Stockholm (NordSIP) – Norwegian climate campaigners submitted additional material on 16 August 2024 to the European Court of Human Rights (ECtHR) in support of their ongoing lawsuit against their government’s oil and gas expansion plans in the Arctic region. Norway is being targeted as part of a growing trend of climate litigation based on the effects of the climate crisis on fundamental human rights. Similar cases have been filed in Switzerland and Portugal in recent months.
The case has been brought to the ECtHR by six Norwegian individuals along with local non-governmental organisations (NGOs) Natur og Ungdom (Nature and Youth) and Greenpeace Nordic following a previous attempt by the NGOs to sue the Norwegian State in domestic courts that eventually failed in 2020. Explaining the decision to continue pursuing the case, Frode Pleym, Head of Greenpeace Norway said: “The ECtHR’s review of our case highlights how climate change is affecting human rights. The human rights protected by the European Convention on Human Rights mean that all people are entitled to a liveable and healthy climate, and Norway’s Arctic fossil fuel expansion in the midst of a climate crisis is a complete violation of our rights. Norwegian fossil fuel policy is fuelling the climate breakdown leading to extreme weather events claiming lives, wrecking homes and destroying livelihoods, cultures and depriving the youth of their future.”
Sustainability credentials under threat
Norway is one of the five wealthy nations responsible for approving two thirds of new oil and gas exploration licences since 2020. Despite the country’s domestic achievements in terms of the electrification of transport and the establishment of a power grid that runs almost entirely on renewables, Norway is expected to grant around 80 new fossil fuel licenses this year. The lawsuit faced by the Norwegian government argues that this ongoing expansion of oil and gas production in the vulnerable Arctic Region will exacerbate the climate crisis and lead to violations of the applicants’ rights to private and family life as laid out in the European Convention on Human Rights (ECHR). They have also submitted arguments specifically aimed at Norwegian youth as well as the indigenous Sámi people whose traditional lifestyle is under threat.
The NGOs and climate activists behind the lawsuit hope that a favourable outcome at the ECtHR will provide a powerful precedent to support further action against other governments and corporations that are supporting fossil fuel expansion. It also highlights the issue of national responsibility for exported emissions. According to Greenpeace, thanks to Norway’s domestic decarbonisation efforts 95% of the emissions related to the country’s fossil fuel industry are emitted abroad. The country is accused of cultivating a strong image of sustainability within its national borders while contributing significantly to rising global greenhouse gas (GHG) emissions.
Norway’s fossil fuel industry has contributed to the growth of the country’s Pension Fund Global, which holds assets worth €1.5 trillion and is the world’s largest single owner of equities. The portfolio is managed by Norges Bank Investment Management (NBIM), which announced its half-year results on 14 August 2024. While negative returns in unlisted infrastructure, unlisted real estate, and fixed income meant that the fund underperformed its benchmark by 0.04%, it benefited from strong returns in listed equities. Technology stocks were the greatest contributors to absolute returns, with NVIDIA the standout performer with a positive return of NOK 225 billion.
In January 2023 NBIM set up a new Climate Advisory Board as part of its 2025 Climate Action Plan. It also announced a shift towards investor activism, with a view to exerting greater pressure on investee companies that are not on a net-zero GHG emissions pathway. Should the Norwegian government fail to defend its position in the ECtHR climate lawsuit, the credibility of NBIM’s climate activism will be further open to question.
