Factsheet for measure
NO-2023-2/3679
–
Updated
– measures in Norway
Climate Partnership
Klimapartnerskap
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.”
Updates
The following updates to this measure have been made after it came into effect.
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09 January 2025
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Following the signing of the letter of intent, the following agreements have been concluded between the government and the social partners in the three sectors:
Construction sector (building, construction and property)
The climate partnership agreement with the construction sector(https://www.regjeringen.no/contentassets/b90ae5bf405448e587e2077df59b682c/avtale-om-klimapartnerskap-for-byggenaringen.pdf) was concluded in September 2024 and will run until the end of 2026. This is the only sectoral agreement that includes a financing arrangement. The government will contribute NOK 2 million (EUR 170 800) in both 2025 and 2026 to work led by NHO Construction. The aim is to build knowledge and competence for reducing the climate footprint from construction. The funds are intended to support measures that provide increased knowledge about effective emission reductions and enhance competence within the sector.
As part of the climate partnership dialogue, a report (https://www.regjeringen.no/contentassets/c730b8327d734a39a0dd2783a1daedb0/kunnskapsgrunnlag-til-dialog-om-klimapartnerskap-2024.pdf) on a shared knowledge base has been developed on the construction sector’s climate footprint. The knowledge base shows that the largest emissions occur late in the construction process, while it is the decisions made early in the process that have the greatest impact on the overall climate footprint.
Maritime sector
The agreement on a maritime climate partnership (https://www.regjeringen.no/contentassets/99354c9b94ca43ce96e80f2499cad07f/avtale-om-maritimt-klimapartnerskap.pdf) was finalised in autumn 2024 and formally signed on 5 December 2024. This agreement does not stipulate any specific appropriations, but the state assumes that the sector will make use of existing instruments, including Enova, which in 2024 contributed over NOK 2 billion (EUR 171 million) towards the financing of green solutions at sea.
Process industry
The climate partnership with the process industry (https://www.regjeringen.no/contentassets/9fb51389b0d142be9afbe696fa27d26c/signert-avtale-om-klimapartnerskap-med-prosessindustrien.pdf) was signed on 9 January 2025 and will run until 2030. The agreement does not establish specific financial support for the partnership itself, beyond existing schemes. It is described as a platform for cooperation to achieve emission reductions and identify measures, while any economic instruments will continue to be handled through ordinary processes and schemes.
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Use of measure
No information.
Contents
Target groups
Actors and funding
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Actors
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Funding
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National government
Social partners jointly
Trade unions
Employers' organisations
Company / Companies
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No special funding required
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Social partners
Social partners' role in
designing the measure
and form of involvement:
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Trade unions
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Employers' organisations
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Role
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Agreed (outcome) incl. social partner initiative
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Agreed (outcome) incl. social partner initiative
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Form
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Direct consultation outside a formal body
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Direct consultation outside a formal body
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Social partners' role in the
implementation, monitoring and assessment phase:
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Social partners jointly
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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
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This case is sector-specific
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Economic area
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Sector (NACE level 2)
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A - Agriculture, Forestry And Fishing
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A3 Fishing and aquaculture
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C - Manufacturing
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C17 Manufacture of paper and paper products
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C19 Manufacture of coke and refined petroleum products
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C20 Manufacture of chemicals and chemical products
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C23 Manufacture of other non-metallic mineral products
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C24 Manufacture of basic metals
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H - Transportation And Storage
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H50 Water transport
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This case is not occupation-specific.
Sources
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10 January 2023: Now comes the climate partnership
(www.regjeringen.no)
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10 March 2023: Will invite climate partnerships with three industries
(www.regjeringen.no)
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23 February 2024: New chapter for green transition in the process industry
(www.regjeringen.no)
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26 September 2024: The government and the constructionindustry in new climate cooperation
(www.regjeringen.no)
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05 December 2024: Collaborating on climate cuts in the maritime industry
(www.lo.no)
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05 December 2024: Signed new climate partnership agreement
(www.nho.no)
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05 December 2024: New climate cooperation between the state, the maritime industry and the fishing industr
(www.regjeringen.no)
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09 January 2025: Signed climate partnerships for the process industry Norwegian Industr
(www.norskindustri.no)
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08 April 2025: Climate partnership for the construction industr
(www.dibk.no)
