TY - JOUR
AU - Morel, Mathilde
AB - (1) Ratification of, and Accession to, International Agreements In July, the three European Economic Area (EEA) European Free Trade Association States—Iceland, Liechtenstein, and Norway—signed a multilateral free trade agreement with the United Kingdom. After the United Kingdom’s resignation from the European Union (EU), Norway’s relationship with the United Kingdom is no longer regulated by the EEA Agreement. Therefore, Norway, together with Iceland and Liechtenstein, has been involved in negotiations for a new agreement since July 2020. The free trade agreement entered into force for Norway in December 2021 and contains substantial provisions in relation to areas such as trade, competition, investments, public procurement, and sustainable development, and assumes a high level of protection of climate, environmental, and labour rights. It also facilitates future cooperation within renewable energy, energy efficiency, offshore wind, hydrogen, carbon capture and storage, chemicals, waste, and air pollution. The Convention on the Preservation and Management of Fisheries Resources in the Southeast Atlantic ceased to apply to Norway from October 2021, after Norway submitted its termination in October 2020. With this exception, there is nothing of relevance to Norway to report in the context of environmental protection, climate change, and natural resources management. (2) Entry into Force of International Agreements or Amendments In January, the Framework Agreement on Fisheries, signed in September 2020 between Norway and the United Kingdom, entered into force. The agreement opens the opportunity for the parties to agree on exchanging fishing quotas and permits British and Norwegian fishermen to fish in each other’s maritime zones. Annual fisheries agreements will specify the right to access each party’s maritime zone and concrete rights and duties, and other parts of fisheries cooperation in the North Sea will be regulated by a separate tripartite agreement between the EU, Norway, and the United Kingdom. The International Agreement to Prevent Unregulated High Seas Fisheries in the Central Arctic Ocean, where Norway is one of the contracting parties, entered into force in June. This multilateral agreement legally binds the parties to refrain from any commercial fishing activities in the Arctic high seas. Although most parts of the central Arctic Ocean are currently covered in ice most of the year, the agreement aims, by taking a precautionary approach, to manage potential fishing in the high seas area of this region. (3) Global, Regional, and Bilateral Relations and Cooperation From 31 October to 12 November, the member states of the United Nations Framework Convention on Climate Change met in Glasgow, Scotland, for the twenty-sixth Conference of the Parties (COP-26). The Norwegian delegation participated and was led by Minister of Climate and Environment Espen Barth Eide. Norwegian Prime Minister Jonas Gahr Støre participated in the so-called high-level section on 1–2 November, where heads of states from all over the world participated. One of Norway’s main priorities was to ensure that the regulations under the Paris Agreement were finalized, with particular emphasis on the regulations promoting increased ambitions over time and to actively promote messages about the need for increased climate ambitions to keep global warming below 1.5 degrees Celsius. Norway and Sweden entered into a bilateral agreement on a common market for electricity certificates in 2011 that aims to increase power production from renewable energy sources in a cost-effective manner. In January 2021, amendments to the agreement entered into force, and the three main changes were: (i) the introduction of a 2045 termination date for Norwegian subsidies to projects in Sweden; (ii) a limit on renewable electricity certificate quotas in Sweden; and (iii) a new framework for the distribution of renewable energy results between the states, related to reporting under EC Directive 2009/28 on the Promotion of the Use of Energy from Renewable Sources. (4) Legislative Measures of International Interest The Norwegian Offshore Energy Regulations, finalized in June 2020, entered into force in January 2021. The Offshore Energy Act, applicable to Norway’s territorial sea outside the baselines and to the continental shelf, provides Norway the right to utilize offshore energy resources. In summary, the new regulations facilitate and prescribe the licencing process in detail for electricity generation, conversion, and transmission in the areas covered by the Offshore Energy Act. In accordance with the act, licences can only be obtained after the central government authorities have carried out a strategic environmental assessment and decided to open specific areas for licence applications. The authorities may, nevertheless, exempt pilot projects and similar projects with a limited time frame from these requirements. These regulations must be read in connection with a guideline for applicants for offshore wind projects in Norway that also will describe how the Norwegian government will allocate acreage for development and the licensing and application process in the future. Given the ratification of the Paris Agreement in 2015, Norway is working to fulfil the requirement to reduce national greenhouse gas emissions by joint implementation with the EU in the time period of 2021–30. In June 2021, Norway announced amendments to the Climate Act, based on a Recommendation from the Energy and Environment Committee on Amendments to the Climate Act (climate targets for 2030 and 2050). In summary, these amendments reinforce Norway’s climate targets, so that the statutory targets correspond to the politically adopted climate targets and are in line with Norway’s climate targets under the Paris Agreement. These amendments say that the statutory target for 2030 will be to reduce emissions by at least 50 percent and up to 55 percent compared to the emission levels in 1990 (see new section 3 of the Climate Act). In accordance with the new section 4 of the Climate Act, the target is changed to reduce emissions by a range of 90 to 95 percent compared to the emission level in the reference year 