Background information

A Climate Partnership was established in 2023 as a collaboration between the government and social partners to accelerate the green transition in the business sector. The goal is to create a shared understanding of what is required to meet the climate targets for 2030 and 2050. The signing parties to the letter of intent included the Minister of Climate and Environment, the Minister of Trade and Industry, the employer organisations: the Confederation of Norwegian Enterprise (NHO), the Enterprise Federation of Norway (Virke), the Employers’ Association Spekter, the Norwegian Association of Local and Regional Authorities (KS), Kystrederiene (the Coastal Shipping Companies), and the Norwegian Shipowners' Association. The employee organisations involved are: the Norwegian Confederation of Trade Unions (LO), the Confederation of Vocational Unions (YS), the Federation of Norwegian Professional Associations (Akademikerne), and the Confederation of Unions for Professionals (Unio). The Climate Partnership aims to facilitate a structured dialogue between the state and industry at the sector level within a defined framework. It is designed to support the green transition across various industries, promote energy and resource efficiency, and advance a circular economy. A prerequisite for the government entering into the agreement has been the involvement of both employers and employees.

Letter of Intent on Climate Partnership (PDF)

Content of measure

The established Climate Partnership agreement aimed to facilitate the establishment of sector-specific climate partnership agreements with the business sector. In March 2023, the government invited three industries to dialogue, aiming to establish industry specific climate partnership agreements. The three industries were the process industry, the maritime sector, and the construction, building, and property sector. Selected organisations representing these industries was invited to open a dialogue. The social partners in the construction, building and property sector agreed to produce a document on the construction industry's carbon footprint that could be a knowledge base and support dialogue on a climate partnership agreement. The knowledge base outlines the main sources of emissions and the timing of decisions that impact the carbon footprint and was presented in June 2024. A Climate Partnership agreement was then signed 26 September 2024 between two ministries and The United Federation of Trade Unions (Fellesforbundet) and The Confederation of Norwegian Enterprise – Construction Industry (NHO Byggenæringen), with eleven other organisations affiliated. In November 2023, negotiations between the government and the social partners in the maritime sector began, and a year later, on 5 December 2024, an agreement on a Climate Partnership in the maritime sector and fisheries was concluded. The Maritime Climate Partnership aims to intensify efforts to reduce greenhouse gas emissions from domestic shipping and fishing by 50 percent by 2030. The government considered public-private collaboration in the green transition crucial for success and emphasised that businesses in the sector are best positioned to identify the challenges. Regarding the process industry, the government decided in February 2024 to continue the dialogue with the existing advisory group, Prosess21, and redefine its mandate . Prosess21 was established in 2018 with representatives from industry leaders and social partners. The updated mandate states that: “Prosess21 is intended to serve as a long-term strategic forum, with the primary task of providing strategic advice and recommendations to both authorities and industry on how best to reduce greenhouse gas emissions from the process industries in line with the transition to a low-emission society by 2050. The goal is to reduce total emissions by 90–95 percent while facilitating sustainable transformation, growth, and value creation.”

Use of measure

No information.

Contents

• Other topics

Target groups

Workers	Businesses	Citizens
Does not apply to workers	Sector specific set of companies	Does not apply to citizens

Actors and funding

Actors	Funding
National government Social partners jointly Trade unions Employers' organisations Company / Companies	No special funding required

Social partners

Social partners' role in designing the measure and form of involvement:

	Trade unions	Employers' organisations
Role	Agreed (outcome) incl. social partner initiative	Agreed (outcome) incl. social partner initiative
Form	Direct consultation outside a formal body	Direct consultation outside a formal body

Social partners' role in the implementation, monitoring and assessment phase:

• Social partners jointly
• Main level of involvement: Sectoral or branch level

Involvement

The Climate Partnership was established on initiative from the government through negotiations with the relevant social partners in the concerning industries.

Views and reactions

LO is indeed in favour of a partnership model. Commenting on the agreement in the maritime sector, LO’s First Deputy Leader, Sissel M. Skoghaug, stated: "We must transform all sectors of Norwegian business toward a more climate-friendly society, and this tripartite collaboration ensures that the social partners work constructively with the authorities to achieve effective solutions together. This is the Norwegian Tripartite Model in practice." On the employer side, Frode Sund, CEO of NHO Sjøfart, commented on the same agreement: "The Climate Partnership agreement provides a solid framework for efforts to identify measures that can help reduce [...] emissions from shipping."

Sectors and occupations

This case is not occupation-specific.

Sources

• 10 January 2023: Now comes the climate partnership (www.regjeringen.no)
• 10 March 2023: Will invite climate partnerships with three industries (www.regjeringen.no)
• 23 February 2024: New chapter for green transition in the process industry (www.regjeringen.no)
• 26 September 2024: The government and the constructionindustry in new climate cooperation (www.regjeringen.no)
• 05 December 2024: Collaborating on climate cuts in the maritime industry (www.lo.no)
• 05 December 2024: Signed new climate partnership agreement (www.nho.no)