Acting for the rights of its citizens

City of Bergen

With a population of 250,000, Bergen is Norway’s second largest city and the capital of western Norway, the leading region for all significant Norwegian export industries. It is participating in Cities of the Future, a national programme around land use and transport, heating, consumption patterns and waste and adaptation to climate change. It has joined and signed the Covenant of Mayors as well and has committed to going beyond EU targets for CO₂ reduction in emissions through enhanced energy efficiency and cleaner energy production.

The City of Bergen is an international climate test city

Cities of the future

Bergen has conducted analysis, unique in the national context, looking at the city’s risk of and vulnerability to floods, powerful winds, high tides, large waves, extreme precipitation and earth and rock slides. This knowledge will be employed to reduce the potential consequences of accidents and disasters. It will play an important role in urban planning and in processing building applications. In the same vein, the city is part of the MARE project, Managing Adaptive REsponses to changing flood risk, part of The Interreg IVB North Sea Region Programme.

The city is cutting its oil consumption with environmental measures that really work. The goal for the oil free project is that oil shall not be used for heating purposes in the city. The emissions from an oil-fuelled heater are the equivalent to the greenhouse gas emissions from one year’s car use. We are yearly measuring the progress in the project and updating the goals.

Bergen Light Rail is a gigantic environmental project with extensive building developments alongside its route, so an increasing number of people can benefit from the existing infrastructure. As urban light railways are also environmentally-friendly means of transport, the overall result is lower energy consumption and greater environmental gains.

Bergen is the first municipality in Norway with a comprehensive watercourse plan. We are working to reduce pollution and prevent destructive encroachments in watercourses in order to ensure universal right of use to them as recreational areas. We are aiming to make the city’s mountains and coastal areas accessible to everyone. Famous for its rainfall, the city is also at the forefront when it comes to water treatment. All drinking water in Bergen passes two independent hygiene barriers. The water is first subjected to wastewater treatment and then to UV radiation, thus ensuring any parasites are killed.

The council has established a special environment fund and all municipal entities will be environmentally certified. The goals include Green Flag certification of schools and kindergartens.

The City of Bergen aims for environmental certifiation. The council has established a special environmental fund, and all municipal entities will be environmentally certified. The goals include Green Flag certification of schools and kindergartens

Collaboration

The Bjerknes Collaboration with the City, the University of Bergen, the Institute for Marine Research and the Nansen Environmental and Remote Sensing Centre has created the leading climate research community in the Nordic countries. Globally renowned, it has contributed substantially to the Intergovernmental Panel on Climate Change.

Bergen is further joining fellow cities, Stavanger and Kristiansand, on future energy solutions. The aim is to strengthen cooperation between regional energy players and lead in developing sustainable and environmentally efficient transport solutions and forward-looking use of energy.

The Climate Forum (Bergen Chamber of Commerce and Industry, Bergen Council, the Bjerknes Centre for Climate Research and Bergen Scenarios 2020) is building bridges between the research community, the business community and society to increase understanding of the climate system and promote sustainable development.

The City of Bergen would like to see a broad initiative to start work on a new human rights convention which will secure the right to a sustainable future and sustainable decisions within the framework of the climate goals recommended by the UN. This would operate as an additional chapter to the European Convention on Human Rights within the Strasbourg Court of Human Rights or, possibly, as a separate convention with its own court. The convention must build on the individual’s right to a sustainable future. It should be supplemented by the reports written by the Parliamentary Assembly of the Council of Europe concerning the need for internationally binding conventions on climate and environmental issues, with opportunities to impose penalties or sanctions in the event of non-compliance or of decision-making that flouts the convention and international agreements. So-called soft laws fail to commit nations and do not secure the future of individuals.

Commissioner Lisbeth Iversen, Deputy Chair of the City Government and responsible for urban development, environmental affairs, climate, cultural heritage, roads and transport, water and sewerage and social housing. She is also responsible for development control, private plans and districts.

City of Bergen
W: www.bergen.kommune.no