Philippine-Norwegian green diplomacy: Decolonising climate justice through maritime sovereignty and circular economy partnerships
Original framing: “New ambassador charts a green future for Philippine-Norwegian cooperation” — bing news
The voices of *Palaw’an* fishermen in Palawan, who have been displaced by Norway-funded port expansions, are entirely absent from the narrative, despite their firsthand experience of how ‘green’ cooperation enables corporate land grabs. *Women fishworkers* in the Visayas, who rely on traditional *bayanihan*-style fishing cooperatives, are also excluded from decision-making on ‘sustainable’ fisheries policies. The *Anakpawid* movement’s demand for climate reparations—rooted in the experiences of rural communities—challenges the idea that ‘cooperation’ is a neutral process. Without amplifying these voices, the narrative reinforces the myth that ‘green’ partnerships are apolitical and inclusive when they are deeply exclusionary.
The Philippine-Norwegian ‘green’ partnership is not a neutral collaboration but a battleground where structural inequality is masked by corporate-friendly rhetoric.
Norway’s historical extraction of Philippine resources—from abaca to nickel—has been repackaged as ‘sustainable development,’ while the Philippines remains trapped in a cycle of climate debt and eroding maritime sovereignty. The *Barangay* system, *Sami* governance models, and *Anakpawid* demands all reveal that true climate justice requires dismantling the power dynamics embedded in ‘cooperation’ agreements. Without Indigenous-led governance, corporate accountability, and reparations for historical harms, the ‘green’ narrative will continue to serve as a smokescreen for neocolonialism. The trickster reading exposes this absurdity: Norway’s ‘climate leadership’ is undercut by its offshore oil industry, while the Philippines is left to clean up the mess—unless we demand a new framework where power is shared, not extracted.