Norway sued by climate activists over Acrtic oil exploration plans

Two environmental organisations, Greenpeace and Youth and Nature, sued the Norwegian government over a decision to open up areas of the Arctic Ocean for oil exploration. According to the plaintiffs, this plan could endanger the lives of existing and future generations and for this reason it violates the constitutional environmental law which guarantees citizens’ rights to a healthy environment.

The law is known as Section 112 and states: “Everyone has the right to an environment that safeguards their health and to nature where production ability and diversity are preserved. Natural resources must be managed from a long-term and versatile consideration which also upholds this right for future generations.”

Norway's attorney-general said that the Norwegian authorities have fulfilled all their obligations to the constitution: plus, the government claims that all their preliminary assessments of the potential environmental impact have been conducted satisfactorily. In its defense, the state will focus on the interpretation of the law: “Section 112 has not been formulated to provide individual rights in the traditional sense. Instead, the first and second paragraphs express societal aims with regard to environment, conservation of nature and management of natural resources … Norway does not have a legal responsibility for emissions from its oil and gas exports".