ABSTRACT
In the 1990s, Norwegian environmental policy has been developed through a close interaction between the Norwegian Parliament, the Storting, the government and civil service, environmental and ‘green’ organizations, as well as industrial and labour organizations. The parliament has become an ever more important arena for the development of Norwegian politics. Policy formulation is characterized by extensive lobbying, which is increasingly targeted towards the Storting. Since the relationship between the parliament and its surroundings in recent years has been the subject of several studies,1 this chapter will seek to shed light on the ‘life within’ the parliament. We will investigate how and in what manner decision-making with respect to environmental policy is affected by the organization of the parliamentary committee system. Our point of departure is the 1993 reform of the committee system.2 The question we pose is whether or not the reform had any effect on the attention given to environmental affairs when the Storting considers certain matters concerning the petroleum sector and regional policy.
