Politics in the Making : From national green taxes to a global clearing-house

Abstract

This thesis is a document study and an analysis of archival records at an institution key to the development of environmental policy in Norway. It is through a historical perspective that I enter the Norwegian Ministry of Finance. The time period investigated are the few years from 1989-1992. These years are fundamental in environmental politics in Norway. The point of departure is the promising use of financial instruments, such as green taxes, in environmental policy. The realization of the impact on Norwegian economy in case of an international climate agreement leads to the production of a new level of politics within the national environmental politics. The international level was established within the national level. I will argue this was done as a solution to the underlying controversy between conflicting economic and environmental goals. In order to do this political practice is studied by using theoretical resources from science studies, controversy studies and the concept of closure. I have chosen several cases that I find characteristic to illustrate the process from a focus on national green taxes to the suggestion of a global clearing house as a solution.