Active death support for the oil industry

Statkraft oil industry clean energyWind Power. Photo: Statkraft

Solberg warns against active death support for the oil industry

Killing off the oil industry overnight is not a good contribution towards the climate and will destroy the Norwegian economy, says Prime Minister Erna Solberg (Conservatives).

 

Both the EU and Norway have committed themselves to cutting climate emissions in the quota sector by 43 per cent before 2030.

– Our oil and gas industry is part of the quota sector, which means that it is part of the European system for reduced emissions. Therefore, it will not contribute to the reduction of world emissions if we shut down the Norwegian petroleum industry virtually overnight, says Solberg.

– Then Norway will be poorer and in a worse situation to spend the same billions I have talked about towards good climate and environmental measures. The Norwegian economy will be destroyed, and unemployment will increase significantly, she stated in a speech on the Government’s climate policy before the Conservatives Central committee on Sunday.

– The oil industry will slowly, but surely contribute less and less to the Norwegian economy, but it is not helpful to provide active death support.

Demanding

The Prime Minister announced that it will be demanding in several areas for Norway to reach the climate targets set for the next decade:

  • Norwegian companies must prepare for higher quota prices which will make it more expensive to emit greenhouse gases.
  • Fees will be used to price emissions in non-quota sectors. The Government platform calls for a flat CO2 tax, including agriculture and fisheries.
  • The agreement Norway will enter into with the EU, will be stricter than the Norwegian Climate Act, according to Solberg.

– This means in practice that we have to deliver on a emission reduction path. It does not suffice that we reach the targets in 2030, we will have to reduce between 2020 and 2030 as well, she says.

– We must reach a pace that is faster than we have presently in Norway, says Solberg to NTB.

Non quota emissions

The Prime Minister believes the Government is in the process of achieving a green shift which others have just talked about.

– Now emissions are going down, while economic growth is on the rise, she states, indicating that the Government wants to use the market forces to fight the climate changes. She mentions the Norwegian car park and the electric car initiative as examples of this.

At the same time, the Conservative leader indicates that, according to Statistics Norway (SSB) reports an increase in the “number of people engaged in work” between the fourth quarter of 2016 to the fourth quarter of last year of 50,000 jobs.

In the non-quota sector, it is important to cut a lot within construction, transport, agriculture and waste management according to the Prime Minister.

Solberg points out that increased sales of electric cars, utilization of zero or low-emission vehicles and increased use of bio diesel will help reduce transport emissions. She also emphasizes that growth in passenger transport in the cities is to be funneled into public transport, bicycles and walking.

– In the the next twelve years, we will spend NOK 66.4 billion on reward schemes, city environment and city-growth agreements, she says.

 

© NTB Scanpix / Norway Today