The Climate: Scaring Children in Norway
Erik Bye
September 15, 2025
Children ask for a more active part in climate politics
Arecent report shows that children want to be more involved in climate issues. They are demanding knowledge about how climate change affects their lives and future. We spoke to children in Hardanger about their experiences and commitment to climate.
– Landslides have become part of our everyday lives.And they can influence houses.After the landslide last year, “My dad's house has become a little crooked”, says an eleven-year-old boy. He is in fifth grade at Vikebygd School in Ullensvang in Hardanger. The village experienced the extreme weather named “Jakob” in October 2024. It brought with it large amounts of rainfall and destruction to the area. Several roads were closed, bridges broke, and residents were evacuated.
The events affected the schoolchildren in Ullensvang.
– “We have a warehouse at home in the shed now, with everything we need if there is another landslide and we can't get out”, says a 13-year-old girl. When the extreme weather occurred last fall, her school route was closed, and she had to stay home. Of the 40 students at Vikebygd School, only 15 were able to attend classes the following day.
The schoolchildren are aware that the increased risk of landslides, extreme rain and flooding is due to climate change.
“We hear about climate change everywhere.And we especially notice it where we live because there are a lot of landslides,” says the girl. She thinks it is important for children and young people to speak up if they are worried about the climate.
What do the children in Ullensvang think about climate change?
Impact on life and everyday life
Anew report – The Climate Crisis Seen Through Children’s Eyes, which Save the Children has produced in collaboration with CICERO, shows that children want to be more involved in climate issues and to be listened to. They are calling for and need more knowledge about the consequences of climate change for them, their lives and everyday life.
– Children in Norway are being affected by climate change, and more comprehensive knowledge is needed about how children are affected both today and, in the future, says a CICERO researcher, Erlend Fossen, who has been responsible for a literature review of research on how climate change affects children’s health in Norway. He says that half of children and young people respond in surveys that they are worried about climate change.
– Research shows that such concerns can be linked to increased symptoms of depression and more sleep problems in Norwegian youth, says Fossen.
He emphasizes that more floods, heat waves and other extreme weather are expected in Norway in the future, which could affect children’s rights to education and good health.
– An increased risk of health problems related to heat and infectious diseases is also expected, as well as a possible increase in pollen allergies, skin cancer and air pollution.At the same time, we lack comprehensive knowledge about, among other things, children's tolerance for heat and the future total burden of disease, says Fossen.
My comments
We do apparently have the optimum and ideal educational situation as can be thought of, according to the message in the magazine KLIMA.
The young people want to learn more about the climate processes and then to participate more deeply and seriously in the climate politics.
But then you meet the big problem, the youngsters are in an indoctrinating educational system. They are being told what to think and understand and are not allowed to make up their own minds.
The message in KLIMAmagazine from CICERO just emphasizes the fraudulent message, which probably is the worst scientific swindle in history. It might be that the conviction must be that the cost related to The Green Deal and The Net Zero will destroy the world’s economic situation.
Climate scientists: Don't want to scare
In Norway, trust in research is generally high, but climate communication faces several challenges. Disinformation, alternative facts and fear-based messages can create uncertainty and hinder effective communication.
– You don’t need to know anything anymore, we can just copy what we read and pass it on, says climate scientist and physicist Reto Knutti, resignedly.
Knutti is based in Switzerland, where he has lived, researched and broadcast his position for several years. He thinks that the climate for communicating research has changed. He places much of the blame on artificial intelligence, social media and people using editorially controlled media to a lesser extent.As a long-time advocate of dissemination with a thorough foundation in science, he takes a dim view of the development.
– There is no quality control, the spread of news happens extremely quickly, and people who think differently are often applauded, he says.
Knutti has himself been a victim of fake news, and at one point appeared in several Russian online stories that he had in no way contributed to. Some of them were about fungal spores causing hurricanes, earthquakes and tsunamis! He was even called by Russian television stations for an interview about this.
Skeptical of fear and intimidation
When it comes to how to get people to care about climate change, Knutti is skeptical of using fear as a tool, which he believes does not work.
- Many people become apathetic, they drop out of the discussion, and do not know what to do. We need to work more on solutions that are attractive to people, he says.
Knutti is supported byAjit Niranjan, climate journalist at The Guardian.
- Getting people to care about climate issues is difficult. But I have found that giving readers hope is a way to get there. Playing on fear does not work. People want solutions, we must tell positive stories, he says, referring to research on climate psychology, which concludes the same after studying people's reactions.
- Fear only works as motivation if you present solutions and hope at the same time, he states.
Lack of knowledge and complex politics
Elin Lerum Boasson is a professor of Political Science at University of Oslo and affiliated with CICERO. She has spoken to journalists who want to get scientists to say that they are so anxious about climate change that they can't sleep at night.
- In many interviews, I have had to moderate statements that have been presented by others. Like when UN Secretary-General António Guterres created enormous fear when launching the previous climate report. Then I think it became more important to point out what works. Most countries have done a lot to cut emissions, there is little knowledge about it, says Boasson.
As a researcher, she sees it as her job to contribute to the least possible fear and horror among the people, as well as to provide the media with the best possible information about difficult topics.
- The EU's climate policy, for example, is difficult to understand. There are a lot of mistakes being made in social media and political debates are full of alternative facts. It probably has to do with how complex politics has become, she says.
Building trust with facts
Boasson's colleague at CICERO, KjetilAas, is a natural scientist by background and is often interviewed about climate change and its consequences. He is aware of the responsibility he has as a communicator.
- We scientists have a lot of numbers and facts, but what is important is what story they tell. How you choose to present the numbers matters a lot. The media's pursuit of a sensational story can often contrast with my desire to present the facts in an understandable and credible way, he says.
Aas is concerned that he, as a climate scientist, should be perceived as a reliable source, who should be able to credibly talk about the opportunities we have and the consequences of the choices we make.
- Being a scientist is different from being, for example, an activist in the environmental movement. We are professionals who communicate both numbers and context that must be able to stand the test of time, he says.
My comments
Here it may seem as if the scientists are trying to clean themselves up. Throughout the entire period with the main IPCC-reports, fromAR1 toAR6, the scientists have emphasized that we must stay below first 2˚C and then 1.5˚C, to prevent the planet from becoming uninhabitable.
Every time there has been severe weather, or warmer than “normal”, scientists have set out far and wide. The Meteorological Institute in Norway has contributed to the weather maps being colored blood red, even though the temperature has been at the same level as in previous summers. Quite typically, 50 years ago people talked about lovely summer heat in Norway, with temperatures up to 30 degrees. Now the weather maps are blood red, and the term extreme weather is loosely in the holster.
In the news, and among politicians, the term “climate crisis” has been used. This term is not used by the IPCC. Leader Skea has warned against the use of this term:
https://www.dw.com/en/climate-change-do-not-overstate-15-degrees-threat/a66386523
Then it couldn't be easy when the UN chief himself,Antonio Guterres, was talking of the way to “CLIMATE HELL”, and now the time is over for the talk about the warm planet. “Now it's boiling.”
Now, one wants the whole alarmistic language of the climate issue to change. It is true that now the youngest in society are being taught that the planet will become uninhabitable. Thus is no wonder that children aged 5-10 cannot understand that the climate crisis is a horrifying project, and that this regime must change.
Let's hope that happens after the researchers in this article say they don't want to scare people.
Others have also been out, recommending moderate use of language. Is something about to happen?