Away Moe and Listhaug’s green dream – Statement

In a feature on news Ytring, Ola Borten Moe and Sylvi Listhaug describe how Europe is losing competitiveness against the USA and China. They are absolutely right that Europe has had declining productivity, compared to the US and China. This is also well documented in the very thorough report by Italy’s former Prime Minister Mario Draghi. But Borten Moe and Listhaug completely miss the point when they have to explain why Europe is lagging behind. They believe that a main reason is that Europe has more ambitious climate targets than the USA and China. That is a sensationally bad analysis. If there is one area where the US and China have really increased their lead over Europe in recent years, it is in everything Borten Moe and Listhaug are against: renewable energy, battery production and other climate technologies. China already started its green investment 10–15 years ago and is now leading the way in all parts of the green shift. No country makes more solar cells, wind turbines, batteries or electric cars. The green part of China’s economy is still growing very quickly, and it is estimated that it accounted for 40 percent of the country’s total GDP growth in 2023. Through its Inflation Reduction Act (IRA), the United States has put in place tax cuts and other support schemes for the production of batteries, hydrogen, carbon capture and a number of other climate technologies. The program will last for 10 years, and will probably provide support for green technologies of around 800 billion dollars. Borten Moe and Listhaug have an important point when they point out that high energy prices inhibit Europe’s competitiveness. The reason is that Europe is too dependent on imports of fossil energy and not least the disappearance of Russian gas after the war in Ukraine. The solution, which the EU is fortunately well underway with, is faster development of renewable energy. This will provide both energy security and lower energy prices. And how are things going with the climate cuts in the US and China, by the way? The USA has cut its emissions faster than Norway if we compare with 2005, which is the starting point for the USA’s climate goals. While Norway has cut a little more if we compare with 1990, which is the starting point for Norway’s target. I call it a draw. China, like other developing countries and growth economies, has different obligations in the Paris Agreement than rich countries like Norway. It is the richest countries that have the greatest responsibility for cutting their emissions. China’s goal is for emissions to peak and then start to fall before 2030. There are many indications that China has already met this goal, and that emissions will probably start to fall next year. There is no doubt that Europe has major challenges with productivity, innovation and weak economic growth. This applies particularly in advanced technology and the green part of the economy, where both China and the US are growing rapidly. Fortunately, it is not Ola Borten Moe and Sylvi Listhaug who will find the answers to Europe’s problems. Send us your opinion Want to write? Feel free to contact us at news Ytring with your post. The guidelines can be found here. Published 30.10.2024, at 15.25



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