The Barents Youth NGO and Volunteer Forum 2011 (Photo: www.barentsyouth.org)
The Barents Youth NGO and Volunteer Forum 2011 gathered youth in Murmansk from Norway, Sweden and Russia this weekend. The environment group of the forum agreed on a common statement, where the need for more focus on renewable energy in the Barents region is highlighted.
One of the measures to shift the focus from polluting energy production to renewable energy is by increasing taxes on pollution and use the tax incomes on green investments.
- Polluters must pay
- We think it is most fair that the biggest polluters should pay the cost of their pollution, the forum statement reads.
The forum stresses the importance of common efforts to stop climate crisis. The youth do not want to base their future on petroleum production, which is the most important income for both Norway and Russia today.
- The oil industry is one of the biggest polluters in the world. Therefore the focus in our region should be on sustainable industries and building more renewable energy.
- Shut down Nuclear power
The work to stop the use of nuclear energy has also been debated at the forum. The youths do not want any new nuclear power plants to be built in our region and that Kola Nuclear Power plant should be stopped.
- The oldest reactors on Kola Nuclear Power Plant should be decommissioned, because they are running on overtime and can’t be upgraded to international safety standards.
The environmental group consisted of participants from Priroda i Molodezh, Aetas, Murmansk State Technical University, AUF, Natur og Ungdom, 4H Troms and Luleå University of Technology.
