Erik Solheim, former Executive Director of the United Nations Environment Programme and a prominent Norwegian diplomat, has been at the forefront of global environmental advocacy for decades. From pioneering rainforest protection partnerships to launching the global campaign against plastic pollution, his efforts have shaped international sustainability discourse. A firm believer in harmonizing prosperity with ecology, Solheim inspires the next generation to see environmental protection not as a burden, but as an opportunity. In this exclusive conversation with The Social Digest, he shares candid insights, hard truths, and enduring hope for a greener future.
The Social Digest: What inspired your lifelong commitment to environmental protection and sustainable development?
May be it started during my long schools holidays with the family up in the Norwegian mountains. We were chasing cows and sheep, looking out for moose and foxes and enjoyed the beauty of the lakes and hills. Later, of course, I have learned that there are many more animals in Africa, much taller mountains in Nepal and India, more beautiful forests in Brazil and more wonderful agricultural landscapes in China or France. But Norwegian mountains are still a gift from God and gave me a lifelong love for nature.
The Social Digest: What is your message to youth and every student reading this interview about environmental protection and sustainability?
Mother Earth doesn’t need us; we need Mother Earth. The Planet would live very well if all humans disappeared but humans can not exist without nature. Let’s take good care of the vulnerable, precious world which we are happy to share.
And let’s do it in a people-friendly way where we protect the ecology while increasing our prosperity. There is no choice between bringing everyone out of poverty and protecting nature. Switching from coal to solar is good for the environment and saves money at the same time. As Mahatma Gandhi once said, “The world has more than enough for everyone’s need, but not for everyone ´s greed”.
The Social Digest: Which environmental policy or initiative during your tenure at UNEP are you most proud of, and is there any policy that you regret?
May i mention two. As Norwegian Minster of the Envronemnt I started the partnerships to protect the rain forests between Norway, and Brazil, Indonesia and Guyana. These partnerships have been astonishingly successful and became the origin of what later become UN Redd – the global pogram to conserve the most important of all ecosystems – the rainforest.
As head of UN Enviroment I started the global campaign against plastic pollution and we said “let´s beat plastic pollution”. Plastic pollution is a triple threat to the planet – environment, economy and health. Plastics has no role in nature or in our fields. It’s horrible to watch sea birds or whales perishing from eating plastics or to know that we humans get microplastics into our brain and heart. The “beat plastics” campaign we launched has become a worldwide movement , but there is still of course a lot more to do.
The Social Digest: Many developing countries argue that climate change is a problem created by the West. Do you think developed nations are doing enough to take responsibility for their historical and current emissions?
They are right. The climate problem is caused by the rich nations. US emission per capita up to today is eight times the Chinese, 25 times the Indian and the difference to Africa is even bigger. So yes, those who caused the problem should fix it. It’s an affront to the word when the US now tells the rest – you please fix the problem we caused.
However: Any developing nation which start begging for justice from the global north will be disappointed and fail. China is now the world leader going green, India will soon be the second renewable nation. Vietnam, Indonesia and a many more are acting diligently. What these green leaders have in common is that they see climate action as an opportunity, not just a problem. China has created millions of jobs in the solar industry, in building electric cars and more. When I listen to Indian Prime Minister Narendra Modi he constantly emphasize that solar, wind and pumped storage is the way forward to bring all Indians out of poverty. He never ever mention any contradiction between ecology and economy.
The Social Digest: President Donald Trump took several measures during his term — including withdrawing the U.S. from the Paris Agreement and supporting coal-fired power plants. In light of these actions, what should be the stance of the UN, and UNEP in particular, towards the U.S. on climate commitments?
This stupidity will mainly harm the US only. China and many others will dominate the industries of the future – electric cars, batteries and renewables. During all previous industrial revolutions there were people who wanted to turn the clock back – they hated the spinning machine, they preferred horses to cars and trains, they denounced the internet. Historians have a name for such losers – Luddite’s .
The rest of the world will move ahead whatever happens in Washington. Fortunately the majority of Americans and most big companies in America are on our side. General motors and Ford understand that all cars in the future will be electric. You cannot stop that even if you are the most powerful president.
The Social Digest: You have often praised India and China for their growing concern about the environment and their promotion of renewable energy. However, most of the world’s most polluted cities are still in these two countries. Why are you so optimistic about their environmental future?
The Chinese cities were very polluted ten tears ago, but no one has cleaned up air and water at the speed of China. I would never go running in Beijing at that time. Now I happily do it, because the sun is bright, the sky is blue and the air fresh even in midwinter. I just made a TV program from Zhejiang province. 99% of all its rivers and waterways are cleaned up. You can lay down and drink without any hesitation. Birds, butterflies and fish are back to what was once nicknamed “soya sauce rivers”, not because of good taste but because of black and brown colour from pollution.
North Indian cities are still heavily polluted, worst of all in the season of burning of agricultural waste. But I am confident India will follow the lead of China – improving traffic, turning agricultural waste into fuels and reducing burning in homes. Delhi now I believe has the highest number of electric buses in any city outside China, so yes India will also change.
The Social Digest: The push for electric vehicles and renewables has created new environmental concerns, such as lithium mining. Are we solving one problem by creating another?
No! Coal and oil and gas are under all circumstances many degrees worst. But for sure the renewable industries also need to evolve. I just visited Yadea, the worlds largest producer of electric scooters. They turn out one green scooter every two seconds. But good news is they will now switch to sodium batteries – price is lower, chance of explosion minimal and yes – there will be less mining for lithium.
When the renewable industries scale up and the cars move into electric batteries , it’s important that we start planning for the recycling from day one. The car industry is already much better than many other industries in recycling, so I am sure this will happen. But governments and business need to act now, not wait to solve the problem at the end of lifetime for solar panels or car batteries.
The Social Digest: The development of AI models has also led to environmental concerns, especially due to the energy consumption of data centres. Do you think it’s time for humanity to introspect and reconsider the pace of technological development, given its environmental costs?
Artificial intelligence has the prospect of delivering both heaven and hell to humans. Artificial intelligence can be used to make wars even more brutal or help terrorists target their victims. It may kill more jobs than it helps create. However it will also make us mush smarter, help us solve intractable problems, make us live much longer and healthy lives, produce medicines we could only dream of and make our cars drive autonomously. As with so many other technologies governments must regulate to avoid the world and foster the best. It’s true that data centres will demand substantial energy. However the Deep Seek revolution may indicate it is less than we thought. So far big tech has been eager to source renewable energies.
This interview was conducted by Vansh Shah from The Social Digest on 10/06/2025. If you have any interview recommendations or have a story that you want to share with our readers, get in touch with our editor Vedant Bhrambhatt, at editor@thesocialdigest.com
