechanisms that is compensating developing nations that has done little to cause the climate change, but has been affected the most. 

The outcome that is most desired from COP23 is both getting the 'rulebook' in place for next years negotiations, but also the belief that UN still has a vital part to play in how we organise joint efforts on a global scale to tackle problems facing humanity. This isn't asking for little, but as Christiana Figueres, COP president of the COP21 in Paris said 'Paris (agreement) is everyone’s deal. It belongs to cities, businesses, NGOs and all of global civil society as much as it belongs to nation-states'. Also, it is the best we've got.