Available via license: CC BY 4.0
Content may be subject to copyright.
ISSN: 2535-7328 Volume 12, Nr 2 (2023) https://doi.org/10.7577/ar.5657
© 2023 The author(s). This is an open access article published under the CC-BY 4.0 license
(http://creativecommons.org/licenses/by/4.0/).
www.artandresearch.info 1
Climate action and creative
climate justice
Erlend Eggen
1
& Lise Hovik
2
Klimakultur, Queen Maud University College
Abstract
The answer to SDG 13 Climate action in this special issue takes the form of a
contribution that breaks with the academic genre and bypasses the established
academic or artistic formats of the journal. Instead, this contribution opens the door to
the climate activist movement, shining a light on the urgency of the hour and the
issues that are paramount in the hearts of climate-engaged artists, educators and
cultural workers. Klimakultur, a non-profit organization supporting and strengthening
the climate and environmental ambitions of the arts and culture sector in Norway, has
together with Rosendal Teater in Trondheim released what they call a Creative
Climate Justice Guide. This publication serves as inspirational tool for climate action.
Keywords: climate justice, climate action, climate culture
1
erlend@klimakultur.no
2
lise.hovik@dmmh.no
Erlend Eggen & Lise Hovik. Climate action and creative climate justice
Nordic Journal of Art and Research, Volume 12, Nr 2 (2023) 2
Figure 1. Design and photo by Rosendal Teater and Klimakultur SA
Climate Action
Climate activism arises from an understanding of the urgent need for action and
societal change, recognizing that we all must contribute to a collective turnaround to
raise awareness and the will to change course. If the UN's Sustainable Development
Goals are to be achieved by 2030, it is now that we must act. We can't simply sit
here, writing important articles and discussing the significance of art and culture for
sustainability. We must also take action.
Many artists and art educators are engaged in the climate and nature crisis,
channeling these urgent concerns into their creative expressions and pedagogical
endeavors. However, some go a step further and become activists. Art activism can
be an expression of burning dedication, desperation, or grief in the face of a system
that does not heed research, science, the environmental movement, nature
conservationists or aesthetical and sensuous qualities of life. An art activist will use
the arts and the arts institutions as platforms and channels to fight for a better world,
rising a relentless defense of nature, wildlife, and the very foundations of human
existence spanning the globe.
Erlend Eggen & Lise Hovik. Climate action and creative climate justice
Nordic Journal of Art and Research, Volume 12, Nr 2 (2023) 3
The Creative Climate Justice Guide
The guide is a collection of short texts from different activist perspectives, which also
spotlight the romanticization of Norwegian oil and gas. The authors tell stories from
different perspectives: What does it mean to live your life as an artist or run your
business according to a climate calculator? What does it take for Norway to
contribute with climate action that actually helps at a global level? The texts explain
how those who have contributed the least to the climate problem are also the hardest
hit by climate change, and how the art sector can respond to this through art itself,
but also by addressing unjust aspects of social systems and the culture to which they
belong. Alexander Roberts, managing director of Rosendal Teater, captures the
essence of this in the guide's introduction, claiming that those who have the
opportunity to shape a world that is systemically fairer and more sustainable for all
who live in it, must do so: “As the amazing Octavia Butler once said, “all that you
touch you change, all that you change changes you”. Use your influence, your voice
and stages, to advocate for a sustainable and just future for everyone. Get involved."
(Roberts in Eggen et. al. 2023, p. 8)
Climate justice means putting equity and human rights at the core of
decision-making and action on climate change. The concept has been
widely used to refer to the unequal historical responsibility that countries
and communities bear in relation to the climate crisis. It suggests that the
countries, industries, businesses, and people that have become wealthy
from emitting large amounts of greenhouse gases have a responsibility to
help those affected by climate change, particularly the most vulnerable
countries and communities, who often are the ones that have contributed
the least to the crisis. (UNDP, June 30, 2023)
Climate justice is a perspective that is absolutely essential in the battle to halt the
destructive global development. However, this perspective has been unjustly
marginalized in public discourse on the climate and nature crisis. It is a matter of
power, a reckoning with those who profit from the ruthless exploitation of vulnerable
ecosystems, often at the expense of impoverished communities dependent on these
ecosystems. In Norway, it is urgent and unavoidable to talk about oil. Norwegian oil
wealth is a sponsor for arts and culture, but at the same time pushing the world in a
wrong direction. The wealth we accumulate from sales comes at a deadly cost to
people living in more marginal places around the world. It's brutal, but not an
exaggeration when we consider the enormous consequences of prolonged drought
Erlend Eggen & Lise Hovik. Climate action and creative climate justice
Nordic Journal of Art and Research, Volume 12, Nr 2 (2023) 4
and brutal flooding disasters. It is time to shine a light on the blind spot in our welfare
society. The individual and institutional focus on managing your own carbon footprint
is something the oil industry has systematically worked on for decades. The guide
discusses how to manage carbon footprints at an individual and institutional level, but
also challenges the arts and culture sector to address the major carbon contributors
and how they falsely legitimize their activities in Norway as a response to the climate
crisis.
Klimakultur often encounters influential individuals and institutions who claim they
don't know how they can contribute, who feel a sense of hopelessness and fear that
nothing is happening. Encouraging and inviting action and collaboration is a way to
overcome this hopelessness, in addition to being inspiring for others. With the
Creative Climate Justice Guide, Rosendal Teater and Klimakultur want to show the
arts and culture field that their room for influence in the climate and nature crisis is
more creative and powerful than the technical carbon reductions each institution
implements on its own. The guide encourages the cultural field to speak out about
the future, convey ideas, provide space for those who think differently, or experience
oppression and the climate crisis up close.
Finally, the guide provides tips on where to find more information and inspiration and
how to take your commitment to a fair and sustainable development a step further.
Take action, connect with others, and become part of a collective creative response
that really matters! This Creative Climate Justice Guide presents both international
and national voices, voices that make it possible to see the Norwegian oil culture
from the outside. We encourage you to read it!
Link to the guide on Klimakultur.no:
https://www.klimakultur.no/klimaverktoy/kultur-og-klimarettferdighet-i-norge/
About the authors
Erlend Eggen is the Head of Klimakultur. He is deeply committed to sustainable
development and what is actually required of society to get there. Erlend is also an
elected representative for the Green Party, which makes it possible to work on
sustainable development and system change from several different angles.
Klimakultur is a non-profit organization that supports and strengthens the
environmental ambitions of the arts and culture sector in Norway.
Erlend Eggen & Lise Hovik. Climate action and creative climate justice
Nordic Journal of Art and Research, Volume 12, Nr 2 (2023) 5
Lise Hovik is professor of drama and theatre at Queen Maud University College of
Early Childhood Education and Adjunct professor at OsloMet. She is artistic director
of Teater Fot, developing ecological perspectives in performing arts for children, and
currently one of three guest editors of this special issue, Aesthetics and Ethics: Arts
education as a catalyst for sustainable development.
References
Eggen, E., Forchhammer, J., Roberts, A.G., Solbu, I. R. (Eds.) (2023). Creative
Climate Justice in Norway, an introductory guide / En innføring i Kultur og
Klimarettferdighet i Norge. Rosendal Teater & Klimakultur SA.
https://www.klimakultur.no/klimaverktoy/kultur-og-klimarettferdighet-i-norge/
UNDP. United Nations Development Program (2023). Climate Promise. Climate
change is a matter of justice – here’s why.
https://climatepromise.undp.org/news-and-stories/climate-change-matter-
justice-heres-why. June 30, 2023.