Next week, the government will travel to the COP27 climate summit with Prime Minister Jonas Gahr Støre at the helm. Last year, Norway reduced its greenhouse gas emissions by 0.7 per cent from 2020, which is 4.7 per cent lower than in 1990. – Today’s registered climate target is likely to create 2.5 degrees of warming if more countries do not increase their climate targets and provide more for to reach them, says Prime Minister Jonas Gahr Støre during the government’s press conference before the climate summit. – That is where we are heading and we simply cannot end there. That is why we are happy to do more, says Støre. The government is therefore increasing Norway’s climate target, which states how much Norway must cut its emissions. – We report 55 per cent to the UN. Thus it is no longer 50 to 55, but it is 55. SV: Now Støre must tell how Lars Haltbrekken (SV) says that the target provides motivation in the upcoming negotiations, but that the government must ensure that it pursues a policy that we achieve the goals. The negotiations for the national budget start next Monday. – Then we expect the government to present a list of new emission cuts on Monday when the budget negotiations start, says Haltbrekken to news. – Unfortunately, the government has put forward a proposal for a state budget that neither achieves the old targets nor these new ones. We are steering towards increased greenhouse gas emissions in Norway now, and need both targets and a plan to reach the target, he says. – What we need now are concrete measures that cut emissions. It does not help to set even higher goals, when the policy being pursued does not reach the goals we had before. So far, the government has delivered very little in climate policy, says Høyre’s climate policy spokesperson, Nikolai Astrup. Lars Haltbrekken, SV. Photo: Eivind Molde / news – Changing the entire economy Until today, Norway was not on the list of countries that had updated their official emissions targets in the past year. Climate Minister Espen Barth Eide (Ap) says that such a climate target involves a structural change in the entire economy that will require an effort in all sectors. – In short, we must go from fossil fuels to renewables in all sectors. We will move from use and throw away to a circular economy, and it will also take more care of natural land, so that we move towards net zero via 55 per cent, says Eide. According to the Paris Agreement, all countries must submit new or enhanced emission targets every five years. In Glasgow last year, however, the countries were invited to reassess the goals. Norway’s greenhouse gas emissions and climate targets measured in million tonnes of CO₂ equivalents60 million tonnes of CO₂ equivalents? Click for explanation of CO₂ equivalents. Norway’s climate target 23.1 million tonnes annually Go to news’s Climate Status What is Norway’s climate target? By 2030, Norway must cut at least 55 per cent of greenhouse gas emissions compared to 1990 levels. The goal is to be achieved in cooperation with the EU. By 2050, 90-95 per cent of Norwegian emissions must be cut. This means that we must cut emissions at record speed. In the last ten years we have managed to cut around 5 million tonnes, in the next ten we will cut around 25 million tonnes. How will Norway reach the climate target? Norway must cut emissions in two ways, because the sources of emissions can be divided into two: Emissions subject to a quota: This are particularly emissions from industry and the oil/gas platforms. The emissions are covered by the EU’s quota system: In order to emit greenhouse gases, the industry must buy permits (quotas) in the EU at the price determined by the quota market. Steadily higher prices and fewer allowances will force emissions cuts where it is easiest to implement. Non-eligible emissions: These are greenhouse gas emissions from, among other things, transport, agriculture, waste and heating in buildings. This is called the non-quota-obligatory sector because you do not need quotas to release greenhouse gases. How Norway can cut emissions in this sector is described in the specialist report “Climate cure 2030”. The politicians decide which of the measures from the report are to be implemented. Norway can also cut non-quota-obligatory emissions by paying for emission cuts in other European countries. The government says that it plans to meet the targets without using this option, but it can be used if it becomes “strictly necessary”. For Norway, the emissions in the two sectors are roughly the same: in 2019, they released around 25 million tonnes of greenhouse gases each .What happens if Norway does not reach the climate target? It could be politically embarrassing. A likely solution is that Norway chooses to pay for emission cuts in other countries. Norway can also be subject to sanctions if we do not reach the targets we have agreed with the EU. Norway must regularly report cuts to the UN, in line with the targets set in the Paris Agreement. Here, no sanctions are stipulated for those who do not fulfill their obligations. Greenhouse gas emissions down 0.7 per cent last year Emissions of greenhouse gases in Norway fell 0.7 per cent last year compared to the previous year, new figures from Statistics Norway show. The final figures from Statistics Norway (SSB) show that emissions of greenhouse gases in Norway were 48.9 million tonnes of CO2 equivalents last year. This is a decrease of 0.7 per cent from 2020, and is 4.7 per cent lower than in 1990. – There was a slight decrease in greenhouse gas emissions last year, after we had a larger reduction in 2020 which could largely be attributed to the pandemic . In 2021, emissions from both road traffic, industry and agriculture increased, while they decreased in oil and gas extraction, says senior adviser Trude Melby Bothner.
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The government will cut emissions by 55 percent – news Norway – Overview of news from different parts of the country
