Greenhouse gas emissions rose by 1.5 percent

Vidar Helgesen, joint climate declarationMinister of Climate and Environment Vidar Helgesen.Photo: regjeringen.no

The Norwegian emissions of greenhouse gases rose by 1.5 percent in 2015.

Emissions of greenhouse gases total 53.9 million tonnes in 2015, an increase of just under 0.8 million tonnes from the previous year, the preliminary emission figures from Statistics Norway show.
The increase was greatest in industry and the petroleum sector. Emissions from the extraction of oil and gas rose by 2.3 percent.
Climate and Environment Minister Vidar Helgesen is not surprised.
– A large part of the growth is due to the oil and gas extraction, and in particular the increased emissions from fields that were opened in the last decade, Helgesen said in a press statement.
– The numbers are in line with projections the Environment Agency has made for the period up to 2020. They show that petroleum emissions will peak just before 2020, and then decline, he adds.
Also in road traffic, emissions have increased despite the electric vehicle’s increasing popularity. Increased fuel sales gave an emission increase of 0.8 percent in 2015.

 

Source: NTB scanpix / Norway Today