If greater climate impact can be achieved for the money through low-hanging fruit abroad than through costly, high-hanging fruit in Norway, should that be prioritised? Or does that amount to buying a way out of the climate effort? Is such an approach compatible with the Paris Agreement? And is the Paris Agreement really the best framework for effective climate policy?
Have the media, activists, politicians and some researchers contributed to portraying climate risks as more dramatic than the evidence in the UN climate reports supports? Has it become more acceptable to discuss the costs of climate policy and its impact per pound spent? And can such questions be raised without being labelled a climate denier?
These questions have become more relevant following the Progress Party’s recently more prominent and proactive approach to climate policy. Tor Mikkel Wara, supported by his adviser, economist Øystein Sjølie, now acknowledges human-induced climate change and the need for action, but argues that costs and benefits must be weighed against each other to achieve the greatest possible global impact.
They also question whether greater emphasis should be placed on climate adaptation and damage limitation – in other words, preparing for climate change – rather than on costly measures with limited impact. Among other things, they refer to the report from the Expert Committee on Climate Adaptation, submitted in June. The committee, led by Ingrid Hjort, was tasked with assessing the socio-economic consequences of climate change in Norway and identifying areas where climate-related risks can be reduced in relation to the costs of measures.
But to what extent does the report provide a basis for such positions? Is this a reasonable corrective to the Norwegian climate debate, or does it amount to evasive arguments and shirking the climate effort? In short, is it a way of avoiding the commitments required by climate change?
With:
Tor Mikkel Wara – Member of the Norwegian Parliament for the Progress Party (FrP) and First Deputy Chair of the Standing Committee on Energy and the Environment
Ingrid Hjort – Postdoctoral Researcher and Associate Professor at the Department of Economics at BI Norwegian Business School, and Chair of the Expert Committee on Climate Adaptation
Torfinn Harding – Professor of Economics at Kristiania University College
