A group of demonstrators plan to gather outside the Norwegian consulate in downtown Vancouver today to protest the Norwegian government's failure to meet its obligations under the Paris Agreement.
Extinction Rebellion, a grassroots movement that uses nonviolent action to drive systemic change in the face of the climate crisis, plans to gather outside of the Norwegian consulate at 1188 Georgia Street, near the intersection of Bute Street, at 11 a.m. Thursday (March 4).
Protesters plan to "ceremonially present the Norwegian Consul General Randall James Kaardal, and Vice-Consul Elisabeth Løkke Øwre with the Nobel Prize of Climate Hypocrisy," explains a news release.
While Norway is often credited with being a fair and democratic country, Extinction Rebellion says the Scandinavian country is the world's seventh biggest exporter of CO2 in the atmosphere.
Holding Norway accountable to the Paris Agreement
Additionally, the group says the Norwegian government suppresses climate activists who resort to civil disobedience "by arresting everybody involved in such protests, putting them in isolation for 10 to 15 hours and giving them extraordinarily high fines (approximately 1600 Euros)."
The group argues that this violates Article 11 of the European Human Rights Convention, which guarantees the right to peacefully assemble.
On Sept. 21, 2020, around 40 climate protesters from Extinction Rebellion were arrested in Oslo, reports newsinenglish.nor.
"Norway prides itself with respecting international law. We demand that Norway either abides by its obligations as signatories under the Paris Agreement and the European Human Rights Convention or is held accountable by the international community as one of the richest countries on earth with a disproportionate responsibility for the climate crisis."
Similar demonstrations will be held in over 20 cities worldwide as part of an international campaign today.
Vancouver Is Awesome has reached out to the Vancouver Police Department for comment.
