A/HRC/43/53/Add.2 23. One minor gap in the availability of environmental information involves the collection and publication of data about the enforcement of various environmental laws, including with regard to fines and other administrative penalties levied and the number of cases where charges are laid and prosecutions are completed. Examples of systematic approaches to collecting and publishing environmental enforcement information are available from Canada and the United States of America.13 24. Public participation in environmental matters is widely encouraged. Large civil society organizations receive funding support from the Government with no strings attached. The Environmental Information Act requires that opportunities be provided for public involvement in the preparation of laws, plans and programmes related to the environment. Other laws, such as the Planning and Building Act, the Local Government Act and the Petroleum Act, have specific provisions regarding public participation. There is a national advisory climate change council, and recent amendments to the Local Government Act require the creation of three advisory boards comprised of adolescents, persons with disabilities and the elderly. 25. Norway is a global leader in striving to give children and youth a voice in environmental matters. The Constitution recognizes children’s right to be heard (art. 104), the Human Rights Act establishes the paramountcy of the Convention on the Rights of the Child, and laws such as the Local Government Act and the Planning and Building Act have specific mechanisms to engage children and youth. 26. The national systems for access to justice have strengths and weaknesses. Pursuant to the Public Administration Act, specific decisions made by government authorities can be appealed to the next level. Ministry decisions can be appealed to the King in Council, which makes the final decision. There is a Parliamentary Ombudsman who can receive citizen complaints in environmental matters, although such cases are rare. 27. Citizens and civil society organizations can also go to court, starting at the district court level, with the possibility of an appeal to the Court of Appeal and from there to the Supreme Court. According to the Supreme Court of Norway, standing for individuals and non-governmental organizations to bring environmental lawsuits has been liberalized. However, lawsuits are often expensive and lengthy, and carry the risk of having to pay the opponent’s legal costs if the case is lost. There are no specialized environmental courts or tribunals in Norway, though such specialized bodies do exist with regard to other aspects of the Norwegian legal system (e.g., the Equality and Anti-Discrimination Tribunal) and are increasingly common throughout the world.14 B. A safe climate: the Norwegian paradox 28. One of the world’s most urgent challenges is climate change, which is violating human rights across the planet today and threatening to do so on a vast scale in the future (A/74/161, paras. 1–4 and 73–74). The United Nations High Commissioner for Human Rights has warned that “the world has never seen a human rights threat of this scope”.15 Norway, as one of the world’s wealthiest nations and a major producer of oil and gas, must accept substantial responsibility for leading efforts in mitigation and adaptation, and addressing loss and damage. 29. In some respects, Norway is at the forefront of the global transition to a fossil-fuelfree economy. Its electricity system is predominantly emissions free. Norway has the highest share of electric vehicle sales in the world, it is the first country to ban the use of fossil fuels for the heating of buildings, and Norway prohibits flaring from petroleum 13 14 15 Canada, Environmental Offenders Registry, available from https://environmentalprotection.canada.ca/offenders-registry; and United States Environmental Protection Agency, Enforcement and Compliance History Online, available from https://echo.epa.gov. George (Rock) Pring and Catherine (Kitty) Pring, Environmental Courts and Tribunals: A Guide for Policy Makers (Kenya, United Nations Environment Programme, 2016). Agence France-Presse, “Climate crisis is greatest ever threat to human rights, UN warns”, The Guardian, 9 September 2019. 7