#emma bugge gjerdevik

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"Adults often think that they know more [about the oil issue] just because they are older," Emma Bugge Gjerdevik says. "But we have resources." She remembers one oil manager she debated with, who accused her of making him "a villain". But she has come to view the real villain as the Norwegian state, which makes the decisions to extract petroleum. "Oil is absolutely incredible," Emma says. "There is no other resource like it. It has contributed so much good. It is a safety net. So of course the older generations find it hard to think beyond it." Finding oil was an economic game changer for Norway. But as climate change concerns have grown among the Norwegian population, the country's media has started writing about "oil shame". In 2019, oil electrician Idar Martin Herland started the hashtag #stoltoljearbeider (#proud oil worker) to challenge this view. "I saw that my colleagues felt exposed," he says. "But we produce something that the world needs." People criticise the oil workers, but that's unfair, he says. "These same people drive [petrol] cars." Hilde-Marit Rysst, who used to work as an oil rig technician, and is now the leader of the labour union in which Idar Martin is active, stresses that oil workers care about the planet too, but people need to be realistic. "The green energy isn't ready [to meet all our needs] yet," Hilde-Marit says. "For a long time to come, renewable energy will go hand in hand with fossil fuels." "Young people are eager and impatient," Idar Martin adds. "But we really have to do this step by step."

Matilda Welin, 'The young Norwegians taking their own country to court over oil', BBC

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The Norwegian oil business is trying. Offshore drilling activities have been subject to a carbon tax since 1991, and by 2018, around 80% of greenhouse gas emissions were taxed. Norway is one of the world leaders in carbon capture, utilisation and storage. "Norwegian oil is the greenest oil in the world - the best of the worst - and we invest the profits in the environment," Hilde-Marit Rysst says. "We can't get flak for that!" She argues that as long as there is the demand for more energy, Norway is fulfilling a valuable role. Future generations will want cars and mobile phones too, she says. "In a post-oil Norway, we may not have the same economic progress, but it is much more important to me that I can breathe, have children with a clear conscience, than Norway being the richest country in the world," says Emma Bugge Gjerdevik. "If not even the richest country in the world can start rebuilding, who will?" Thor points out that Norway's neighbours have succeeded in creating flourishing societies without the economic benefits of "black gold". "Sweden and Finland have managed to build a welfare state without oil," he says. "Still, we'll have to remove a little of our most luxurious and extravagant habits if we remove the oil; hold back a little."

Matilda Welin, 'The young Norwegians taking their own country to court over oil', BBC