History

MDG is a relatively new political party in Norway focusing on environmental issues. Promoting an environmentally-friendly lifestyle in Norway is the core of its politics. Therefore, MDG has been heavily invested in the Lofoten debate – the question whether Norway should open the island group for oil exploration and potential excavation – ever since it truly took center stage in the political sphere in 1994. MDG were naturally against the proposal but could not directly influence the larger Labor Party and Conservative Party, two parties who were for the proposal and have been battling for control of the Parliament over the past two and a half decades. However, the environmental movement was growing in Norway. Public protests erupted in the years following the state-owned oil companies’ implementation of oil searches in the region, along with events organized by Norwegian environmental organizations. As Norway shifted towards a more environmental mindset, the government announced plans to cut carbon emissions in the future, and smaller green political parties such as MDG received an increase in vote in the midterm and national elections. As a result, MDG and the other small environmentally-friendly parties formed a strong alliance that the larger parties needed for a coalition in the Parliament, which gave MDG a platform to directly influence the Lofoten debate. Thus, since 2006, Lofoten has been protected from oil excavation. And even though the debate is still in full swing today, it seems like MDG and the environmental movement has won. We can only hope that the future brings a continued protection of the island group, along with other measures to reduce the carbon footprint in Norway.