Hallvard Hauge
Hallvard Hauge joined the ranks of Eco-Agents (Miljoagentene) — an environmental organization through which tens of thousands of Norwegian children have been made aware of climate and environmental issues — after COVID-19 confined him with his parents at home. “We were looking for something to do during the pandemic,” said his father, Espen, after inviting The duty in their house in the Grefsen district of Oslo.
The boy is now well engaged in the fight against climate change. The eco-agent was elected to represent the Norwegian capital region in the Norwegian Child Climate Expert Group and at the 2023 Dubai Climate Change Conference (COP28).
With the seven other child experts, he asks members of the government to reduce GHG emissions without waiting for those they represent to be able to “vote, or even stand for election”. “We have to do it now. Otherwise, it will be too late. »
Ecoanxiety sometimes invades the Hauge family’s home, located a few steps from an Oslo tram station. What worries Hallvard the most is the fate of young people who do not have the chance to live in a rich country like Norway – which has a sovereign wealth fund of some 1,400 billion dollars – and who will see the water or flames ravage their homes due to climate change.
The current climate crisis calls for greater solidarity, “a solidarity that goes beyond national borders and generations”, supports the group of eco-agents – Norwegian nursery of future climate and environmental activists like the Swede Greta Thunberg.
“Norway has a lot of oil in the sea. If we stop looking for it, I think we will see a change [bienvenu dans la lutte contre les changements climatiques] », is convinced Hallvard.
Andreas Randøy
Andreas Randøy, 26, is not his first battle.
Ten years ago, he actively worked to stop the construction of a road in the middle of the forest in Kristiansand, more than 300 kilometers southwest of Oslo, where he grew up. It was a project “bad for nature and for the climate”.
“It was not an illegal action,” specifies the twenty-year-old, who now works for Greenpeace. “We were standing in front of the city council. We made a very long banner and the elected officials had to go around it. »
Nearly a decade later, Andreas rushed to the entrance of a garden party where he tied himself up in order to prevent the guests of the energy company Equinor, which at that time was proposing to go drilling in the Barents Sea, from dipping their lips in a flute of champagne.
“They were dressed like CEOs. They weren’t very happy. We told them that it was not the time to have an oil party, that we were in a climate emergency, that they should go home and make new plans,” says Andreas, while deploring that Norway is “not at all” on the path to green transition.
The activist’s target today is the “enormous” oil and gas lobby that spends lavishly and popular apathy towards the exploration and exploitation of these resources in the Norwegian seabed.
“Norway has one of the highest rates of climate denial, which is surprising to many, because we are well educated,” he notes. The “only explanation” he can find is: “we are influenced by the oil lobby”.
Andreas recalls that Equinor also bathes in Canadian waters, being behind the Bay du Nord project which received the approval of the Canadian Minister of the Environment, Steven Guilbeault. A former member of Greenpeace. “I heard… Yes, that’s true,” he laughs, even though he doesn’t find it funny.
Emanuel Smári Nielsen
Emanuel Smári Nielsen is proud to live in Oslo since his city could seize the title of “first carbon neutral capital” on the planet by 2030.
“Here, we are really making big changes,” he said while specifying that the Labor Party, for which he campaigns, is in control of the city.
As planned, buses will be, in addition to metros and trams, all electric within a few months, and the natural environment will be adapted to favor the natural storage of carbon in vegetation and soil, assures -he.
“Oslo is the greenest city in Norway. It works very well. So I hope we can reproduce [cet élan] within the national Parliament,” says the teenager.
He hopes that the rest of the Kingdom, which according to him lacks train lines compared to air lines, will participate more actively in the fight against climate change. “We take the plane whenever we are on vacation, not only to travel abroad, but also within Norway,” he laments, pointing to the carbon footprint of Norwegian air travelers. In his eyes, domestic flights are too numerous and not expensive enough. “In short, it’s quite expensive to live in Norway. And it’s even more expensive if we want to respect the climate”, a few strides from the angry child by sculptor Gustav Vigeland.
On the other hand, Emanuel calls not only on politicians, but also on businessmen and women at Equinor to increase the production of renewable energy in Norway. “There is a lot of talk about floating wind farms; that it’s supposed to double energy production,” he says sceptically.
One thing is certain: Norwegians need to move away from oil and gas rather than “find new excuses” like quenching Europe’s thirst for fossil fuels, which was untenable after the Russian invasion of Ukraine.
“I have hope. »