1990. In June, Norway adopted the Act relating to enterprises’ transparency and work on fundamental human rights and decent working conditions (Transparency Act). The act will enter into force in July 2022 and will require suppliers of goods and services in Norway to answer questions from consumers about the origin of goods and under what conditions they have been produced. This is partly to ensure that elementary human rights are being respected, and partly to contribute to climate change mitigation, as material and energy consumption from production contributes to major influences in local ecosystems, and to greenhouse gas emissions that affect the entire world’s climate. (5) Policy In February, a report on Norway’s implementation of the Convention on Access to Information, Public Participation in Decision-making and Access to Justice in Environmental Matters (Aarhus Convention) was delivered by the Ministry of Climate and Environment. A draft report was circulated in advance, for consultation and for comment, to various private organizations and local, regional, and central authorities. Sixteen comments were made and nine of them were critical of central parts of the report. One of the major critiques was related to Article 9 on access to justice—in particular, sections 4 and 5, which concern the Aarhus Convention’s requirements for trials within reasonable costs. One of the arguments was that the report should have created a more realistic picture of the actual costs combined with the execution of a case before the court in Norway, which can often be high for individuals. The ambitious environmental policy development occurring at the EU level is, to a large extent, affecting Norwegian environmental and climate regulations, as the relevant EU regulations are incorporated into the EEA Agreement and then implemented into Norwegian legislation. The Norwegian authorities normally have to assess EEA relevance for each individual regulatory framework, but much of the EU regulations in the European Green Deal have already been and will be considered EEA-relevant and implemented in Norwegian regulations. Hence, Norway may expect policy and regulatory developments in several areas, such as climate, energy, industry and circular economy, construction, transport, food, ecosystems and biodiversity, and green financing. In May, the EU Industrial Strategy—closely related to the EU Action Plan for Circular Economy and the Biodiversity Strategy for 2030—was updated. The strategy was adopted in March 2020, but due to the COVID-19 crisis it was updated to take into consideration the changed circumstances and to promote Europe’s recovery. It aims to drive the transition towards a more sustainable, digital, resilient, and globally competitive economy. Much of the work related to the strategy will have an impact on Norway through the EEA Agreement. The European Commission also launched the EU Action Plan ‘Towards Zero Pollution for Air, Water and Soil’ in May. The action plan is a key part of the EU Green Deal and ties together all relevant EU policies to tackle and prevent pollution, with a special emphasis on how to use digital solutions to tackle pollution. The action plan’s relevance for Norway will be revealed during the individual regulatory processes, which will be important to monitor in order to uncover any important Norwegian interests. At the request of the Ramsar Convention on Wetlands as International Importance Especially as Waterfowl Habitat (Ramsar Convention), a report on the current status of wetlands in the world was launched by an international expert group this year (The Global Wetland Outlook: Special Edition 2021). The Norwegian Environment Agency is the administrative body of the Ramsar Convention. In June, the Norwegian Ministry of Climate and Environment presented its nature strategy for wetlands, which establishes an important platform for Norway’s work in this regard. The Intergovernmental Panel on Climate Change, which published the second part of its main report on the consequences of climate change in February this year, has stated that the protection and restoration of marshes and wetlands will be a key climate measure in the years to come. In relation to the European Commission’s EU Action Plan for Financing Sustainable Growth in 2018, the EU adopted a classification system (EU Regulation 2020/852 on the Establishment of a Framework to Facilitate Sustainable Investment) for sustainable economic activity and transparency and reporting on sustainability in the financial sector. In July, the European Commission published its Strategy for Financing the Transition to a Sustainable Economy. Building upon the action plan, this comprehensive package of measures aims to improve the flow of money towards financing the transition to a sustainable economy. The regulations under the action plan are considered EEA-relevant and thus of relevance for Norway. In connection to this, it can be noted that in October, the Norwegian government announced its target to double the total annual climate funding from 7 billion Norwegian krone in 2020 to 14 billion Norwegian krone by no later than 2026. Furthermore, the European Commission presented the ‘Fit for 55’ regulatory package in July to follow up on the Paris Agreement and to reach the 2030 target of at least 55 percent in emission cuts. The package implies that several changes to the current EU climate and energy regulations will be made—many of which will have a major effect on Norway, especially since many of these are regulations are already listed in the EEA Agreement. As one of the world’s largest exporters of oil and gas, while at the same time having hydropower as a power source, Norway finds itself in a special position in Europe in terms of energy policy. Of particular importance is the EU Emissions Trading System (EC Directive 2003/87 Establishing a Scheme for Greenhouse Gas Emission Allowance Trading within the Community (EU ETS Directive)), a complex trading system that regulates how much carbon dioxide emissions each sector included in the system can release in total. The revised EU ETS Directive will apply for the period 2021–30, and will be important for Norway as it has been a member of the