The decrease in 2022 means that Norway’s emissions have fallen by 4.6 per cent since 1990. Statistics Norway presented the new figures on Friday morning. In the Paris Agreement, Norway has committed to cutting emissions by at least 55 per cent by 2030. At the current rate, Norway will not be able to achieve this until 2043. This shows the expected trajectory of Climate Control. – In 2022, activity in society increased after two years of pandemic. I am happy that emissions have been reduced despite this. – But this is still not good enough, says Climate and Environment Minister Andreas Bjelland Eriksen (Ap). Last week, Martin Skancke handed over the Climate Committee 2050’s report to Climate and Environment Minister Andreas Bjelland Eriksen (Ap). Photo: Rolv Christian Topdahl / news – Never has a climate minister had more knowledge about solutions In the last week, the TV series “Makta” has taken Norway by storm. The series shows the power play within the Labor Party in the 70s, where a young visionary woman is incorporated into the government. The woman is Gro Harlem Brundtland, and will be given the role of Minister of Environmental Protection. In the series, she is opposed by several people, including the Minister of Industry in her own government. “The Ministry of the Environment is symbolic, Gro. It is not intended that you should torpedo the government’s ability to carry out policy,” says the character who will be industry minister Bjartmar Gjerde in the series. The series creators make no secret of the fact that it is based on “truth, lies and bad memory”. Whether the Gjerde quote is rooted in reality or not, the parallel to today’s political situation is present, says Zero leader Sigrun Gjerløw Aasland. – Today’s climate minister has the same problem as Gro in “Makta”, says Aasland. – It is not the climate that decides, and it is not emissions that are the framework for the policy. That’s the way it has to be. – What is the difference between climate minister Bjelland in 2023 and environmental protection minister Brundtland in 1974? – The big difference is that we now know what we must do to prevent the climate crisis. Never before has a climate minister gone ahead with more knowledge about the solutions. He has all the prerequisites to succeed, but must challenge people in his government on priorities, in order to speed up the major emission cuts, she says. See more reactions to the Statistics Norway figures below. – 0.8 per cent cut in Norwegian greenhouse gas emissions is embarrassingly small Lars H. Gulbrandsen, Head of Research at the Fridtjof Nansen Institute – The figures show how difficult it will be to reach the government’s climate target of reducing emissions by 55 per cent by 2030, compared to 1990. In order to to reach the government’s target, we must cut an average of 3.7 million tonnes of CO2 in each of the seven years from 2023 to 2030. This means that an increasingly large proportion of emissions must be cut each year, increasing from 7.6 per cent in 2023 to almost 14 percent in 2029. Such large annual cuts from Norwegian territory are not realistic. Norway is therefore dependent on the flexibility inherent in the climate cooperation with the EU in order to achieve its climate targets, not least within the sector subject to quotas (EU ETS). This sector covered approximately half of the Norwegian emissions, mainly from industry and petroleum activities. Bjørn K. Haugland, managing director of Skift – Business climate leader – Today’s emissions figures from Statistics Norway clearly show that there is a great need to increase the pace of change in Norway. We know what is needed, but we need clearer policy formulation and instruments to facilitate a broad green restructuring of society and business. Klimakontrollen.no shows that we are on course to reach the 2030 targets in 2043. Business is ready for a green transition, now we need a boost to reach the climate targets. Truls Gulowsen, Naturvernforbundet – 0.8 per cent cut in Norwegian greenhouse gas emissions is embarrassingly small, but unfortunately not surprising. This is yet another confirmation that the government’s climate policy is too weak, and that the claim that we are on track for a 55% cut by 2030 is just talking points. Unfortunately. Fortunately, there are long menus of measures in both the Klimakur and the Climate Committee report. What is missing are political priorities. CO₂ in the atmosphere measured in parts per million particles (ppm)460 parts per million particles (ppm)? Click for an explanation of parts per million, abbreviated ppmGo to news’s Climate Status Why is the graph so wavy? This is about seasons. In summer, the amount of