In 2009, protests erupted addressing oil drilling in northern Norway as the Labor Party held its national convention (Berg, 2015). Several environmental organizations bonded together to form the protest, and although MDG did not directly participate due to it being a political party, they stated that it was vital that the Labor Party shifted their view of the Lofoten debate to anti-drilling, and protected the islands once and for all. A big participator was the environmental organization Nature and Youth, who entered the protest wearing fishermen hats and boots, thus representing the Lofoten fishermen and the environment suffering from the potential drilling in Lofoten.
The Labor Party remained in power in 2009, and pledged that Lofoten once again should be protected in 2011, which was credited to political and public pressure such as the protests taking place. However, the Labor Party clarified that the protection would only be honored until 2013, when another national election was due (Berg, 2015). Therefore, even though Lofoten was protected, environmental organizations and parties still were skeptical of the Labor Party’s real intentions.
Sources:
Berg, L. (2015, February 17). Norsk klimapolitikk 1987-2015. Retrieved April 18, 2018, from http://www.cicero.oslo.no/no/posts/klima/norsk-klimapolitikk-1987-2015
EPA. (2017, April 19). Deepwater Horizon – BP Gulf of Mexico Oil Spill. Retrieved April 21, 2018, from https://www.epa.gov/enforcement/deepwater-horizon-bp-gulf-mexico-oil-spill
Regjeringen. (2013, October 9). Norway’s oil history in 5 minutes. Retrieved April 21, 2018, from https://www.regjeringen.no/en/topics/energy/oil-and-gas/norways-oil-history-in-5-minutes/id440538/
Thorsnæs, G. (2017, March 2). Lofoten. In Store norske leksikon. Retrieved April 24, 2018, from http://snl.no/Lofoten