Politics for the Future: How to better include the interests of future generations in Norwegian politics

Please note that the policy note is in Norwegian. Please contact kontakt@langsikt.no for an English version.

Each new generation lives with the consequences of previous generations' political choices. Today we benefit from the establishment of the separation of powers principle and the rule of law, the development of hydroelectric power plants and other infrastructure, global vaccination programmes, and the introduction of the smoking ban. Similarly, future generations will be affected by our political choices today, for better or for worse.

Democracy, however, lacks a systematic way to account for all who come after us, and the political system in many cases encourages short-termism.

This memo attempts to explain how and why the political system leads to short-termism. Next, we present four recommendations for institutional reforms for longer-term policies that take greater account of our future interests and the interests of those who come after us.

1. An ombudsperson to represent and promote the interests of future generations.
2. A future committee in Parliament.
3. An innovation fund investing with the goal of increasing future welfare.
4. An Independent Carbon Pricing Committee which controls the carbon price according to national targets.