Norwegian Slaughter’s Efforts – Unprepared for Climate Change – NRK Norway – An overview of news from different parts of the country

– This is dangerous, and can affect people’s safety, says auditor general Carl-Erik Sgüt Pedersen.

If we want to avoid the worst consequences of climate change, we must cut emissions quickly, states the United Nations Intergovernmental Panel on Climate Change (IPCC) in its latest report. But they also emphasize that there is an urgent need to take action to adapt our lives to changes that are now too late to stop.

The Office of the Auditor General’s report states that Bergen wharf is particularly vulnerable when the sea rises, and this area can experience a 200-year storm every two years.

The last time a storm hit the pavement was in 2020.

– There was a lot of water here and it was hard to work that day. He says people didn’t enter the store Corinne Cruz.

She works in a souvenir shop located in Bryggen, and believes that the unique location is exactly what keeps the company going. She does not know that the store has planned any actions.

“It’s worrying, because this could happen again, and we don’t have a plan,” Cruz says.

May lead to development in open areas

Since 2019 General Auditor’s Office I investigated how well the Norwegian authorities have adapted the country to an increasingly brutal and humid climate. Among other things, they studied buildings, roads, railways and coastal infrastructure.

the report It comes with harsh criticism of climate adaptation. The survey shows, among other things, that the authorities do not have a good enough overview of where there may be more floods and landslides.

This, and the fact that authorities have not implemented the necessary measures to secure existing buildings and infrastructure, is deeply reprehensible, according to the Office of the Auditor General.

This could lead to development in areas of natural hazards, could threaten the safety of the population and incur unnecessarily high costs to the community.

The report also notes that municipalities are not looking far enough when preparing plans and analyzing risks. Less than half of Norwegian municipalities have an overview of more than a dozen years before the time, whose homes and homes may be exposed to climate change.

The challenges here are enormous

In the past 10 years, Norwegian insurers have paid more than NOK 30 billion in damages for damages to buildings and contents as a result of natural disasters or extreme weather, according to Finans Norge.

—This speaks volumes about the seriousness we take in the insurance industry and our customers clearly on the body, says Director of Communications Kristen Vettelsiter at insurance company Fremtind.

The consequences of increasingly extreme weather will lead to a bill that neither families nor the business community can afford alone. Neither the insurance industry nor the municipalities. This is why the national effort is urgent.

KS also hopes that reports from the Office of the Auditor General and the Climate Committee can put climate adaptation on the agenda.

The challenges here are enormous. This applies to knowledge and coordination at the state level and measures. This should be significantly raised on the national stage. It should influence priorities in budgets and in the municipality’s plan and construction work, says KS District Manager Helge Eide.

they mean Municipalities lack money and people To prepare for the climate of the future.

Bjørn K. Haugland in Skift – Næringslivets Klimaledere invites companies and public institutions to participate in cooperation on climate adaptation. He encourages anyone who wants to build experience in climate adaptation to use the site Strakstiltak.nowhich Shift just launched.

The problems are widely varied, as are the solutions proposed by the Office of the Auditor General. Six different ministries are required to contribute.

According to the report, the Ministry of Climate and Environment should develop a plan so that all stakeholders can work hand in hand with climate adaptation. Ensure that Parliament is informed of what has been achieved and where the challenges are.

The government will make a plan

The government will develop a new national climate adaptation strategy in the form of a report to the Norwegian Parliament, says Kjersti Bjørnstad (Sp), a state minister at the Ministry of Local Government and County.

Municipalities are the first line in addressing climate change. She says that it is important for the state to ensure good framework conditions, so that the municipality can solve its tasks.

The Ministry of Climate and Environment says the government will strengthen its climate preparedness.

– Municipalities have the primary responsibility for taking into account climate change in community and spatial planning, and they have an overall responsibility for the safety of residents. The national authorities are supporting the municipalities in this work, State Minister Christian Anton Smedschog (Sp) tells NRK.

Insanely disappointing

SV Climate Policy Spokesman Lars Haltbriken called the report insanely disappointing. Regardless of whether we are able to cut emissions, we will have to adapt, he says.

Instead of, say, building highways that cause climate emissions, we should instead take measures to ensure that society is more resilient to climate change, such as area mapping so that we don’t build homes and buildings in landslide areas.

Reed is highly critical of the previous government.

Solberg’s government has already failed. Sophie Marhaug, second deputy chair of Parliament’s Energy and Environment Committee, says they have not taken action, responsibilities have not been clear and Parliament has received very little information.

Union leader Morten Wedge at labor union Naturviterne believes that the OAG’s conclusions are so dangerous that they should lead to immediate changes. Among other things, he emphasizes the value of nature.

Municipalities must stop the degradation of nature. For example, it is important to preserve and restore swamps that bind carbon and lead to floods. Priority must be given to restoring waterways and waterways.

Climate panel: adaptation possible

The United Nations Panel on Climate Change published its latest report on Monday. It states that climate change is harming humans, animals and nature today. United Nations Secretary-General António Guterres calls the findings an “atlas of human suffering,” and fills in the efforts of world leaders.

The facts are undeniable. Presenting the report, he said that this lack of leadership is criminal.

Among the few bright spots in the report is the message to society and nature maybe Adapting to a changing climate in action. For example, lives have already been saved from floods and floods by using dams and warning systems.

The report concludes that the adjustment taking place today is far from sufficient. It also often comes in the form of short-term solutions to crises as they occur, rather than making major systemic changes in time. At worst, it could make the situation worse.