CO₂ decreases because plants and trees absorb CO₂ from the air. In winter, the plants die, the CO₂ escapes and the graph rises. Since there are more plants and trees in the northern hemisphere, the seasons here control the amount of CO₂ in the atmosphere. What is the problem with a lot of CO₂ in the atmosphere? The greenhouse effect makes the earth livable, but more greenhouse gases, such as CO₂, increase this effect and make the earth warmer . The graph starts in 1960 because this was the year when the world began to measure CO₂ systematically. It happened on Mauna Loa in Hawaii and the curve shows the measurements from there. Before the world became industrialized there was around 280 ppm CO₂ in the atmosphere (year 1700). The researchers found that out by analyzing ice core samples. Will there be less CO₂ in the atmosphere if emissions are cut? No, not immediately. If we cut emissions, the amount of CO₂ in the atmosphere will only increase more slowly. The reduction in emissions must be large and last for a long time before we can see an effect. Imagine that the atmosphere is a bathtub and the greenhouse gases are the water you fill in. Even if you turn off the tap, the bathtub will not run out of water. This is the case with greenhouse gases and CO₂. It takes a long time for CO₂ to break down in the atmosphere. This is the reason why the experts want technology that sucks out greenhouse gases from the atmosphere, in addition to us cutting emissions. The world’s politicians have decided that they will try to limit the warming of the world to 1.5 degrees, compared to how the temperature was before the industrial revolution. Then we must keep the amount of CO₂ in the atmosphere below 430 ppm, according to the UN’s climate panel. Oil and gas extraction accounts for a quarter The figures from Statistics Norway show that oil and gas extraction accounted for a quarter of emissions in 2022. Emissions fell slightly, while production rose slightly. This is due to electrification of the shelf and better utilization of natural gas, according to Statistics Norway. Last week, the Climate Committee 2050 published its report on how Norway should become a low-emission society by 2050. They recommended freezing Norwegian oil exploration until Norway has found a plan to phase out oil and gas extraction. – The question is not which emissions should be reduced, but which small emissions can remain in 2050, said committee leader Martin Skancke when he presented the report. In the Hurdal platform, the government set the goal that the entire cut should be taken domestically, without the purchase of climate quotas abroad. EFTA’s monitoring body (Esa) came this week with a clear call that Norway “must strongly consider further measures to reduce emissions”. This is reported by the website Energi og Kima. According to Esa, Norway is not even close to reaching the “old target” of a 40 percent cut by 2030. Annual deviation from normal temperature in Norway compared to the average in the period 1991-2020+1°C compared to normal? Click for explanation normal temperature1900192019401960198020002020Go to news’s Climate status Why are most years blue and colder than normal? This is because all years are now compared to a new normal, i.e. the average of weather in the 30-year period 1991-2020. These 30 years have been unusually warm. Most other years are therefore colder than normal. Until recently, researchers used a normal period that ran from 1961-1990. In these years it was relatively cold. It’s been quite a while since the 1960s and the new normal allows us to compare the weather with the climate (normal) that people actually experience today. The normal period is determined by the World Meteorological Organization (WMO), and is used in all countries . In this way, we can compare the weather in Norway with other countries and we can measure changes all over the globe. How can you calculate one temperature for the whole of Norway? There are many hundreds of thermometers located around Norway. These are read at fixed times and collected and checked by the Meteorological Institute. In some places the measuring stations are close together, in other places there is a greater distance. Using a statistical method, the meteorologists are able to give the measurements different weights, so that all parts of the country have equal importance: The country is divided into routes of 1*1 kilometer and the meteorologists then calculate one temperature for each route. Then they can again work their way up to one figure for the whole country, for a county, for a month or for an entire year.
ttn-69
Norway cut greenhouse gas emissions by 0.8 percent in 2022 – news Vestland