system since 2008 and is therefore affected by the legislative changes that will take place. The Norwegian Directorate of Fisheries has strengthened its work on preventing and cleaning up marine litter, and in March they launched a new action plan to combat marine litter. The plan includes specific measures, including labelling of fishing equipment and registering lost fishing equipment. Norway also launched a revised plastic strategy in August that aims to increase the recycling of plastic waste, stop plastic waste from ending up in nature, and promote more sustainable use of plastic products. The Norwegian government presented its marine report Blue Oceans, Green Future in July. The report illustrates the ocean’s key role for Norway as a coastal nation and for the whole world, as well as the many challenges and opportunities that can be generated from emerging industries in the ocean economy. The Norwegian government’s ocean policy aims at protecting and preserving marine life while creating sustainable jobs and economic growth by allowing new ocean industries to develop and grow. The report sets out the most important milestones of Norway’s ocean policy and development of ocean industries. Norway also released its report on the implementation of the 2030 Agenda for Sustainable Development (Voluntary National Review 2021 Norway). The review contains a progress report on the implementation status of the seventeen Sustainable Development Goals (SDGs). According to the SDG Index, Norway is presently ranked sixth on the SDG Index and has made a strong performance on SDGs 1 (no poverty), 3 (good health and well-being), 5 (gender equality), 7 (affordable and clean energy), 10 (reduced inequalities), and 17 (partnerships for the goals). The key environmental challenges for achieving the SDGs in Norway are linked to high consumption of resources and energy, greenhouse gas emissions, and the state of biodiversity. (6) Case Law and Infringement Proceedings The management of predatory species in Norway—in particular, wolves—has long been a contentious issue. There is, however, a conflict between those that wish to conserve the species and welcome the wolf back into Norwegian habitats and ecosystems, against those that consider the wolf as a threat to their quality of life and ability to execute their occupations. In the previous volume of this journal, the previous author informed on the World Wildlife Fund Norway v Norway, relating to the Norwegian Ministry of Climate and Environment’s three decisions to cull wolves in Norway, that was brought before the Borgarting Court of Appeal in January 2020. The Court of Appeal found that two of the three decisions to cull wolves were invalid and that, in relation to these, the Ministry of Climate and Environment had based its decision on an incorrect interpretation of section 18, first paragraph, litera (c) of the Nature Diversity Act. In March 2021, the case was brought before the Norwegian Supreme Court (HR-2021-662-A). The main question before the court concerned the interpretation of section 18 of the Nature Diversity Act. The Ministry’s first decision was intended to avert damage to livestock (Section 18, first paragraph, litera (b)) and applied to twelve wolves outside the wolf zone and outside established territories. The other two decisions applied to a total of nineteen wolves in Norwegian wolf territories that were mainly located outside the wolf zone. In relation to these, the purpose was to safeguard ‘public interests of significant importance’ (section 18, first paragraph, litera (c)). A unanimous Supreme Court ruled that the ministry’s decision was valid, the decisions were pursuant to the Nature Diversity Act, and no procedural errors had been made. In the aftermath, the judgment has received criticism from various points of view. The criticism is mainly focused on the assertion that the Supreme Court’s interpretation of the Nature Diversity Act’s conditions for culling places no emphasis on section 112 of the Norwegian Constitution on the preservation of the natural environment, and the species management objective in section 5 of the Nature Diversity Act. This implies that the interpretation of ‘other public interests of significant importance’ (litera (c)) is too broad. Furthermore, it has been argued that the Supreme Court places too much emphasis upon following up the Norwegian Storting’s clearly expressed opinions, which was also part of the criticism related to the plenary judgment in the climate lawsuit in 2020 that was referred to in the last year’s report. The second case of relevance this year is the Norwegian Supreme Court’s ruling in the case between Statnett SF et al v Sør-Fosen sijte et al (HR-2021-1975-S) in October, which concerns wind power and the protection of reindeer herders under Article 27 of the UN International Covenant on Civil and Political Rights (ICCPR). The Supreme Court unanimously found that the wind power development in the Fosen reindeer grazing district was in violation with the right granted in Article 27 of the ICCPR and therefore found both the wind power license and the expropriation decision invalid. This case represents an example where the interests of climate mitigation on the one hand collides with other interests—in this case, the rights of reindeer herders to enjoy their own culture under Article 27 of the ICCPR. The unfortunate thing in this case, however, is that invalidity was determined after the wind power facilities were completed. Besides these two cases, there were no other ‘high-profile’ cases in the field of environmental law during 2021. © The Author(s) 2022. Published by Oxford University Press. This is an Open Access article distributed under the terms of the Creative Commons Attribution License (https://creativecommons.org/licenses/by/4.0/), which permits unrestricted reuse, distribution, and reproduction in any medium, provided the original work is properly cited. © The Author(s) 2022. Published by Oxford University Press.
TI - C. Norway
JF - Yearbook of International Environmental Law
DO - 10.1093/yiel/yvac048
DA - 2022-09-30
UR - https://www.deepdyve.com/lp/oxford-university-press/c-norway-bOsa770VLw
SP - 134
EP - 138
VL - 32
IS - 1
DP - DeepDyve
ER -